A city is a large human settlement. People are the main driving force in a city. The dynamism of a city is dependent on people and their behaviour. A preliminary understanding of the composition and diverse capabilities of the populations in a city should be the key to a successful urban study.
This section provides a description of the demographic status and trends in the city, primarily based on 2012 census data, presenting an overall view of the population. Trends and patterns of urban population are discussed including aspects of demography such as age, sex, ethnicity, education levels; and overall observations with regard to migration patterns, suburban population and gender.
Understanding the demographic and composition patterns of the population within the existing physical boundary will help in planning a livable city.
Source - Department of Census and Statistics
Comparison of Population in Sri Lanka with Kandy District and Kandy Municipal Council Area from year 1881 to 2012.(Data in Thousands)
Source - Department of Census and Statistics
Out of the total population within the Kandy Municipal Council limits, 48.59% are male and 51.41% are female.
The proportion of the total population divided by age is 22.59% for children under 15, 22.49%, for those aged 15 - 29, 40.07% for those aged 30-59 and 14.83% for the elderly population over 60 year.
Source - Department of Census and Statistics
Data showing the multinational language skills of ethnic group in 2012 in the Kandy Municipal Council.
Source - Department of Census and Statistics and SoSLC
The data is considering population estimations of SoSLC for year 2017
Source - Department of Census and Statistics
Employment is considered as the main reason for male population migration in to the city, and the females are migrated in the city is due to marriages and also considering employments as well as accompanying with a family member.
Source - Department of Census and Statistics
Sex ratio is calculated as a proportion of males to females in the total population of Kandy MC. The graph indicates that the sex ratio remains roughly equal in the majority of age groups.
Source - Department of Census and Statistics
Kandy’s ethnic city makeup comprises a majority of 69.3% Sinhalese, followed by 15.5 % Sri Lanka Moor, 13.6 % Tamil, and 1.6% Other groups.
Source - Department of Census and Statistics
This describes how domestic leadership is divided into genders. Number of Male headed households are higher than the number of Female headed households in the municipal limit.
Source - Department of Census and Statistics
The total male resident population in the Kandy Municipal Council area is 48023, the total female resident population is 50805
out of which the total male migrant population is 1,393
and the total female migrant population is 50,805. According to that the amount of female inmigrants are comparatively higher than the male inmigrants.
Education has always been a significant element in societal development. The development of education facilities contributes substantially to the development in an urban area.
As a developing country it is crucial to address poverty in order to attain the development goals. Education plays a major role in poverty reduction. Presently, several global cities have been implementing the concept of smart city to improve the quality of life of the society, including in the field of education.
Good educational institutions and coverage enables a population to have decent livelihoods be they self employed or part of the workforce. Understanding how a city provides primary, secondary and tertiary eductional as well as skill development through vocational centres could provide some pointers to how well a city is doing or where it needs to develop further.
Source - Department of Census and Statistics
This graph shows that there is still a higher proportion of males that achieve a higher degree and above despite more females graduating from GCE (O/L) and GCE (A/L).
Source - Department of Census and Statistics
It shows the computer literacy of persons between the ages of 10 and 40 in terms of gender and it explains that 68% of men and 43% of women in the Kandy Municipal Council are computer literate.
Source - Department of Census and Statistics
Around 63 per cent attainment school education while 23 per cent not studying in this 3-24 aged group.
Connectivity is central to key GoSL strategic aims: to promote economic growth, and to rebalance growth across the country’s 9 provinces. Higher the connectivity to any city, better is the urban growth in that city.
Detailed information on key transport aspects including bus and rail transport, freight route maps, airports and logistic systems are aspects that should be considered for a city to be properly interconnected within the bigger system. One of the SDG targets 11.2 is about access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems, road safety, public transport, and if we are to move towards being sustainble, these need to be considered in tranpsort planning. Further, the needs of people in vulnerable situations, women and children, persons with disabilities and older persons should also be considered.
ICT coverage is another way of being connected and recent technological advances enable a city to be better connected through its access to ICTs as well.
