![]() ![]() But corruption and power dynamics often result in land use changes that favour developers and investors. Ostensibly, bodies such as the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA), the Karachi Development Authority (KDA), and the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) have legal authority over residential zones. This growing hunger, exhibited by ‘development’ and construction groups, to mutate such localities into homogenised areas populated by high-rise buildings, is emblematic of a wider problem facing the city - one which will result in a great environmental and social cost The dynamics of power and politics are transforming the historical neighbourhoods of Karachi. The issue of scale plays a critical role in a city such as Karachi, where most of the development takes place under the aegis of the builder mafia, without any environmental impact assessment (EIA) or structural research and development. It discusses the architectural, spatial, emotional and communal capacities of these spaces, and addresses the concerns arising from the city’s transformation into a concrete jungle. The emergence of such buildings begs the question, what impact are these newly springing up high-rises having on the architectural and natural heritage of these localities? This article delves into the dynamic nature of Karachi’s old neighbourhoods, which are now being shaped by the politics and power at play that allow these real estate developers to implement their visions for the city. It declared certain areas of the city ‘high density zones’, allowing developers to construct high-rise buildings in these areas. The law would go on to have a crucial impact on various regions, notably, a significant section of Karachi’s Clifton area. ![]() In an attempt to tackle this ever-growing problem, the Sindh High Density Development Board Act (2010) promoted a single solution to this issue: vertical expansion. Karachi, listed as the world’s third most dense city, trailing only Dhaka and Mumbai, has a density of about 2,800 persons per hectare, and the city is grappling with the issue of urban growth management. It is a sad reality that, in many ways, so much of Karachi’s architectural and natural heritage has already been sacrificed at the altar of ‘development’, due to which people have been displaced and lives have been irrevocably transformed in the process. But now these new developers have displaced our memories, our inheritance.” The facades and terrain which once defined Old Clifton have now fallen under the unrelenting shadow of high-rises | All photos and maps courtesy of Marvi Mazhar and Associates (MMA)įollowing a forced eviction from her home at the hands of Karachi’s infamous builder mafia, a resident of Old Clifton glumly states, “My children have played under the shade of the indigenous trees in our compound here for years, and I always felt they provided an element of protection. ![]()
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