Kathmandu, Nepal: A City
Reenvisioned

Leigh Ann Llarena

City Planning 110
Jason Luger
Section 105
December 8, 2017
   2  

Table  of  Contents  

 
 
Part  I:  The  Current  State  of  Nepal  ................................................................................   3    
 
Current  Policy  and  Planning  for  Kathmandu  Metropolitan  City  ...................................  10  
 
Part  II:  Nepal’s  2050  Vision  Plan  .................................................................................  12  
 
Bibliography  ...............................................................................................................  15  
 
   3  

Part  I:  The  Current  State  of  Nepal    

 
Imagine, it’s the late afternoon and your plane has landed in Kathmandu, Nepal.

You get off the plane and the shocking heat of the Nepali wind strikes your face. The

setting orange sun greets you with a range of taxi drivers trying to flag you down for their

service. You drive to the city, and quickly see the overwhelming amount of cars,

rickshaw drivers, and mopeds competing for space on the road. Pedestrians and vehicles

blend with no sense of predetermined order. People cross when they want to cross, while

vehicles squeeze wherever they please. Suddenly, the smooth paved road quickly turns

into an unpaved rough terrain, while street vendors walk around only inches away from

your moving taxi. To the untrained American eye, this is chaos. As your taxi driver

skillfully drives through small, narrow lanes, you finally reach your hotel with a sigh of

relief from the disarray of the streets. Welcome to Nepal.

Nepal is a country of rich culture, and varying topographic forms hosting the

tallest mountain on earth, Mt. Everest, to the flat plains of the Terai region. It is often

called the “land of gods and goddesses” 1 as they celebrate multiple festivals to honor

gods from the two most predominant religions in the country, Hinduism and Buddhism.

The country is filled with bright culture having Nepali as their national language with 36

different dialects and various ethnic backgrounds. Weather in the country is quite

pleasant. During the months of June to August, the hills are green and lush due to

monsoon weather bringing in precipitation. September and November brings in cool

weather ideal for trekking on the mountains, an ideal tourist activity.

                                                                                                               
1
Social and Economic Impact of Tourism on Asian Pacific Region: Report of the
   4  

Nepal’s tourism has continued to economically benefit the country. Tourism in

the country has continued to rise over the years, especially in 1949 when the country has

opened their doors to tourists 2. The introduction of tourists in the country has increased

the prices of commodities and continues to change the way of life for the Nepalese.

Kathmandu has shown a significant amount of influx of tourists in comparison to other

areas of the country. This has caused the government to make efforts to decentralize and

divert foreign visitors to other areas of the country through opening new trekking and

resort areas along with continued publicity of Nepal’s tourism sector. Tourism has

continued to increase and has provided employment to many. In fact, it has given a new

appreciation of the lost art and culture of Nepal, since foreign visitors commonly favor

cultural handicrafts as souvenirs3. Some priorities in this sector are to continue the

promotion of Nepal’s tourism business, decongest Kathmandu and to increase the

connectivity in air travel to make transportation more convenient.

In the other hand, expanding Nepal’s transportation plans in the ground level is

quite tricky, given that the country has “no transport system that is capable of meeting the

needs of an economy that seeks to grow and develop” as early as the 1950s 4. This is

concerning for the future development of the country and quality of life for its people.

The underdevelopment of infrastructure stems from the political instability in the country.

Priorities change with every political transition and change of power. There is inadequate

maintenance of already constructed infrastructure, low utilization of roads partly because

                                                                                                               
2
Hawkins and Asian Productivity Organization, p. 246.
3
Hawkins and Asian Productivity Organization, p. 253.
4
Aran Schloss, The Politics of Development: Transportation Policy in Nepal, Monograph
Series / Center for South and Southeast Asia Studies, University of California, Berkeley,
California, no. 22 (Berkeley, Calif.  : Lanham, MD: Center for South and Southeast Asia
Studies, University of California  ; University Press of America, 1983), p. 14.  
   5  

of syndicates and cartels that constrain mobility, and the lack and stability of funding

resources 5. Existing infrastructure depended on aid from other countries; however, the

2008 recession has caused many to withdraw leaving many of the projects incomplete 6.

