After posting the rooftop image, I got a lot of questions. I am motivated to share our 10 year journey. I have witnessed these mechanisms in neighborhoods like PECHS, Azam Basti, many other areas. All it takes is neighborhood association. Let me share some notes
Alternative way of urban neighborhood development; @DHAKarachiOfc I have written a lot on this, it has a failed isolated grid. It doesn't involve the ideology of a neighborhood. This image below is my street in a non DHA zone. We have 30 houses, build an internal association.
We recycle, we have planted more than 70 trees outside. You can see it is the greenest street in the neighborhood. Neighbors take care of street dogs, feed them, children play safely outside like how we use to when we were growing up. There is a lot of trust and care involved.
We organize our trash and our local chacha comes, who has been working with us since last 10 years or more. We give him trash after separating it in our kitchen. He parks his cart, brown bag is all wet waste and white is all recyclable objects. @Solidwastemngt#SouthAsia
The ecosystem of our street is worth studying. This has to do with building trust and believing in mohalla dari. The street has definitely seen a change in last 5 years, where we have now become hosts to many different specie of birds, and the quality of living has changed.
My father and two other neighbors worked on this very hard. We children now follow the foundation of these strategies. Everything is recycled, wastewater is utilized. 'Urban interventions' is a collective term & involves practices for new subversive use of space in architecture.
We may all have the strength to grow our own produce, in any given non contested spaces. The state needs to provide platforms, short loans and mechanisms to make neighborhoods better and ethical. Urban farming, recycling and safe zones is a reality of today. @SindhEco#karachi
Just to add here: these urban intervention mechanisms through a association is done in a very transparent way. No funds are involved. Representative is elected through a tenure.
PECHs and Mohd Ali Society still have a very solid neighborhood association. It’s worth studying. I learnt through conversations and discussions.
Urban neighborhood elections may be a way forward. It is beyond religious and political betterment. It focuses on better living and ethical interventions. @tammyhaq here is a thread you want to read.
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Nature is on emergency mode. World Environment Day is the largest global platform for environmental public outreach and is celebrated by millions of people across the world. We are excited to share our Milaap documentary poster with you on World Environment Day (5th June, 2023)
Milaap releases in June 2023, the documentary film will feature women and the stories of their lives being impacted due to negligent urban planning and its consequences to the river and the sea.
Produced by Marvi Mazhar, Abuzar Madhu and @mzohaibkazi , the short documentary aims to talk about environmental degradation, land rights, human / non-human epistemologies through poems, songs, and inherited knowledge.
I am back on my favourite topic: contested decisions of DHA’s Phase 8, the most ‘planned’ upper class neighbourhood of Karachi. Where real estate is highly valued. But this time I discuss development of religious versus public spaces. @DHAKarachiOfc@SindhCMHouse@DCKhiCentral
In its October 2021 order against the DHA’s land reclamations, the Sindh High Court that the housing authority “had occupied 117 acres of land in Phase 8 illegally, it had reclaimed over 300 acres”. So technically the edge is contested at the moment but construction continues.
Prologue: real estate zones which is an amalgamation of residential, corporate and commercial plots and is approximately 4320 acres of vast land. The area is surrounded on 1/3 sides by water which has been highly commercialized.
Making Karachi walkable is a brave initiative. So no questions on the intentions. But here is a thread explaining why government officials fail when they become urban planners and start thinking for the city from a personal space. @knipofficial@SindhCMHouse@SindhGovt
On KNIP website ‘Design of Boat Basin to Schon Circle & Boat Basin Trail’ – there are 6 points out of which these two: (a) Upgrading roads, streets, & pedestrian crossings within existing rights of ways and (b) Reorganizing traffic patterns and closing certain street segments.
Focusing on these two points we need to understand Street Design is thought of from these three sections: Place – People – Impact. I am trying to wrap my head around 'pedestrian friendly walkway'- starting in opposite direction from Nehr e Khayyam all the way to Bar b Q Tonight.