ABSTRACT
The paper is aimed at studying the contemporary urban built form and the present contemporary scenario of Kathmandu Valley. A descriptive study, through site observations and literature studies, has been used as a research method to understand culture, identity and built forms as well as support its significance. The paper then proceeds with discussing the historical urbanism of Kathmandu and its attempt at showing the collective identity and discussing further the changing contemporary environment in Kathmandu. Moreover, it discusses the symbolic message of identity and all that it resonates. The research then reviews some of the issues and challenges faced by contemporary Kathmandu. However, it attempts to emphasise that traditional institutions, which gave meaning to the city, are not yet obsolete. The paper then concludes that the expression of cultural identity in developing historical and cultural cities like Kathmandu is challenging. It undermines its ancient forms to participate in modernism and questions its legitimisation, especially when contemporary changes are set within the already existing built forms.
