Martadi, a small high mountain town has been transforming into a semi-urban position in recent years. This paper examines the form and land-use transformations by analyzing existing conditions and their potential expansion by collecting primary and secondary data through field observation and consultations/interactions with locals and analyzing the historical images/maps of the area. This paper shows that the high mountain town grew spatially and functionally outward from its core area transforming its morphology. Increasing population, increasing constructional activities, and infrastructure development in pace with urbanization are the reasons to get the transformations of such towns. With increasing local and regional connectivity, increasing trend of new building construction and reshaping of traditional buildings into modern ones, the rapid outward expansion of the town, increasing road networks and other facilities may lead to urban transformation of such high mountain towns in the future. Several modern constructions have been observed and Martadi is becoming one of the centers of economic activities in the region. Rapid conversion of agriculture, barren, and bushland into residential and the construction of infrastructure found high to make the urban transformation. The town can grow further in the future through intervention planning policies and guidelines.

1. Urban Form and Land use Transformations in the High Mountain Town of Martadi (Bajura) Nepal
IJGRP
Urban Form and Land use Transformations in the
High Mountain Town of Martadi (Bajura) Nepal
Dr. Kedar Dahal
Department of Geography, Tri-Chandra Multiple Campus, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, NEPAL
Email: kedar.geog@gmail.com
Martadi, a small high mountain town has been transforming into a semi-urban position in
recent years. This paper examines the form and land-use transformations by analyzing existing
conditions and their potential expansion by collecting primary and secondary data through
field observation and consultations/interactions with locals and analyzing the historical
images/maps of the area. This paper shows that the high mountain town grew spatially and
functionally outward from its core area transforming its morphology. Increasing population,
increasing constructional activities, and infrastructure development in pace with urbanization
are the reasons to get the transformations of such towns. With increasing local and regional
connectivity, increasing trend of new building construction and reshaping of traditional
buildings into modern ones, the rapid outward expansion of the town, increasing road
networks and other facilities may lead to urban transformation of such high mountain towns
in the future. Several modern constructions have been observed and Martadi is becoming one
of the centers of economic activities in the region. Rapid conversion of agriculture, barren, and
bushland into residential and the construction of infrastructure found high to make the urban
transformation. The town can grow further in the future through intervention planning policies
and guidelines.
Keywords: High mountain, town, urban form, land use, building morphology, transformation
INTRODUCTION
Urbanization is a good indicator of economic development
in the country and the level of urbanization has
considerably increased in the last four decades in Nepal
(Shrestha and Rijal, 2015), and it has the practice to
analyze urban and or urbanization in terms of the number
of municipalities and people living in them. In this respect,
about 63 percent of people are living in the urban area
(what we called municipalities) in 293 municipalities in
Nepal (Central Bureau of Statistics-CBS, 2011). Rapid
urbanization indicates a country’s economy in its
developing stage towards a modernized and a matured
one, with a regulating plan for urbanization, avoids
imbalanced distribution of manpower and uneven
development across the country (Kone, 2018). However,
the present scenarios in the context of urbanization
(through the incorporated large number of places as a
municipal town in Nepal) are yet to be assessed (Shrestha
and Rijal, 2015); and these scenarios of the increasing
number of urban centers (municipalities) and people living
in them does not mean that the country has accelerated
rate of economic development through the transformation
of agriculture economy into manufacturing and services.
Even though, these urban centers and towns are expected
to serve as hubs to provide markets for goods and services
and improved living conditions and employment for the
dwellers as well as those in the surrounding localities
(Devkota, 2018). Many cities in developing countries are
frequently suffering from insufficient planning and
management (Barros and Sobreira, 2005), and many
areas in these countries have unplanned development
(Kufferand Barros, 2011). There are different forms of
urbanization and development patterns in the different
Research Article
Vol. 7(1), pp. 200-209, January, 2021. © www.premierpublishers.org. ISSN: 2021-6009
International Journal of Geography and Regional Planning

2. Urban Form and Land use Transformations in the High Mountain Town of Martadi (Bajura) Nepal
Kedar D. 201
geographical regions of Nepal. Generally, terai and valley
towns have been posing more agglomerated towns as
compared to mountain towns/settlements in Nepal.
