The Urban Reconstruction in Nepal Project is a research initiative to investigate aid governance, community-driven reconstruction initiatives and the rebuilding of historic urban settlements damaged by the 2015 earthquakes in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. This research was motivated by the lack of reconstruction progress in urban settlements one year after the earthquakes, and was carried out in conjunction with the Housing Recovery and Reconstruction Platform–Nepal and the Earth Observatory of Singapore. We conducted ethnographic fieldwork in five urban settlements over a period of 18 months. Our research shows that the delay in urban reconstruction was a function of the lack of a clear and well-supported policy for urban reconstruction; limited governance capacity and neglect of municipal- and ward-level officials; financial restrictions caused by the funding cap per family to rebuild their homes; and the lack of a framework to support local community-driven rebuilding initiatives.