Since 2012, Nepal has been pushing to find more funding alternatives through Public

Private Partnerships (PPP). PPP is a “legally binding contract between government and

business for the provision of assets and the delivery of services that allocates

responsibilities and business risks among the various partners” 7 . Through this

partnership, the private sector would be able to fill in the gaps that the public sector is

insufficient in providing. Blending their different resources would generate a more

efficient and cost effective means of financial capital to support future and current

projects.

Another social issue in the country is the gap of female and male participation in

Nepal’s educational system. “Women and girls lag behind their male counterparts”. 8

Studies show that there has been a decline of women students in schools as a result of the

gender insensitivity in classrooms, lack of women teachers that adolescent girls can relate

to, etc. The polarized masculinity and femininity, bullying, harassment, and the concept

of men being valued highly in the Nepali culture discouraged girls to continue with their

education. Girls often wed in early ages making school not a priority. The infrastructure

in schools is equally important. There is a lack of separate toilets with running water for

                                                                                                               
5
Kamal R. Pande and Sarita Sapkota, Private Sector Particiation in Transport
Infrastructure Development in Nepal, 1st ed (Kathmandu: Samriddhi, The Prosperity
Foundation, 2012), pp. 25–34.
6
Pande and Sapkota, p. 24.
7
Pande and Sapkota, p. 37.
8
Sushan Acharya, Gender, Jobs, and Education: Prospects and Realities in Nepal
(Sanepa, Lalitpur, Nepal: UNESCO Office in Kathmandu, 2014), p. 39.  
   6  

students to use. Making sure that students and the younger generation are equipped with

adequate and comfortable facilities in school is important for children’s development

corresponding to the future generation of the country.

Currently, Nepal is undergoing a rapid urban transition. They have a population

shift from rural to urban areas through urban areas expanding and the reclassification of

the land from rural to urban. It is urbanizing in fast rates with population growth of about

7% making it one of the fastest urbanizing country in South Asia 9. About 17% of its

population lives in urban areas, accounting for about 62% of the country’s GDP.

However, due to the lack of planning, poor infrastructure, and political instability, the

country’s current state is being threatened.

The Kathmandu Valley holds about 1.5 million people with a growing rate of

about 4% each year labeling it the fastest growing metropolitan areas in South Asia. It is

the middle of Nepal and has a bowl-shaped landmass with an altitude of about 1,350

meters above sea level 10. Kathmandu sits in the Kathmandu Valley and is the capital city

of Nepal containing about 22% of the country’s urban population. Other cities have been

growing in size along highways, too. However, the rapid growth of urbanization is not

coupled with a growing economic sector. Lack of economic stimuli and the unstable

political issues of the country have driven many of its people to work abroad. This has

caused the country to rely on external remittance flow instead of fostering

competitiveness within.

                                                                                                               
9
‘Managing Nepal’s Urban Transition’, World Bank, p. 1
<http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2013/04/01/managing-nepals-urban-
transition> [accessed 7 December 2017].
10
‘Urban Growth and Spatial Transition in Nepal’, Issuu, p. 28
<https://issuu.com/world.bank.publications/docs/9780821396599> [accessed 7 December
2017].  
   7  

Some of the major challenges that Nepal faces today are the uncontrolled growth

of urban areas. Some of the side effects of this are uncontrolled sprawl, inaccessible
   8  

housing development, loss of urban space, and limited electricity and road connectivity in

the country.11 Firstly, uncontrolled sprawl comes with sanitation problems. Mostly half of

municipalities do not have enough budgets for solid waste and drainage treatment. This

has caused more than 40 millions liter per day (MLD) of discharge of untreated

wastewater into the sacred Bagmati River 12. Major wastewater treatments are out of

service because of broken pipes and pumps with no one to pay for it. The lack of

sanitation programs and lack of implementation is detrimental to the health of the people

and environment. Some avenues of probable solutions for the lack of water source are

rainwater harvesting, ecological sanitation process, grey water recycling and drinking

water treatment system 13.