Source - Sri Lanka Railways
The graph shows that annual railway passengers from 2012 to 2016 in Kandy municipal council
Source - SOSLC Project
The route buses are the dominant type of vehicle in the area which tolerate the majority of the passengers. Motor cycles and cars/vans are also used in a considerable level.
Source - Sri Lanka Railways
Majority of the rail passengers are using main line to enter and exit the city according to the data.
Source - SOSLC Project
The data is elaborating the pedestrian movements in the city.
Source - SOSLC Project
This highest percentage of vehicles entering into the Kandy MC area between 6 am to 6pm were private vehicles such as motorcycles and car/van/jeeps which cover around 85 per cent of the modal share. Route bus only has an 8 per cent modal share of vehicles.
Source - SOSLC Project
Between 7 am to 9 am is the highest traffic period in the Kandy MC area with peak reached at 8 am due to school and work commuting traffic.
Source - Sri Lanka Police Department
Accident is an undesired or unintended happening. Inevitable accident falls within the concept of fatal or an unfortunate harmful event, event without apparent cause unexpected occurring. A Motor Traffic Accident occurs on highway collision with vehicles, persons or with property.
An Accidents may occur, between a vehicle and other vehicle, vehicle colliding with a person, vehicle colliding with movable or unmovable property, when a vehicle goes off the road, A person being knocked down with another person or due to natural or man made disaster.
Here are the details of the fatal road accidents that have taken place within the Kandy Police Division within the last few years. In addition, the following data file contains further details covering the entire country with an accident classification in varios sub sections.
Cities are the primary drivers of economic development, therefore, Sri Lanka’s cities have a decisive role to play in driving the economy forward by catalysing high value-added economic activities, as the country strives to achieve upper middle-income country status.
According the latest Word Cities report, 80 per cent of global GDP is created by cities, despite their accounting for less than 60 per cent of the world’s population (UN-Habitat, 2016).
The Government of Sri Lanka recognizes the role of urban economy in shaping the future of the country. In this respect, Vision 2025 and Public Investment Programme (PIP) 2017-2020 lays out the urban policy priority actions: to promote western region as economic hub of the southern part of the Indian subcontinent, and to promote strategic city development to secondary urban spaces as provincial economic hubs.
It is also interesting to see how competitive a city is, taking into account current and potential roles of governments, businesses and the private sector in the economic development of the city and urban settlements, best use of human capital, and labour force participation, and existing skills and the job market etc. within demarcated territory.
Source - SOSLC Project
Kandy is ranked as the third highest on the CCI following Colombo and Kurunegala as first and second respectively.
Source - Central Bank Annual report 2017
This graph indicates the rise in estimated per capita GDP in Kandy MC.
Urban governance can be simplified as “how government (local, regional and national) and stakeholders decide on planning, financing and managing urban areas”. It involves a continuous process of negotiation and contestation over allocation of social and material resources and political power.
This section provide a snapshot of the emergent contours of urban governance in Sri Lanka, focusing on financial resilience, service provision and economic dynamism.
Information available here are collected and calculated considering secondary data sets, ground level surveys as well as stakeholder discussions. The city governance index has taken many a factor into consideration and provides a valuable way of assessing our cities and how they rank from a governance perspective.
Source - Department of Census and Statistics
In Sri Lanka the LAs are divided into three types according to its population and size: Municipal Councils (MC, 23) which corresponds to the city, Urban Councils (UC, 41) which corresponds to the town, and Pradeshiya Sabha (PS, 271) which corresponds to the village. They are responsible for providing a variety of local public services including roads, sanitation, drains, waste collection, housing, libraries, public parks and recreational facilities.
Source - SOSLC Project
Kandy is ranked as the 1st best city in City Governance Index (CGI).
An important function of Sri Lanka’s cities is to provide housing for the diversity of residents that support urban life. Sri Lankan early urban settlement legacy – histories, patterns, trends including land use and housing and the development challenges that come along with it have shaped the nature of our cities.
The share of housing as a proportion of built-up area across the different cities was considered, and numerous factors affect the figure. e.g. Anuradhapura, has restrictions on residential developments because of its cultural, historical and touristic importance, other MCs include significant social and economic land use, operating as a hub to surrounding suburbs and rural areas with large residential populations.