Chidi (2009) attempted to identify human settlements in
the high mountain of Nepal based on settlement size and
elevation and found that the number and size of the
settlements are constantly decreased with increasing
altitude, and most of those settlements are found at the
altitudinal zone ranging from 3000-4500 meters from the
mean sea level. Martadi, the district headquarters of
Bajura, is one of the major settlements located in the high
mountain region of Nepal. After the designation of
municipal status, Martadi has undergone rapid change in
land use by increasing in-migration from the rural and
ridge-top to lower river valleys. This process has resulted
in rapid infrastructure development, population
concentration, and service facilities which are often
referred to as transformation development (Jianchao,
Xinge, Qinqin, and Nan, 2015). In this process, traditional
villages and building units have been reshaped into
modern ones by increasing the use of modern
constructional materials e.g. iron, cement, brick, etc. and
attractive building design incorporating the essence of
Vastu-sastra (traditional Indian system of architecture);
which ultimately has changed morphological
characteristics of Martadi. Therefore, being a high
mountain town, rural urbanization and related processes
have brought a significant change in land use pattern and
ultimately in its morphological features of Martadi Bazaar
area.
The term ‘morphology’ was used to study the human
settlements or form of the Earth's surface in geography
(Bansal, 2010 cited in Bista, 2016). It represents the outer
appearance of an urban center and interprets how it looks
(Bista, 2016). Morphology of towns has been identified on
the basis of various factors such as location, sites and
situation of the town, landform, trade and transportation,
communication and industries, service delivery, and
administrative centers (Chidi, 2009; Sogoni and Ngidi,
2016). Such studies have been an important input to the
creation of a planning application guide which is designed
to assist planners in planning for service delivery and
addressing any morphological challenges (Sogoni and
Ngidi, 2016). Therefore, morphology should be tied-up
with service delivery and municipal planning. Despite the
indicated in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) in
2015, many governments in developing countries fail to
cope with effective service delivery by several issues
relating to corruption, technical know-how, lack of effective
policies and geographical distancing, and so on (Sogoni
and Ngidi 2016; Wild et al., 2012). Therefore, providing
services to these areas seems to be economically
challenging, due to sparse settlement and high cost of
infrastructure and service delivery. Many municipalities for
example in Nepal, are rural, and the agricultural labour
force constitute to be dominant in smaller towns in the
country (Shrestha and Rijal, 2017); Therefore, the efficient
distribution of service facilities is becoming a challenging
issue.
Farrant (2007, cited in Sogoni and Ngidi, 2016) argued that
to a large extent spatial analysis had been absent from
most social and infrastructure planning. Most of the newly
emerging municipalities and towns in Nepal are still facing
difficulties in implementing their plans and policies due to
a lack of technical resources and proper implementing
mechanisms. Integrated Urban Development Plan
(IUDP), and other periodic plans prepared by the
Department of Urban Development and Building
Construction (DUDBC) and the municipalities in the past,
therefore are not well implemented in the ground Plan
implementation in the high mountain towns/settlements
are still in infancy stages as these towns are lacking a
minimum urban infrastructure. More importantly, the lack
of infrastructure in these settlements which are lying at
higher altitudes is challenging for the development and
planning of human settlement (Chidi, 2009).
