The Rationale behind the Urban Resource Centre Concept
A lot of information regarding urban conditions and processes is developed by NGOs, CBOs, professional institutions and academia. This information is scattered; it is very different in nature from official information; it does not get publicised and nor is it easily available; and it does not feed into the official planning process or for awareness-raising.
Note on Mohatta Palace Out-Houses
I have visited Mohatta Palace on two occasions to assess the relationship between the out-houses and the Palace Complex. My views on the subject are given below. The Palace is obviously being restored because it...
A Note on Criteria for Listing Historic Buildings in Karachi and its Relationship to a Larger Conservation Plan
Criteria for the final listing of historic buildings have to be prepared as a part of a larger conservation plan and have to be derived from the research work that is required for the preparation of such a plan. The manner in which the conservation law is applied and the incentives and support mechanisms that go with it, also have to be part of the conservation plan. For the development of such a plan there are a number of activities that are necessary.
Ishtirak-e-Aamal
The blurb for this book is in Urdu. Please click on the thumbnail below for a clearer view and explanation of the book.
Working with Government
The success of OPP’s extensive low cost sanitation programme in Karachi’s working class settlement of Orangi demonstrates that low income communities can finance and manage the construction of an underground sanitation system at the neighbourhood...
Physical Infrastructure: Urbanisation and Urban Services
Outline of a Paper on Physical Infrastructure: Urbanisation and Urban Services; For the Development and Planning Division, Government of Pakistan
Ghulam Kibria: TechnoIogy for the Awam
I will not discuss Ghulam Kibria’s book. People more competent than me are going to do it. What I would like to talk about is Ghulam Kibria himself and the background to his single-minded dedication...
Housing Crisis in Central Asia
Independent states have emerged in Central Asia following the collapse of the Soviet Union. The media has paid considerable attention to the larger economic and social aspects of the transition of these states from a...
Note for Members of the Government’s Task Force on Poverty Alleviation
The term poverty alleviation is creating a mindset that increasingly ignores the causes of poverty and seeks only to address their effects. The fact that poverty is the creation of macro and micro level economic and physical planning is ignored.