Secondly, being already prone to earthquakes, the infill of crowded areas and

outward expansion puts the country in an even more vulnerable state for devastating

catastrophes. Informal housing developments are increasing and most of them do not

meet health, safety and seismic scales. This was reflected in the 2015 Earthquake that

struck over across Nepal. After the event there was an influx of makeshift camps.14 Many

of the locals who have lost their property and love ones have problems finding a place to

rent and are forced to rely on relief goods and the camps. Moreover, most of these

informal houses are overcrowded with residents and are built near riverbeds and lowlands

prone to flooding. The problem is not about lacking housing but affordable housing for

                                                                                                               
11
‘Urban Growth and Spatial Transition in Nepal’, pp. 64–65.
12
Water Resources, Security, and Sustainability, ed. by Naresh N. Rimal and others
(Kathmandu? Seepwater, 2006), p. 30.
13
Rimal and others, pp. 30–33.
14
Bandita Sijapati, Migration and Resilience: Experiences from Nepal’s 2015
Earthquake, Research Paper, VII (Kathmandu, Nepal: Centre for the Study of Labour and
Mobility, 2015), p. 30.  
   9  

the Nepalese. This has created the third problem, loss of public space. The infill of

housing has caused people to build and take up open space. The topographic

characteristic of the valley in combination to the lack of open space and vegetation loss

has worsened the pollution in the area.

The fourth problem is that there is limited road and electricity connectivity in the

country due to the varying topography. “On average, a person must walk more than three

hours to reach a paved road” 15. Having people walk for more than three hours to reach a

paved road is not efficient, especially in a state of emergency. It displays how there is a

serious problem within Nepal’s transportation infrastructure. Major work has to be done

to ensure the livelihood of locals. In addition, finding alternative avenues of funding to

support long-term projects is critical provided that national partners withdrawing during

the recession.

                                                                                                               
15
‘Urban Growth and Spatial Transition in Nepal’, p. 68.
   10  

Despite the challenges the country faces, as a whole, Nepal’s cultural heritage and

the natural beauty of its mountains, lakes, and countryside is a great resource that Nepal

can tap into for economic development. Moreover, cities and towns play an important

role for expansion in tourism. Promoting Nepal’s handicraft and agro-processing may be

a great avenue of income for the country at large.

Current  Policy  and  Planning  for  Kathmandu  Metropolitan  City    

 
A current plan for the city of Kathmandu focuses on the transportation sector.

Under the Kathmandu Metropolitan City Office and the Ministry of Federal Affairs and

Local Development, a project titled “Bishnumati Link Road Upgrading Project (BLR)” is

proposed. The plan consists of connecting roads around and across the Bishnumati River

up to Lakha Tirtha. The road runs for about 2.8 km, while funding for the project is

through the Asian Development Bank 16. They highlight how the number of vegetation is

insignificant for the project since they are on the side of the road and will not be affected.

The region is comprised of 151,193 people from multiple caste ethnic groups who have

built clusters of housing along the path of the road. The initial benefits of this project are

the creation of jobs for the construction to begin. They claim that it will make markets

and social services easier and more comfortable for locals to access creating a domino

effect in the city’s education, health, communication and market, as it would make

resources more approachable and easily reachable. Although this may be true, the

construction of the project will lead to the relocation of the community storage water
                                                                                                               
16
‘Plan and Projects | Kathmandu Metropolitan City’
<http://www.kathmandu.gov.np/en/node/17> [accessed 7 December 2017].
   11  

tank, electrical poles and increase of dust and noise pollution. However, the negative

impacts of the project are said to be locally confined and are foreseen to only last during

the construction period of the road.

