The BRT problem
VARIOUS Pakistani leaders have made bus rapid transit or BRT projects the centre point of their political rhetoric. Often a misleading impression is created that BRT programmes will comprehensively address…
State of transport
The Sindh government’s Karachi Mass Transit Plan 2030 contains six bus rapid transit (BRT) corridors. At a well-attended public meeting arranged by the Sindh Environment Protection Agency, the Mass Transit…
Urban flooding
TAKING precautionary steps to minimise the damage wreaked on life and property seems high on the agenda of the various tiers of government in Karachi. The chief minister has held…
Mobility woes
SARA — not her real name — is a single mother of three who works as domestic help in three houses — a kilometre apart — in Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Karachi. She…
Broke but flashy
One would think that a country like Pakistan, already teetering on the edge of an economic crisis and highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, would prioritise policies that…
Poor livability
IN a recent assessment of urban livability, the Economist Intelligence Unit rated Karachi as one of the world’s least livable cities. The metropolis fared poorly in terms of stability, healthcare,…
Post-poll Karachi
AFTER a long wait, local government elections were finally held last month in Karachi and other locations in Sindh. The PPP, Jamaat-i-Islami and PTI emerged as the three largest parties.…
Fixing Karachi
ONCE again, the hapless residents of Karachi have been given a promise. On Feb 3, the federal railways minister agreed to hand over the Karachi Urban Transport Corporation, a federal…
Building better cities
Pakistan’s new government urgently needs innovative funding sources and frameworks to support urban development. This is even more important as the foreign loan repayments, the defence budget and the public…
What is Pakistan’s urban future?
The 2024 general election was unique in the sense that the manifestos of the major political parties (PML-N, PPP and PTI) recognized the importance of urban planning for promoting sustainable…
