Ravi Riverfront Urban Development Project
Prime Minister Imran Khan has inaugurated the Ravi Riverfront Urban Development Project (RRUDP) in Lahore the other day. This is the third time the project or its earlier avatars during…
Our urban nightmares
Karachi, a city of around 20 million people, is facing a crisis of governance that is reflected in the poor state of service delivery, and unplanned and unsustainable urbanization -…
Urban planning
Urban planners and designers are currently faced with a series of immense challenges. On the one hand, the world is experiencing a surge in population growth and its subsequent concentration…
Unravelling the urban flood
Pakistan is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change; consistently ranking among the top ten countries affected by extreme weather events on the Global Climate Risk Index by…
Too many planners
RECENTLY, the commissioner Karachi issued a notification dividing the city into three zones: downtown, uptown and old town. Prima facie, it appears to be an attempt to redefine the city’s…
The urban sprawl
Cities are often a reflection of their zoning codes. Unfortunately, in Pakistan citizens never have any say in how their cities and towns are designed. The width of our streets,…
Greater urbanization poses threat
Pakistan is projected to go through rapid urbanisation over the next decade or so with our urban population set to be equal to the number of rural dwellers by 2030.…
The urban present
Soon after the 1998 census results were made public, Reza Ali, an urban planner and researcher from Lahore, wrote a path-breaking article called ‘How urban is Pakistan?’, in which he…
Where buses are burnt
The smouldering carcasses of the newly launched ‘Red Buses’ in Karachi for me were a bleak reminder of the city’s troubled past. Amid the ruins, one can’t help but ponder…
Scorching heat
ANEESA Abdul Sattar knows how to keep cool to reduce thermal stress — drink plenty of water and bathe. Yet both these measures are beyond her. She lives in that…