Reflecting upon the proposed project, it does not have a holistic approach when

considering how the construction of the plan will effect the environment and the

communities along its path. Despite, mentioning the relocation of the water tank and the

number of population in the general vicinity, it lacks to be inclusive of how communities

will be impacted during and after the construction of the roads. Moreover, it overlooks on

ways to plan sustainability through maximizing the potential benefits of increasing

vegetation along the roads. Kathmandu is experiencing high levels of air pollution

because of the loss of vegetation and its bowl-shape topography. The construction of the

roads will worsen the current situation. Despite the effects being temporary, encouraging

the expansion of vegetation like shrubs, trees, etc. will help the biodiversity and air

quality in the city.

The Bishnumati Link Road Upgrading Project seems to take on a top down

approach. The language focuses on the execution of the construction of the road as a vital

goal but seem to disregard the ecological, social, and economic impacts that will and can

happen through the connectivity of the roads. There seems to be no input on how the

ethnic groups in the area will respond and if roads are going to affect the livelihood and

culture of the people. The plan is inadequate in serving the public interest, as it does not

mention social implications of the plan from the immediate people who are affected.

Hence, the plan fails to satisfy the ‘Triple Bottom Line’ practice in planning that

maximizes environmental sustainability, social equity and economic productivity.

   12  

Part  II:  Nepal’s  2050  Vision  Plan    

Kathmandu, Nepal’s 2050 Vision plan would encompass overarching themes of

prioritizing happiness, gender equity and safety to aid the development plans of the city.

Being inspired by Bhutan’s 2020 vision in focusing on their people’s happiness has

inspired this proposal to focus on placing equal weight on the social, spiritual,

intellectual, cultural and emotional needs of a society as it does on material and economic
17
gain . This plan will discuss on how future advancement will look like in the

educational system, sanitary issues, economic productivity, and design.

Nepal’s culture has a very strong division on gender. Their philosophy of holding

males as more superior to women has physically manifested in the educational gap

between boys and girls in school. As children go higher up in their education, girls often

drop out and wed early. This plan will require teachers in all institutions to have 50%

male and 50% female. In addition, it will be required for all teachers in the nation to

complete extensive training on gender sensitivity in teaching and counseling to encourage

gender inclusivity and empowerment in the classroom. Without this training, teachers

would not be able to work nationwide. Each classroom will have counselors of both

genders and encourage education. This follows advocacy planning and gives the

disadvantage a voice. It allows girls and young women a source of empowerment

through education, which equates to their mental and social happiness and safety in and

out of the classroom.

                                                                                                               
17
‘Effective Cities, Happy Citizens: Bhutan’s National Urban Development Strategy |
Cities Alliance’, 2011 <http://citiesalliance.org/node/3386> [accessed 8 December 2017].
   13  

Not only would reform in the education system advocates for gender inclusivity,

happiness and safety, having accessible separate bathrooms with running water within

each half mile of the city will discourage human waste from accumulating elsewhere.

Some of the rivers in Kathmandu hold spiritual meaning as they often disperse the ashes

of their deceased love ones over bodies of water to carry them to the afterlife. It is

disrespectful not only to the Nepalese but to the environment. Hence, if someone was to

throw garbage in the rivers within the city, a fine of about $50 will be solicited. Design

would be incorporated by including greenways along plazas and along roads to provide

for ecological diversity to flourish. Kathmandu will install a separate grey water-

recycling plan to help with the lack of accessible water. Proper disposal and recycling

plants will need to be managed by the local government and community to decide where

and how the process would look like. Integrating the locals and experts with this

discourse forms a communicative model in which all voices are heard in deciding how

the location and proximity of these plants would impact different communities.

Design in this vision would translate to prohibiting the construction of gates as

barriers. Instead, hedges, trees, flowers, and other plants would be used as a substitute.