One of the crucial challenges in the planning and
development of human settlements in Nepal is the lack of
baseline information of those settlements particularly lying
in the high altitude. Martadi (Bajura) has no exception to
this. However, DUDBC has been studying different forms
and patterns of settlements and their morphology in the
high mountain region including the Bajhang, Bajura,
Darchula, Baitadi, Achham, Doti, Jajarkot, Kalikot, Mugu,
Sankhuwasabha, Sindhupalchowk, Taplejung,
Solukhumbu, etc. Compact settlement plan, integrated
settlement plan, morphological studies are some of the
initiatives of DUDBC for settlement level study in the
Himalayan region. Recently, DUDBC completed a
morphological study of Martadi, Syafrubensi, Lukla,
Simikot, and Jomsom which has focused on how
settlement morphology could be retained and the
sustainability of the Himalayan settlements (DUDBC,
2019). With reference to those studies, this paper explores
how urban form and morphological transformation of the
high mountain town, Martadi is taking its pace in the urban
development context in Nepal.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
This paper is the outcome of both primary and secondary
data collected in 2019. A field study was conducted to
locate existing infrastructures, services and facilities, and
to observe how settlement development is taking its pace.
Primary data related to land use, the extent of the road
network, and the environment were collected by using a
checklist and questionnaire. Site observation and
interactions with locals were conducted to collect data
related to land-use change, trends of settlement
development, housing materials, urban development
patterns, and urban morphological transformation. One-
week fieldwork was done to get insights on the field for

3. Urban Form and Land use Transformations in the High Mountain Town of Martadi (Bajura) Nepal
Int. J. Geogr. Reg. Plan. 202
primary data collection through the intensive fieldwork.
During the fieldwork, participatory interactions with locals
were adopted to collect the information. Similarly, a review
of the literature about the produced reports and documents
relating to settlement development and transformation,
norms, and standards has also been conducted.
Integrated Settlement Development Concept Paper
(DUDBC, 2015), National Settlement Plan (2014),
Planning norms and standards (DUDBC, 2013), IUDP of
Badimalaika municipality (DUDBC, 2029), Badimalika
Municipality (2015 and 2016) have also been reviewed in
the due process of the study. Available maps, archive
Google Earth images of the years 2008, 2014, 2015, and
2017 were used to see the land-use change and
transformation. Similarly, available photographs have also
been used to interpret the urban forms and morphological
transformation of the town.
Study Area
Martadi is a town in the high mountain region and a district
headquarter of Bajura District in the Far-west province of
Nepal (Figure 1). It lies in Badimalika municipality, which
was declared a municipality in December 2014, consisting
total population of 16,898 and spread over 276 sq. km.
Martadi has located 57 km from Safebagar (Achham) and
about 950 km west from Kathmandu, and can also be
reached via 40 minutes flight from Nepalgunj-Kolti airport
and then walking to Martadi.
Rara-Khaptad trail is among the Trans-Himalaya trails of
Nepal with Martadi as the intermediate point. Khaptad
National Park, Rara Lake, and magnificent views of
mountains, various flora and fauna and landscape are
attracted national and international tourists. Martadi is
located on the Trans-Himalaya trail (Rara-Khaptad trail),
located about 1553 meters mean sea level.
Figure 1: Location of Martadi, Bajura
RESULT AND DISCUSSION
Population and Density
Badimalika Municipality has a total population of 16,818
out of which 51.47percent is male and 48.53percent is
female with an average household size of 4.88 (CBS,
2011), and the lowest human development index (0.364)
as compared to an urban area (0.579) and the national
level (0.490) (UNDP, 2014). The population density of the
municipality is 60.93 persons per sq. km. It is calculated
that the average annual population growth rate is
0.482percent. If the growth rate remains the same, the
population of the study area will be 17,731 in 2081, 18,250
in 2086, and 18,694 in 2091. The population of Martadi
area was 8807 (about 53percent of Badimalika
municipality) (CBS, 2011), which possesses mostly rural
characteristics with poor infrastructure. However, with the
implementation of morphological retainment and
enhancement, and infrastructure development, it is
Bajura District
Nepal

4. Urban Form and Land use Transformations in the High Mountain Town of Martadi (Bajura) Nepal
Kedar D. 203
expected that people will migrate to Martadi for
employment, business, higher education, and other socio-
economic opportunities in the coming years.
