Karachi
Karachi Master Plan 2020
With its 15 million population and an urban sprawl of 1300 sq km, the city of Karachi is the 7 th largest city in the world. Karachi is recognized and valued for its enormous diversity...
Greater Karachi Plan 1952
This book is actually a reproduction of the original report published in 1951. [Click here to download the complete book in PDF]
One Year Later
IN its original form, Karachi’s Empress Market had 280 shops and stalls inside the building. In 1954, the KMC increased this number to 405 and built an additional 1,390 shops and cabins on its periphery....
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 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...
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...
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...
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...
City Running Dry
THERE are neighbourhoods in Karachi that receive water for one or two hours every 36 days; there are those who have not received water for the past six months or more; and there are those...
Where’s Empress Market?
KARACHI’S pre-Partition mayors and colonial administration placed most of our beautiful institutional and iconic buildings on the axis of important roads. As a result, these buildings, before pollution obscured them from view, could be seen...