ABSTRACT
Often times in the global South, urban planning guidelines and land use plans exist. The difficulties lie in implementation. Specifically, who must follow the law and where in the city must urban planning be implemented is being negotiated between the government and residents in Nepal. This chapter presents an evolving logic of urban planning practice evident in newly urbanising metropolitan cities. Nepal matters because it is in such spaces where fertile agricultural land is disappearing and houses are being built. This chapter argues that Nepalese urban planning efforts are highly dependent on the local authorities’ relationships with elites in different parts of the city. From 2002 to 2017, a central government with non-elected officials espoused informality, while after 2018 a federal government with newly elected local government officials is adopting incrementalism as an urban planning logic. By utilising the concepts of informality, incrementalism and learning, a space is opened to think and consider the limits of knowledge and power of the local authority. The following questions are raised: For how long will the rural areas and their elites be allowed to circumvent urban planning laws? When will the balance of power shift in favour of the government?
