A comparative analysis of development plan of Colombo and

Thiruvananthapuram

This study is a comparison between two cities in context of their development plan and
related features of the plan. Here, Thiruvananthapuram and Colombo are selected for the
comparative study based on some distinct commonalities in both cities. These cities share
many similarities such as both are capital and port city. Both are even very similar in their
geographical, socio-economic and cultural structure.
Both are fast growing cities and hence their urbanization is also at fast pace. Hence it is
interesting to look at the development planning of both cities. The area of both cities for
which the development plan is prepared comes under municipal boundary. Colombo has
Municipal Council (CMC) with 47 wards and Thiruvananthapuram has Municipal Corporation
(TMC) with 100 wards. CMC has an area of 37 sqkm with a population of 5.55 lakhs. Whereas
TMC has almost six times larger area than CMC that is of 215.86 sqkm with a population of
9.86 lakhs which is almost twice of CMC’s. In case of population per hectare, the difference is
almost three times with TMC having 46 pph and Colombo with 150 pph. So, in terms of area
and population both are very different. One is sparsely populated and other is having a dense
population. So, the nature of planning will also differ accordingly.
As area of TMC is larger but with less population, so availability of vacant lands will be
obviously more than that in Colombo. Now this can be verified from the respective
development plans of both the cities. Thiruvananthapuram has a master plan and the latest
one is in draft stage which is planned till 2031. Whereas Colombo city has a development plan
which also interestingly in draft stage proposed till 2030. Both of them are open for public
review. So, the study has been done on these draft plans and hence in future will be subjected
to change.
The statutory base for both is derived from their respective urban development act with a
legal backup. The preparation process is more or less similar with different sections of the act
explaining different stages from plan preparation to plan sanction. They both goes through
extensive level of reviews through different stakeholder consultation and authorities. These
plan has a broader vision which envisages the main motto of the plan. Colombo’s
development plan has a vision to be an Aquarina (financial destination) in the southern
waters. While Thiruvananthapuram’s master plan has vision to make the city a sustainable
city. Around the vision, many other major objectives are enlisted.
During plan preparation Colombo adopts SWOT analysis to analyze the current scenario and
then based on these facts the future plans are proposed. Whereas in Thiruvananthapuram
the strategy is based on analyzing existing conditions and problems occurred during previous
plan implementation and make modifications accordingly. But these cities also consider the
current growth pattern which is going to influence the future development patterns and
overall transformation of the city.
These plans have a broader zoning plan per se which classifies the planning area into different
zones based on the existing use of the land and also based on the future development of
those lands. As it was inferred above that TMC may have large availability of lands for

Exercise 2: DP Studio: Colombo & Thiruvananthapuram Kumar Saket I Kamaldeep Kaur

A comparative analysis of development plan of Colombo and
Thiruvananthapuram

development which is confirmed from its zoning or proposed land use plan. It has only 26 %
developed land over developable area planned in the master plan. Whereas CMC has almost
100% developed land where only redevelopment can be planned or vertical development can
be proposed. So, Thiruvananthapuram will have more of horizontal development in coming
future. It can see some high rise development in core commercial areas or in IT industrial
zone.
Both the cities have many differences in their planning but few objectives of both are in
common like planning for future economic base of the city and strengthening the current one.
Both these cities are wonderful tourist places. So, both have included tourism as an important
sector in their plans. Also they have plans to develop their port and make them competitive
in the world. The waterfronts like coastline and interior lakes are to be redeveloped for
making them vibrant tourist places. The tourism promotion has good economic potential.
Even the urban heritage are also put in different zone to restrict any unpleasant development
which can hamper its importance. The green and blue network in both the plan has been
given importance in order to have make the cities a resilient city.
These cities also plan to improve and expand their physical and social infrastructure through
their plans. In physical infrastructure, Thiruvananthapuram has different transportation zone
for which separate transport plan is made with all proposed roads, railways, waterways,
airport and all other modes of transport are dealt in detail. The main focus of this plan is to
encourage public transport in order to decongest the city roads and also control vehicular
emissions. In Colombo all the transport proposals are separately planned at province level
and the development plan of the city inculcate them in itself. In spite of different ways of
planning, both has proposed multimodal transport hub including LRTS and BRTS.
As the denseness of the development increases, more is the pressure on existing basic
infrastructure like water supply, sewerage network and storm water system. So, these
infrastructure are planned as per their shortage in the city mainly in the undeserved
settlements. Even the plan has to be synced with housing schemes for the poor and slum
dwellers. The housing shortage is also discussed required for the growing population and
projected population are also planned. These plans also have major interventions in
improving health and education through providing them a different zone.
At the end the development controls and building regulations are to be compared for both
cities. In Thiruvananthapuram, this portion has four parts, namely, zoning regulations, zone
wise varying FAR, transferable development rights and special guidelines for preparation of
detailed town planning schemes. In case of Colombo, there are separate zonal regulations but
more important is given to building height control instead of directly emphasizing on FAR. At
the micro level, development guide plans or project based plans are prepared for plan
implementation.

Exercise 2: DP Studio: Colombo & Thiruvananthapuram Kumar Saket I Kamaldeep Kaur