PAST IN THE PRESENT : A MORPHOLOGICAL STUDY OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE COLOMBO FORT DISTRICT

Abstract

Colombo Fort is not only a heritage jewel of Colombo but it is also from where the sprawl of greater Colombo first began, its early beginnings setting it apart from the rest of Colombo. Colombo is the commercial capital of Sri Lanka. Amongst the chaos in this city, one cannot help but notice the great potential the city has in developing into a more pleasant pedestrian environment. The Colombo Fort lies within a strategic trading hub of the Island as a result it has historically attracted many colonizers from as early on as the 8th century. In the past, it stood as the proud centre that represented the ‘modernized’ area of Sri Lanka. It currently stands dilapidated, more or less abandoned and partly inaccessible due to the current political climate of Sri Lanka. The aim of this dissertation is to study the morphological development of the Colombo Fort area and its ongoing issues of expansion. Through this study I hope to discover the significance of the future developments on the viability of the Colombo Fort area. In a broader aspect, I hope that this study will contribute to the debates on urbanization of historic cities in third world countries.