Planning
Origins of the OPP Sanitation Programme
Sometime in 1973, I received a phone call from a person who called himself the ‘Chor (robber) man’ of the federal government’s Appropriate Technology Development Cell (ATDC). He wanted to see me immediately. I told...
KARACHI’S STREET ECONOMY
Fruit vendors and other hawkers at a bazaar in Karachi | Courtesy the writer This article draws upon the work I have done at different times with Architects Asiya Sadiq Polack and Christophe Polack, Dr...
The Future of Karachi’s “Public Spaces” – An Interview with Archi Times
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...
The Density Debate
AMONG professionals, a debate on post-corona-related planning, especially on density issues, has begun. They are out to create a new and more humane world. I would like to vulgarise this debate by injecting an element...
Post-Covid planning
Before the coronavirus arrived, the directions for the development of Karachi had already been set in keeping with neoliberal thinking. The city was going to be ‘gentrified’, which meant taking away space from the poor...
Union Councils
According to activists who have participated in coronavirus-related relief measures, a number of learnings have surfaced from their work and from that of the NGOs they have been associated with and from government efforts. One,...
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...
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,...
Icon Remembered
DR Akhtar Hameed Khan, the iconic South Asian social scientist, died in the US on Oct 8, 1999. His body was brought to Karachi and buried in the compound of the Orangi Pilot Project (OPP),...
Pakistan: Urban Housing Issues
Pakistan is the seventh most populous country in the world. According to the 2017 Census, its population is 207.7 million and has grown at the rate of 2.4% per year in the intercensal period. Its...
Houses Or Housing?
The seriousness of the housing issue in Pakistan can be judged from the fact that conservative estimates put the housing backlog at 9 million units which is increasing at 300,000 units annually because of unmet...
Urbanization Trends in South Asia – The Case of Karachi
Urbanization Trends Unprecedented migration Densification of informal settlements (due to necessity) Densification of formally planned areas (speculation with government support) The impact of neo-liberal policies: Housing to be accessed from the market Increasing housing-supply gap...
