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The Urban Housing Crisis

Venue: Conference Hall, CDPR
Date: 5th March 2019, Tuesday
Time: 3.30 pm to 5.00 pm

According to the 2017 census, Pakistan is now the seventh most populous country in the world, with a population growth rate of 2.4 percent. Moreover, Pakistan’s urban population has grown at a rate of 2.7 percent. A history of poor planning and implementation has resulted in a major urban housing crisis with tens of millions of people living in ‘katchi abadis’ without security of tenure, while scores of people have been forced to live on sidewalks and underneath bridges. There is now stark evidence that housing demand far outstrips the rate at which it is supplied.

The causes for the crisis we face are multiple and varied, and to an extent, poorly understood. Therefore, to discuss the issue, CDPR invited the following people to share valuable insights:

Mr. Ammar Rashid (Visiting Faculty at QAU, Senior Researcher at Heartfile and a petitioner in the Supreme Court case on the right to housing) – talked about the nature of the urban housing crisis.

Mr. S.M. Imran (Vice Chairman LDA and Housing Taskforce Member) – talked about the taskforce’s flagship initiative Naya Pakistan Housing scheme amongst other policy reform measures.

Ms. Sahr Khan (Community Development Specialist at Ansaar Management Company, an affordable housing provider) – shared her experience working as a practitioner and shed light on community needs and requirements for successful affordable housing provision.

Mr. Khalid Sherdil (CEO Urban Unit, Government of Punjab) – talked about the reasons this issue has not been adequately addressed in the past and what we can expect in the future from policymakers.

Ms. Fizzah Sajjad (Urban Planner) – moderated the session.