On September 27th, 2024, Southasia Institute of Advanced Studies (SIAS) held another insightful Future Himalayan Research Seminar series titled “Tomorrow’s Cities: A Project, Concept & Practice.” Facilitated by Dr. Anushiya Shrestha from SIAS, the session began with a warm welcome and a brief introduction of the presenter, Dr. Dilli Prasad Poudel, Senior Researcher and Thematic Lead on Urban and Disaster at SIAS.
Dr. Poudel delivered a comprehensive presentation about the “Tomorrow’s Cities” project, a five-year multinational inter-disciplinary research initiative. He explained the project’s mission to equip urban planners and authorities with tools for creating risk-resilient, equitable cities. Dr. Poudel highlighted about one of the key outcomes of the project, the Tomorrow’s Cities Decision Support Environment (TCDSE), produced after the intensive learning in 4 cities, i.e Khokana (Nepal), Istanbul, Quito and Nairobi which was later implemented in several new cities, including Rapti/Deukhuri (Nepal), Nablus (Palestine), Dar Es Salaam (Tanzania), and Chattogram & Cox’s Bazaar (Bangladesh). These cities are called “implementing cities”. Dr. Poudel shared insights on how the collaboration between social and physical scientists was supportive to develop the tool assessing the future risk and disaster and other sector and incorporating those in the urban planning for risk-resilient future cities. This model has contributed to the policy level as both the ward level government and municipal government can develop a plan based on this model. He also discussed the challenges faced and lessons learned from this pioneering project. Dr. Poudel also briefly highlighted about the publications of SIAS during the 5-year project duration.
The seminar concluded with a lively discussion, where participants emphasized the importance of interdisciplinary teams and the relevance of this research for future collaboration.