Neyaz Farooquee’s “Can Urban Planning Help India’s Cities Reduce Sexual Violence

states that the creation of physical barriers as defensive works often manifest in ‘residual

space’ which creates empty landscapes that violence then fills. Discouraging harsh gates

as divisions and replacing it with hedges not only offers an alternative way to divide

space, equally it serves to protect wildlife in the city. Kathmandu is congested air quality

the installments of greenery along roads, houses, and plazas will not only contribute to

the happiness of the people but to the health of they city. Moreover, human activity will
   14  

be encouraged in the streets through creating more plazas for dancing, playgrounds, and

cultural events.

In terms of how the economy will look like, it will be more service oriented.

There will be a focus in tourism using the natural and cultural richness of the city and the

country to drive it. Tourism will be advertised in a way to decentralize major activity to

be limited to Kathmandu, but to different parts of the country. Huge investments would

be necessary to upscale the tourism in Kathmandu; however, a certain percentage of the

financial capital accumulated in this sector would then be used to fund the city. This

creates a positive feedback loop and would redistribute wealth to the city. This Marxist

way of planning would be beneficial for the state of the city as they will eventually fund

themselves and not have to rely on outside sources to keep up with city’s renovations,

etc.

This vision encompasses a plan of having all voices be heard and represented,

empowerment, redistribution of wealth, self sufficient and happiness for the residents of

the city. Through gender equity, girls and women would be better represented in the

professional field. The city would be cleaner, greener and ready for a brighter tomorrow.

 
 
 
 
   15  

Bibliography  
 
Acharya,  Sushan,  Gender,  Jobs,  and  Education:  Prospects  and  Realities  in  Nepal  
(Sanepa,  Lalitpur,  Nepal:  UNESCO  Office  in  Kathmandu,  2014)  

‘Effective  Cities,  Happy  Citizens:  Bhutan’s  National  Urban  Development  Strategy  |  

Cities  Alliance’,  2011  <http://citiesalliance.org/node/3386>  [accessed  8  
December  2017]  

Hawkins,  Donald  E.,  and  Asian  Productivity  Organization,  eds.,  Social  and  Economic  
Impact  of  Tourism  on  Asian  Pacific  Region:  Report  of  the  Symposium  on  
Tourism  Management,  Kathmandu,  Nepal,  1982  (Tokyo:  Asian  Productivity  
Organization,  1982)  

‘Managing  Nepal’s  Urban  Transition’,  World  Bank  

<http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2013/04/01/managing-­‐
nepals-­‐urban-­‐transition>  [accessed  7  December  2017]  

Pande,  Kamal  R.,  and  Sarita  Sapkota,  Private  Sector  Particiation  in  Transport  
Infrastructure  Development  in  Nepal,  1st  ed  (Kathmandu:  Samriddhi,  The  
Prosperity  Foundation,  2012)  

‘Plan  and  Projects  |  Kathmandu  Metropolitan  City’  

<http://www.kathmandu.gov.np/en/node/17>  [accessed  7  December  2017]  

Rimal,  Naresh  N.,  UN-­‐HABITAT  Water  for  Asian  Cities  Programme,  Asia  Forest  
Network,  and  SEEP  (Organization),  eds.,  Water  Resources,  Security,  and  
Sustainability  (Kathmandu?  Seepwater,  2006)  

Schloss,  Aran,  The  Politics  of  Development:  Transportation  Policy  in  Nepal,  
Monograph  Series  /  Center  for  South  and  Southeast  Asia  Studies,  University  
of  California,  Berkeley,  California,  no.  22  (Berkeley,  Calif. :  Lanham,  MD:  
Center  for  South  and  Southeast  Asia  Studies,  University  of  California ;  
University  Press  of  America,  1983)  

Sijapati,  Bandita,  Migration  and  Resilience:  Experiences  from  Nepal’s  2015  

Earthquake,  Research  Paper,  VII  (Kathmandu,  Nepal:  Centre  for  the  Study  of  
Labour  and  Mobility,  2015)  

‘Urban  Growth  and  Spatial  Transition  in  Nepal’,  Issuu  

<https://issuu.com/world.bank.publications/docs/9780821396599>  
[accessed  7  December  2017]