Housing policy challenges that are encountered by the city administrators relate to tenure systems, the supply of affordable, high quality housing, and difficulties accessing housing finance.
Source - Department of Census and Statistics
The graph indicates the typology of housing in the Kandy MC Area. The majority of housing (around 87 per cent) comprises single story and two story houses.
Source - Department of Census and Statistics
The graph indicate that in Kandy municipal council, almost 91.7 per cent of the houses were permanent in 2012.
Source - Department of Census and Statistics
Building Units is calculated as a proportion of Divisions in the total Hosing Units of Kandy MC. The graph indicates that the Building Units of Area.
Municipal services is one of the key tasks an urban centre carries out fto ensure a functional living condition for its citizens.
The access to municipal services and the quality of their provision strongly influence the social, economic and environmental performance of a city as well as urban development.
Urban centres provide key services that underpin Sri Lanka’s socioeconomic development. Cities provide key government administration functions, such as vehicle registration services, access to social protection schemes, and a range of additional services (explored in detail in Chapter 9, urban governance in the SoSLC Report). Urban centres provide residents with health and education services: providing equitable access to quality healthcare and education. They also include services to facilitate social recreational activities and promote community cohesion, such as libraries, community centres and sports facilities. Ensuring quality services is a crucial component in securing an urban future for all Sri Lankans.
Source - Department of Census and Statistics
Kandy MC Area has extremely high coverage of electricity and water services with 98 per cent having access to safe drinking water and electricity.
Source - JICA
Almost 16.2 per cent households were not covered for garbage collection, around 13.8 per cent households burning, burying or open dumping their garbage.
Source - IWMI Publication - Solid and Liquid Waste Management and Resource Recovery in Sri Lanka: A 20 city analysis
The Kandy city is a commercial hub attracting many businessmen, making the day time floating population very high. Also it attracts so many local and foreign tourists especially during the “Kandy Perahera” season. Solid waste management in Kandy city is quite a challenge to the municipal council due to these reasons. There are many industries and agricultural practices increasing the amount of solid waste generated. Unlike most local authorities where SWM is a task of the health and sanitation department, there is a separate unit established within the Kandy Municipal Council (KMC) for solid waste management. The collection of solid waste is commendable. Source separation is carried out under thorough monitoring and inspection by the KMC.
A city needs to have an environment that is habitable and conducive with appropriate spaces for people who use the city, while also being resilient in the face of increasing climate risk.
Aspects such as a cities’ air and water quality, quality of the built environment as well as the aesthetic and historic aspects in the city are things we need to look at. However, in the light of increasing disaster risk, managing climate change impact in the light of current urbanisation patterns becomes a key concern, and thus land use planning in a city needs to take this into account.
SDG targets 11.4 (safeguarding cultural and natural heritage) and 11.5 (reducing impacts of disasters, especially floods), 11.6 (air quality and waste) and 11.7 (safe, open and green spaces for all groups) all emphasize that for a city to be sustainable, these aspects need to be considered.
Source - SOSLC Project
the data is visualizing the urban asserts at risk of Landslide.
Source - Disaster Management Center
Kandy MC is not an urban area which undergo frequent large scale flood. According to the records, it only mark 2 houses damaged due to flood in 2012. Still the streets and some low line areas within the city limit are affected from flash floods in rainy seasons. Considering the district level, year 2014 and 2015 records flood incidents which includes deaths (2014 - 1 person, 2015- 2 persons) due to flood and damages on houses and families (2014 - 201 houses damaged and 527 families affected).
Source - National Building Research Organisation
The data elaborates the level of pollutants in the air due to transportation in the city. Recommended sulfur dioxide (SO2 ) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2 ) levels are according to the WHO recommendations.
Source - Department of Meteorology
Here is the change in the annual values of air temprature from 2006 to 2013. According to the Katugasthota Observatory station, air temprature in the area is calculated separately for each month and more information can be downloaded from the following detailed statistics.
Source - Department of Meteorology
Here is the change in the annual values of rainfall from 2008 to 2013. According to the Katugasthota Observatory station, rainfall in the area is calculated separately for each month and more information can be downloaded from the following detailed statistics.
