Exploring Traditional Building Materials for Urban Housing in Sri Lanka: Benefits, Obstacles, and a Path Forward amid Economic Challenges

This study examines the abundance of traditional building materials in Sri Lanka, considering material properties. It evaluates local materials like adobe, bamboo, thatch, stone, timber, coconut trees, and grasses, highlighting their cost-effectiveness compared to imports. The research aims to analyze advantages, challenges, and solutions related to using these materials for affordable housing amidst economic difficulties. The study finds benefits such as cultural preservation, material affordability, energy efficiency, reusability, and biodegradability. Challenges include acceptability, durability, deforestation, limited strength, and maintenance. Recommendations focus on adopting and improving local materials for resilient housing. This research contributes insights to traditional building materials in the Sri Lankan context, with implications for the broader region

Challenges of Urban Home Gardens: Perspectives on Vertical Living Walls as an Alternative in Colombo, Sri Lanka

Due to significant urbanization, Colombo is vulnerable to rising temperatures due to the lack of green spaces, development of construction and other explicit problems. The concept of home gardens could be a solution for a sustainable livelihood. A research survey has been conducted to study and identify the garden experiences among residents of 13 Colombo District Secretariats. The "Statistical Package for the Social Sciences" (SPSS) program 17.0 and Microsoft Excel are used to analyze the data and 100 responses were selected. 85% of participants occupy a garden space, however, results show a high percentage of unavailability of garden space and above-ground garden spaces around Colombo city. 70% of the participants are familiar with LWs but their perception is low due to the Cost, and maintenance. Nevertheless, 52% of the individuals agreed with the fact that LWs can be implemented in affordable ways which are easy to install, use or maintain.   © 2022 The Authors. Published by Department of Estate Management and Valuation, University of Sri Jayewardenepura   Keywords: Colombo DS; Living walls; perception; Urban Gardening; User Surve

Landscape-Based Mitigation Strategy for Addressing Human-Elephant Conflict in Horowpathana, Sri Lanka: A Comprehensive Study

Horowpathana has been identified as a hotspot of human-elephant conflict in Sri Lanka's north-centralprovince, where quick intervention is required. But Sri Lanka never had a consolidated action plan toaddress the problem. This study deals with the question of how landscape architects can contribute tomitigating the problem in the area. It aims to create a design proposal that facilitates elephant requirementsand offers functions and recreation for the residents at the same time. The design is based on the method ofanimal-centred design. The study demonstrates that such conflicts can be resolved through preciselandscape design that considers the issue on the specific site. Effective implementation requires stronggovernance structures and policy support from stakeholders like governmental institutions, conservationorganizations, and academics. Collaboration between infrastructure developers and conservationists canreduce the harmful effects of development projects on wildlife by employing proper design methodologiesand undertaking further research to assure establishment efficacy

Landscape Based Mitigation Design for Addressing the Human Elephant Conflict in Katupotha Area in Puttalam District

The connection between Human elephant conflict (HEC) is quite old in Sri Lanka. Elephants and peoplehave some similar ecological needs therefore, conflict between the two species is unavoidable when theycoexist in the same area. Katupotha is one of the villages that has HEC in Sri Lanka belonging to thePuttalam district and located 29.2 and 4 kilometers away from the Anamaduwa and Pallama respectively.Mainly, elephants enter the village through a place in Rathambala stream where there is less depth andwidth. According to the villagers, elephants are coming there in every year during the month of August,when the rain is very low. Therefore, the landscape solution was designed mainly to fulfill the elephants’water and food requirements. To avoid the entering of elephants to the village, the landscape of theRathambala oya area was changed by creating water features, fruiting areas, and bio fences

Addressing Human-Elephant Conflict in the Sinharaja Forest Reserve Area: A Comprehensive Study on Landscape Design Approaches

Human-elephant conflict is a major problem in Sri Lanka which has existed since recent past times and now it has increased. Sinharaja rainforest is a tropical rainforest and it has two male elephants who have special concerns due to the limited number of wet zone elephants in Sri Lanka. Because of roads and tea plantations their natural corridors have been blocked. Therefore those elephants tend to enter residential areas and plantations. As landscaping solutions maintaining their corridors with their favourite trees and grasses leads the elephants through only the corridors and avoid entering the other areas. To join the forest fragments onboth sides of the road, an eco-bridge can be used. To enhance tourism around the forest reserve, elephantwatching stations can be established. White colour rounded or sharp stones can be used as a buffer zone.Besides, to prevent elephants from entering roads, Citrus bio fences can be established