Development Ethics
AKHTAR Hameed Khan, the celebrated South Asian social scientist, died 20 years ago in October 1999 in America. He was buried in the compound of Karachi’s Orangi Pilot Project Research and Training Institute — in...
Residential Segregation In Mithi and Karachi
Abstract This paper responds to the article by Gayatri Singh, Trina Vithayathil and Kanhu Charan Pradhan on residential segregation by caste in urban India, in this issue of Environment and Urbanization. It compares caste-based residential...
The Future of Karachi’s “PUBLIC” Spaces
Public space’ has recently become a buzzword in the world of urban planning. The term has also filtered into Pakistan although there have been individuals and organisations who have worked, against great odds, on the...
KCR Victims
ON May 9, the Supreme Court ordered the Pakistan Railways to remove ‘encroachments’ from the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) right of way within 15 days, after which the Sindh government would take over the project...
The Karachi Context
Population 435,887 (in 1941) 22,000,000 (in 2011) Karachi contains (1998 figures): 10% of Pakistan’s total population 25% of Pakistan’s urban population Major source of information: Television 77% of households Migration Over 84 % of Karachi’s...
The Churches, Temples, and Shrines of Karachi
This study was initiated by Arif Hasan in 1987 and was carried out until 2010. The research work was conducted by Architect Aqsa Mumtaz. She was assisted by an engineer, Abdul Hakim, from Arif Hasan’s...
The Future Of Karachi’s Saddar
For the past 30 years, the future of Empress Market and hence of Karachi’s Saddar has been a subject of debate among architects, planners, administrators and politicians. Some have proposed that the building should be...
City & Plans
THE recent demolitions of formal and informal businesses in Karachi have raised some important questions. What is a city? What are encroachments? What is culture and heritage and law? The city is where people live,...
Anti-poor Bias?
IT is estimated that Karachi’s informal economy is between 30 to 40 per cent of the city’s total economy. Most of it consists of informal markets scattered at various locations where businesses can be carried...
Saddar Massacre
One of the reasons given for the demolitions is the protection of heritage. But heritage is not simply a dead colonial stone building. It is a living thing, enjoyment and a form of participation for...
Karachi Demolitions
THE Supreme Court of Pakistan has ordered that Karachi be restored to its former ‘glory’ of 40 years ago by demolishing all that which was not legally constructed since then. This is simply not possible....
Pakistan Quarters
JAMSHED Quarters, Martin East, Martin West, and Jahangir Quarters are all part of Karachi’s Pakistan Quarters that were built on state land for government servants at the time of Partition. They are located on the...
