1 AIT Asian Institute of Technology

The low income housing delivery system in Kathmandu, Nepal

AuthorGurung, Sumitra Manandhar
Call NumberAIT Thesis no.HS-82-23
Subject(s)Housing policy--Nepal--Kathmandu
Low-income housing--Nepal--Kathmandu
NoteA thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, School of Engineering and Technology
PublisherAsian Institute of Technology
AbstractThis thesis constitutes an exploratory study of the low-income peoples' existing housing delivery system for Kathmandu, Nepal. The housing delivery system being the way in which the people on a day-to-day basis obtain housing, in the city of Kathmandu. The main purpose of the study is to identify different housing arrangements developed by the people themselves and the present context of housing needs in the city. The primary objective of the study is to see how the lower income people resolve their day-to-day housing needs, what kinds of housing they obtain and to determine their role in the type of housing they obtain. The second objective is to study the processes by which they obtain these houses, namely, the flow of resources and the people's involvement in the respective housing arrangements. The third objective is to study how the government's housing policies and regulation affect the identified housing types. While conducting the study, information was gathered both from the residents and the local authorities, as well as locally informed people, regarding the details of their housing and the type of arrangement. Based on the primary data, a total of seven housing delivery system and 17 housing arrangement types were identified. As the needs of the people grow new types of housing arrangements are being introduced. The private housing subsystem is the most important and predominant type of housing arrangement, accommodating more than 73 per cent of the low-income people. The employees subsystem provides houses for about 18 percent of the low income population. The traditional or religious housing type is unique to Kathmandu. The study revealed that the people involved expressed a very high level of satisfaction with the type of housing and their environment wherever their own efforts were involved. Contrary to this, people living in institutionally provided housing, with better facilities, were dissatisfied. This indicates that people themselves are the best resolvers of their housing needs and the government can best contribute to the housing delivery system process by assisting the low-income earners to facilitate and improve the existing system.
Year1982
TypeThesis
SchoolSchool of Engineering and Technology
DepartmentDepartment of Civil and Infrastucture Engineering (DCIE)
Academic Program/FoSHuman Settlement (HS)
Chairperson(s)Angel, Shlomo
Examination Committee(s)Etherington, A. Bruce ; Iwami, Toshikatsu ; Stephens, John F.
Scholarship Donor(s)Carl Duisberg Gesellschaft (e.v.), Germany
DegreeThesis (M.Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 1982


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