Abstract
The Asian region is becoming more urban, with over 50% of its population living in cities. Millions of rural migrants flock to urban centers looking for better socioeconomic opportunities. Many of them end up living in informal settlements and working as street vendors, informal transport operators, home-based traders and waste pickers. State officials often see these self-organized livelihood practices and the spaces they occupy as a form of urban blight that requires serious government intervention. In this chapter, we identify the aspirational agenda and the techniques of implementation that shape the planning interventions involving urban informality. We link these patterns to the wider questions of spatial justice, social equity and citizen participation in Dhaka (Bangladesh), Kathmandu (Nepal), Mumbai (India) and Quezon City (Philippines). A cross-case analysis was employed to determine how planning documents entrench the politics of unseeing in these unequal cities. Unpacking the grand urban narratives and planning approaches sheds light on how urban citizenship and rights are framed, exercised and contested in the rapidly urbanizing Asian region.