Cultural assets as catalysts for community-led urban revitalization: A case study of Pimbahal Pond Area, Patan Nepal

Cultural assets are increasingly recognized as vital catalysts for post-disaster urban recovery. However, despite their importance, a critical theoretical gap remains in understanding how communities mobilize these assets to meet the capital and institutional requirements of large-scale heritage reconstruction. Using the Pimbahal Pond Area of Patan, Nepal, as a case study, this research explores community-led urban revitalization following the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake. This study employs a qualitative methodology and uses the Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) framework as a foundational lens. Results indicate that a model of Strategic Interdependence is key to a successful revitalization, rather than insular localism. This model facilitated a formalized hybrid governance structure that enabled dynamic collaboration among residents, metropolitan authorities, and international partners. Findings revealed that this model enabled the community to leverage its cultural assets and social capital to negotiate for and co-manage external resources. The process not only ensured an authentic reconstruction but also established a self-sustaining financial and social foundation. Nevertheless, the successful revitalization introduced new challenges of the commodification of culture and the contestation of public space. The main contribution of this research is the formulation of Strategic Interdependence as a necessary theoretical extension of ABCD. It argues that while the asset-based approaches hold significant potential for community-led urban revitalization, their implementation requires careful consideration of power dynamics, cultural integrity, and long-term sustainability. Finally, this study contributes to the knowledge of post-disaster recovery of culturally sensitive assets, providing a transferable model for urban planning and heritage management, particularly in the Global South. • Introduces “Strategic Interdependence” as a key theoretical extension of the Asset-Based Community Development framework. • Resolves tension between top-down HUL (Historic Urban Landscape) heritage policy and bottom-up ABCD community action • Presents empirical evidence from a successful community-led post-earthquake heritage recovery in Patan, Nepal. • Reveals how cultural assets serves as strategic capital for negotiating external resources and ensuring co-management. • Provides a transferable hybrid governance blueprint for community-led urban revitalization in the Global South.