Spaces & Flows: Ninth International Conference on Urban and ExtraUrban Studies

Abstract

Urban spaces have been contested terrain in both conceptual and theoretical realms. The meanings and constructs of space and time change with the changing characteristics of conflicts over appropriation and domination of spaces.This paper takes the journey from medieval times through to contemporary times to decipher ways in which Tundikhel, the largest open space in Kathmandu has been historically formed, construed, interpreted, and contested. Using particular reference to Edward Soja’s (1996) concept of “third space,” the paper discusses how specific aspects of history impacted both the imagined and constructed form of this space. The paper argues that if the city’s medieval mysticism lends itself to a rich cultural history that forms the basis of the “imagined,” its current physical and symbolic fragmentation displays the contested nature of the lived spaces. Both imagined and lived spaces come together to provide a unique vantage point for an investigation into urban public space in cities that have both medieval groundings and modern tapestry constantly generating overlapping expectations, functions, and multitudes of vision. The paper contends, unlike the common notion that public spaces in the global south are quintessentially public, that hypocrisy has been inherent to the “publicness” agenda of the state in Kathmandu throughout the passage of history from then to now.