Abstract
A dominant narrative within the current discourse concerning the Sri Lankan built environment presumes that continued urbanization, and the growth of a predominantly apartment-centric population, is an inevitability. Partially underpinning this, is the presupposition that the developmental trajectory of the built world of Sri Lanka must be in line with that historically observed in Singapore, specifically from the mid 20th century onwards. Yet, over 85% of the population in Sri Lanka, largely that which lies outside of the boundaries of Colombo, continues to live in a rural/suburban condition which is deeply intertwined with significant social, cultural, infrastructural, and agricultural layers. While there are of course high potentials that can be achieved by densification, the potentials of this rural/suburban condition has either been overlooked or preemptively dismissed as a simply a pre-urban stepping stone by the discourse. This paper offers a counter-narrative to this view, asserting that there are in fact significant potentials within the rural/suburban condition for localized private agricultural production, biodiversity promotion, economic production, decentralized stormwater management, public health management with diseases such as dengue, as well as the maintenance of critical sociocultural dynamics.
Presenters
Cem KayatekinAssistant Professor, School of Architecture and Design, IE University, Segovia, Spain
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
2025 Special Focus— Sharing Practices and Sustainable Urban Fabrics
KEYWORDS
Sri lanka, Built world, Suburban, Rural, Sustainability
