Sustainable urban transport and mobility in urban Pakistan discussed at the IBA Karachi

Karachi, December 9, 2019: The Karachi Urban Lab (KUL) held a panel discussion titled, Sustainable Urban Transport and Mobility in Urban Pakistan at the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Karachi Main Campus. The discussion focused on assessing current projects and future potential for transportation in Pakistan. The event was moderated by Director of the Karachi Urban Lab and Professor of City and Regional Planning IBA Karachi, Dr. Nausheen H. Anwar. 

Executive Member of Shehri-Citizens for a Better Environment, Mr. Farhan Anwar gave a presentation about the need to design cities around sustainable methods of transportation such as public transit and walking or cycling. Mr. Anwar critiqued the model of transportation planning that focused on personal vehicles and stressed the need for transit-oriented development (TOD) in Karachi. 

Moreover, Director Transportation Engineering Department, Exponent Engineers Private Limited, Mr. Ashar Lodi shared insights and proposals on public transit in Karachi, specifically the ongoing bus rapid transit (BRT) projects. He presented his ambitious imagining of BRT as an accessible, effective, and cost-efficient way of transforming public transit and mobility in Karachi. 

Associate Professor in the School of People, Environment and Planning, Massey University, New Zealand, Dr. Imran Muhammad spoke about his research in Curitiba, Brazil, where the BRT system largely remains a success story and model for sustainable transport projects in the Global South.

The discussion ended with a Q&A session, led by Dr. Anwar, where the discussants talked about gender inclusivity, data collection, and the role of international institutions.