Road/Street Layout and Linkages
Sanfebagar-Martadi-Kolti road is a strategic road of the
Bajura district had started construction in 2000 and
planned to be upgraded into blacktop within 2023 (The
Himalaya Times, March 07, 2020). It connects the district
headquarter Martadi to other municipalities and villages of
Bajura district and Safebagar (Achham) to the south.
Badimalika municipality consists of 10.16 km district road,
36.04 km highway, 28.49 km municipal road among which
only 2 km is blacktop remaining is earthen (Badimalika
Municipality Profile, 2015). The motorable road towards
the northern portion is smoothly running in the dry season
up to Porakhe (Badimalika municipality -7). Most of the
roads are narrow width (e.g. 4-10 m) and trails and
pavement are 3 meters in width (Figure 2).
A couple of years ago, Martadi was isolated in the country,
due to a lack of roads and transportation. Air service was
only one option, but it was high airfare and have not
accessed to common people. Therefore, the only common
means of transportation was Mules (for transporting
goods) and people in those days were used to walk to
reach Martadi.
Martadi has had direct links with Kathmandu, Nepalgunj,
and Dhangadi towns by air and road transportation. Safe-
Martadi road (57km-blacktop) and an airport at Kolti
connects Martadi with towns of Nepal located in plain and
hills region that has supported to expand their service
area, facilities and building density in Martadi.
However, regional and local connectivity was relatively
poor as compared to other towns of Nepal due to its
difficult topography and poor road conditions. Local people
of Martadi area will need a day's walk to reach the airport
at Kolti. Martadi can also be reached via Chainpur
(Bajhang district); however, it requires a two-day walk
through the border of Khaptad National Park area.
Center of Economic Activities
Martadi is the district headquarter and a major market
center in the far-west region. Rara lake-Khaptad national
park-trans Himalayan trekking trail passing through it. The
market is completely dependent on the other market
centers located in Terai regions such as Dhangadi,
Nepalgunj, and Surkhet for goods and services. Once the
goods and services are collected in Martadi, they are
thereafter redistributed to other municipalities and villages
in Bajura district. Martadi also serves other villages and
small market centers located in Achham, Bajhang, and
Doti when they come to Martadi for sells their local
products. The Sanfe-Martadi road of 57 km connects
major settlements, villages, and market centers of Bajura
district, which is the main route to flow people, goods, and
Figure 2: Road Network and Conditions of Roads Martadi Bazar reveals poor surficial conditions
as all the roads are earthen having lack of smooth traffic movement. Except of Highway passing
through Sanfe are not all-weather roads.

5. Urban Form and Land use Transformations in the High Mountain Town of Martadi (Bajura) Nepal
Int. J. Geogr. Reg. Plan. 204
services. The road has a direct link with Dhangadi,
Mahendranagar, and Nepalgunj of southern towns. Rara
lake-Khaptad national park trekking trail passes via
Martadi as the centre point and crosses Martadi.
Therefore, the service area (hinterland) of Martadi is
relatively larger in the region except for Safebagar
(Achham) and Dipayal (Doti), however, both are located
far from the Martadi. Badimalika, Budhiganga, Triveni, and
Budhinanda municipalities and Khaptad Chhededaha,
Gaumul, Swamikartik Khapar, and Jagannath rural
municipalities (Gaunpalika) of Bajura district are
completely dependent on Martadi for goods and services.
Housing/Building Morphology and Transformation
Building structures in Martadi represent the overall high
mountain towns of Nepal. There are about 15percent
households with a single room, about 48 percent with two
rooms /buildings have more than two rooms. Similarly,
only 22 percent of the families are living in rented
accommodation, nearly 3 percent reside in temporary
sheds constructed on rented lands (Badimalika
Municipality, 2015). More than 90 percent of the houses
have been constructed with mud bricks/stone. Cement
bonded bricks/stone foundations comprise only about 2
percent and an additional about 2 percent were wooden
pillars (CBS, 2011). There were only 2 houses have
Reinforced Cement Concrete (RCC) structure design
(CBS, 2011). However, there is a growing trend of RCC
building construction and newly constructed houses are
made by cement bonded bricks/stone or RCC in the
Martadi area. The traditional mud mortar houses
construction in the bazaar area is in a declining stage with
the increasing trend of construction of cemented buildings.
