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This book identifies past socio-economic conditions in the different ecological regions of Pakistan as viewed by the communities the author has worked or interacted with, present conditions, and emerging trends.
About the author
Arif Hasan is an architect/planner in Karachi. His independent practice has evolved since 1968 into dealing with urban planning and development issues, particularly those concerning Asia and Pakistan. He has been a consultant and advisor to many local and foreign CBOs, NGOs, and donor agencies. Since 1982, he has been involved with the Orangi Pilot Project (OPP) and is the founder Chairman of the Urban Resource Centre (URC), Karachi, since its inception in 1989. Arif Hasan is the author of various books on development and planning. He has served on juries of international architectural and development competitions and is on the board of several international journals and research organizations, including the Asian Coalition for Housing Rights. He has taught at Pakistani and European universities and is currently a visiting fellow at the International Institute for Environment and Development, UK. He has received a number of national and international awards.
Summary
This book identifies past socio-economic conditions in the different ecological regions of Pakistan as viewed by the communities the author has worked or interacted with, present conditions, and emerging trends. It also identifies the actors of change and their relationships with each other and with the larger physical and political context.The volume is divided into six sections, the Mountains, Indus Plains and Western Highlands, the Desert, the River (Indus), the Coast, and the City.
The social, economic, physical, and governance-related changes that have taken place in each are described through extracts from reports, field notes for different development-related work, articles prepared by the author, and extracts from his personal diaries. The section on the city deals with the informal sector in the provision of land and services and the impact of globalization on culture and development. It also contains geographies of resistance by communities to "insensitive" development projects.