Source - Disaster Management Center
The city is exposed to floods and landslides dominantly
Health conditions (mortality, morbidity, disability) depend not just on standards of living, but on the actual performance of health systems themselves.
Source - Dengue Database - Central Province (http://cp.soslc.lk/)
The daily dengue cases and the steps taken by the local authorities to prevent them are included in the database http://cp.soslc.lk/. It contains information on dengue patients reported from local authorities in all three districts of the Central Province. A summary of that information is included here. Here is the record number of dengue patients in the Kandy Municipal Council compared to the Kandy District. The highest number of dengue patients in the Kandy District is reported from the Kandy Municipal Council.
Kandy Municipal Council Limits: Kandy Municipal Council included land extent of 2,500 hectares.(Data Source _ Survey Deparement) Download Map Here Download Data Layer Here
Kandy Municipal Council Limits with Grama Niladhari Divisions: Kandy Municipal Council Limits comprising 45 Grama Niladhari Divisions are spread over 4 Divisional Secretariat Divisions. They are Harispattuwa, Gangawata Korale, Pathadumbara and Yatinuwara.(Data source_Kandy Municipal Council) Download Map Here Download Data Layer Here
Terrain map of Kandy City: Kandy situated in hill country so terrain is an important feature for any development. So the height differences are given here in the range from 430 m to 900 m with a contour interval of 10 m.(Data source_Kandy Municipal Council) Download Map Here Download Data Layer Here
Road Network within Kandy Municipal Council Limits: Roads are classified by its nature.(Data source Kandy Municipal Council) Download Map Here Download Data Layer Here
Building in Kandy Municipal Council: (Data Source Kandy Municipal Council) Download Map Here
Soil Types in Kandy MC: This shows the distribution of the soil according to its geographical location. (Data Source Kandy Municipal Council) Download Map Here Download Data Layer Here
Water ways in Kandy MC: Here is a map of the waterways belonging to the Kandy Municipal Council (Data Source Kandy Municipal Council) Download Map Here Download Data Layer Here
Proper management of land, a scarce resource, can bring about many benefits. This is of great importance especially in urban areas.
It is timely to figure out how land is allocated and being used for what purpose in our cities today. In order to create well planned cities with a futuristic vision, having a better understanding of current land use is imperative.
Land use maps are categorized into 36 sub-categories under two types – built-up and non built-up. The extent of land in each of these sub categories are indicated below.
The Kandy Municipal Council covers an area of 2500 hectares and 45 Grama Niladhari Divisions within that limits. (For detailed information, please refer to the thematic maps section under the City Information page)
The kandy Municipal area, known as the capital city of Central Province, has built-up land area (1618 hectares) and it covers 64.7% of the total land area. Non built-up land is (881.5 ha) which is just 35.3%.
The built-up land has been categorized under six main categories as residential, commercial, institutional, industrial, transport, public space, cultural and under construction. Non built-up land has been divided into six sub-categories as agriculture, water, forest, wetlands, conservations and barren lands. The built-up land is again divided into 30 subsections. (More information on the respective land use is listed below with charts and land area)
For commercial, industrial and institutional purposes, 78.5 hectares, 1.8 hectares and 100.6 hectares of land are occupied (7.1%, 0.2% and 9.1% of the total land area respectively)
In all of the cities it can be identified that the higher densities are concentrated in the city centres and the expansion is taken place along the roads. The expansion pattern is shaped by the geography of the surrounding area.
The selection of the area for the urban expansion analysis was followed by several preliminary studies. Initially, the urban index values which was identified using the remote sensing information were studied in the respective municipal areas including a fringe area.
Before selecting interested area for the expansion analysis it should consider following facts
- Municipal boundary
- At least 2-3 km buffer around Municipal boundary
- Rough boundary where the physical urban character disappearing
In the remote sensing discipline, the values higher than 0 represent the built-up areas.The boundary for the fringe area was identified by getting the extent of urban expansion as well as a fine boundary where the high-density expansion become insignificant. The identified boundaries were projected on to the latest satellite images to assure the identified urban index values are in line with the existing building densities.