Tile/slate is the major material for the construction of roofs
in the study area (Figure 3). More than 77 percent of
houses have tile/slate roof (Photo 1). Only 1.46 percent of
houses have been made up by using modern construction
materials such as Rod-Cement-Concrete (RCC).
However, during the fieldwork period, it was observed that
straw/mud and tile/slate were replaced by galvanized steel
(tin roof) and RCC; and new buildings/ houses have mostly
been constructed with RCC frame in the Market area. At
present buildings with RCC pillar foundation as well as
cement-bonded brick/stone, the outer wall is observed
increasing gradually in Martadi area which also indicates
the changing scenario of building construction in Martadi
area. It also indicated that traditional mud bonded
brick/stone foundation and outer wall houses are gradually
replaced into modern houses in Martadi areas.
Photo 1: Building Typology Figure 3: Materials Used in Buildings

6. Urban Form and Land use Transformations in the High Mountain Town of Martadi (Bajura) Nepal
Kedar D. 205
Photo 2: Change in building morphology, increasing use of modern constructional materials
The gradual transformation of housing morphology began
a few years ago with the road transportation facility linking
Dhangadi to Martadi via Sanfebagar and Dipayal. These
days people prefer to construct modern houses rather than
the traditional typical house due to the shortage of
traditional housing materials, skilled workers, and
increased cost of traditional houses. Photographs (Photo
2) shows the morphological transformation of houses at
Martadi and peripheral areas:
The housing morphology seems almost similar in several
aspects in Martadi and surrounding settlements (Photo 3).
Generally, the ground floor of the house is used for
business/shops in market areas while it is used for storage
of firewood, planks, grains, etc. in the other corner of the
ground floor. The open kitchen with improved cooking
stoves, traditional cooking patterns or gas stoves, and
traditional utensils are observed. Housing structures of
Martadi and surrounding areas reflect the local geography,
climate, culture, and tradition. Settlements located in
relatively high altitudes and ridge have small windows to
prevent cold wind during winter.
Photo 3: Typical morphology of local houses at Martadi
Settlement Pattern
Martadi has developed in the form of the compact
settlement that lies in the upland on edge of Bauligad
River, and Sanfe-Martadi road has passed through it.
Being the district headquarter as well as the major market
centre of Bajura district; and one of the major settlements
located on the trans-Himalayan trail connecting Rara lake
to Khaptad national park (famous tourist destination sites),
there is a high scope of urban expansion in the future. After
the construction of Sanfe-Martadi road, most settlements
are concentrated in and around Martadi and the roadside.
These settlements are mostly linear and cluster pattern.
Historical Google earth images have also depicted that the
rapid expansion of Martadi from the last ten years from
dispersed to the cluster to linear cluster patterns (Figure
4). Kolti, Dhamkane, Tipada, Betakmandu, Rithebazar,
Jadanga, Bire Khola, Rapak, Bhaunera, Pata, Chuthi are

7. Urban Form and Land use Transformations in the High Mountain Town of Martadi (Bajura) Nepal
other local markets where gradual changes have also
been observed and urbanization seems to be increasing
gradually in the future.
Figure 4: Changes in Settlement Form of Martadi Bazar area in 2008-2017
Source: Google Earth Achieve Images, 2008-2017.
Land use and Future Expansion of Town
High mountain town like Martadi has limited space for
urban expansion. However, being a potential Himalayan
town, future expansion of this town is inevitable. At
present, cultivation is the dominant land use and built-up
(including residential, commercial, institutions, and
infrastructure) area is covered about 37 percent. Forest
and bush are limited to only 5.54 hectares (9.29 percent)
in Martadi area (Figure 5).

