ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an admittedly brief account of urbanization, poverty, and emergence of squatter settlements in Kathmandu. It examines generic linkages between social capital and squatters' actions in Nepal. The chapter presents a more detailed discussion of community activism and illustrates how community empowerment, civil actions and local government can converge to generate social capital. The Kirtipur Housing Project (KHP) illustrates an emergent link between urban development and social capital one that is significant enough to suggest an alternate course in housing and urban development projects. The key lesson the emerges from the KHP is that NGOs must ensure that the relationship with grassroots groups remains empowering while still providing the technical expertise necessary for effective participation. The NGO-networking and grassroots organizations maintained a kind of client-patron relationship. The focus on social capital and contributions from NGOs in urban development processes suggests that civil society must be given the political space to grow and make demands on its own terms.
