Urban informality at the river’s edge : Qualitative analyses of institutional intentions versus transnational expectations in Kathmandu’s riparian informal settlements

Abstract

This thesis examines the contested governance of riparian informal settlements in Kathmandu, focusing on the tension between river restoration, housing rights, and urban planning. It compares how institutional and public documents frame riverside informal settlements with how Nepali diaspora members in Finland evaluate Kathmandu’s governance approach. The study uses a qualitative multi-method design, combining document thematic analysis of legal, policy, planning, NGO, and newspaper texts with reflexive thematic analysis of three semi-structured interviews.

The findings show that institutional documents often frame riverside informal settlements as encroachments on public riverbank land, obstacles to environmental restoration, and sources of flood and sanitation risk. At the same time, Nepal’s legal and resettlement frameworks contain rights-based language on housing, consultation, compensation, verification, and protection of vulnerable groups. This creates a gap between inclusive policy language and removal-oriented implementation. The diaspora interviews reveal different priorities regarding environmental and social sustainability, and regarding in-situ upgrading versus relocation. However, participants converge on one central expectation: demolition without credible verification, meaningful consultation, and acceptable alternatives is not legitimate governance.

The thesis concludes that Kathmandu’s future planning should move beyond a simple choice between in-situ upgrading and relocation. A more just and sustainable approach would combine ecological protection with housing rights, participatory planning-derived intervention, livelihood-sensitive relocation, affordability and liveability.