8. Urban Form and Land use Transformations in the High Mountain Town of Martadi (Bajura) Nepal
Figure 5: Urban form and Expansion in Martadi Town (existing and proposed)
However, there is high scope for the development of
Martadi through planned interventions. Land-use zoning is
one of the important tools to regulate urban development
and economic and social development of the town.
Keeping this fact in mind, this study has proposed different
land use classes in Martadi. In the planning framework,

9. Urban Form and Land use Transformations in the High Mountain Town of Martadi (Bajura) Nepal
the existing built-up area has been divided into different
zones e.g. mixed (residential and commercial), industrial,
institutional, and potential urban expansion areas. Out of
59 hectares area of Martadi, 24.60 hectares has been
proposed for urban development areas whereas mixed
(residential and commercial), industrial and institutional
area have been proposed as 1.06 hectare, 4.41 and 9.28h
hectare respectively. Existing urban areas of Martadi
which has been proposed as core urban areas consist of
20.28 hectares (Table 1). This shows the future internal
land use structure of Martadi area.
Table 1: Land use classes in Martadi Area
Existing Land use Proposed Land use
S.N. Type Area (ha.) percent S.N. Type Area (ha.) percent
1 Built UP 22.27 37.35 1 Mixed (Residential &Commercial Area) 1.06 1.78
2 Forest and Bush 5.54 9.29 2 Industrial Area 4.41 7.40
3 Cultivation 31.82 53.36 3 Institutional Area 9.28 15.56
4 Core Urban Area 20.28 34.01
5 Potential Urban Expansion Area 24.59 41.24
Total 59.63 100.00 Total 59.63 100.00
The analysis revealed that future scenarios of conversion
agriculture and barren land into industrial, institutional, and
residential purposes have been increased significantly.
The urban core area will be developed in the present main
market area whereas the mixed zone will be developed
around the core area and beyond that, a large chunk of the
residential zone (urban expansion site) will be developed.
Beyond that industrial and institutional zone will be set up
and forest and agriculture afterward. This will shape
Martadi into a planned and sustainable town in the future.
CONCLUSION
Martadi, generally, has been overlooked in development in
the past. It is a rural district headquarter and was not been
connected in the mainstream development of the country
due to lack of physical infrastructure, services, and
facilities. Due to geographical remoteness and lack of
proper connectivity, it was supposed to be slagged areas
of development in the past. After designation municipal
status, Martadi has gone through a rapid change in land
use by increasing in-migration from the rural and ridge-top
to valleys. In recent years, regional connectivity has also
been increased. The trans-Himalayan trail linking Khaptad
national park to Rara lake national park (renowned tourism
sites) (vice-versa) in the high mountain region through
Martadi has also increased the mobility of people goods
and services, and this has resulted in rapid infrastructure
development, population concentration, and service
facilities which are also called ‘transformation’. In this
process, traditional housing units and buildings have
rapidly been re-shaped into modern by increasing the use
of modern constructional materials e.g., iron, cement,
brick, etc.; which ultimately has changed the
morphological characteristics of Martadi. Major
morphological cases found in Martadi are dispersed to
linear cluster patterns of settlement which are identified on
the basis of field observation, service availability, and
accessibility. This also drives the town into further
expansion in a certain direction led by development
infrastructure, services facilities, and road networks. It
seems that agriculture and bushland use have rapidly
converted into residential and other service facilities and
institutional use. Therefore, being a high mountain town,
(rural) urbanization and related processes have brought a
significant change in land use pattern and ultimately its
morphological features of Martadi Bazar area.
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Accepted 21 December 2020
Citation: Dr. Kedar D (2021). Urban Form and Land use
Transformations in the High Mountain Town of Martadi
(Bajura) Nepal, International Journal of Geography and
Regional Planning 7(1): 200-209.
Copyright: © 2021: Kedar D. This is an open-access
article distributed under the terms of the Creative
Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted
use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original author and source are cited.