A vision to reclaim the streets of Karachi

The focus globally is now on making cities more inclusive, bringing about social cohesion and, as a result, paving the way for community bonding and equitable urban growth. This is considered an integral cornerstone of a smart and resilient city.

To bring about this social cohesion, there is a need for cities to have a vibrant and expanded footprint of public spaces. Other than the more well-known types of public spaces such as parks, beaches, markets, there is now also an emphasis on finding new and more innovative ways of creating public spaces.

In this context, there is a movement growing globally to reclaim streets as public spaces where more physical space is reclaimed by removing encroachments, improving street connectivity, pedestrianising streets and revitalising the prosperity and environmental sustainability of neighborhoods and districts.

Read: De-mugging the streets of Karachi

Karachi has had a rich history of such exciting, vibrant and public streets. The old city, Alphinstone Street, Victoria Road and the activities witnessed in spaces such as Fankar Gali, Qawalli Gali and Kitaab Gali offer a historical legacy of a vibrant street culture that unfortunately declined in its intensity and intrinsic cultural value due to rapid, unplanned urban growth.

There is a need to revive Karachi's street culture and reclaim places of great historical value. A pioneering effort in this regard has been undertaken where the Custom House has partnered with a team of leading city planners and designers the likes of architect Shahid Abdulla and designer Danish Azar Zuby to reclaim the historical legacy of and rejuvenate the Eduljee Dinshaw Road that serves two prestigious architectural landmarks of Karachi: Karachi Port Trust building and the Imperial Custom House.

The project is the brainchild of Tariq Huda, the Customs collector and the Governor of Sindh and Karachi Commissioner have also instructed their offices to lend all possible support to make the vision a reality.

Why revive?

It was felt that owing to neglect, the road was becoming infamous for the worst forms of traffic jams, was being used as garbage dumping site, shops were being converted into warehouses and the road itself was becoming a favoured space for drug peddlers. The project team envisioned turning the space into a model neighborhood by implementing strategies for easing traffic congestion, placing road side pavements, street furniture such as benches and shades to improve road connectivity and movement for pedestrians and water bodies so that families start visiting the space again.

The ground-breaking of the Eduljee Dinshaw Road Project was done by Governor Ishratul Ibad Khan on November 11, 2014. The project, now in the implementation phase, is being managed with great zeal, enthusiasm and in the true spirit of citizen activism.

As team member Danish Azar Zuby puts it, the best part of the project is that all the stake holders, government, private entities and civil society groups are on board. Not only that, they are very happy because there is no burden on the state, as the entire project is being financed by philanthropists and donors, with almost half of the work having been completed in less than three months.

Read: City streets bleed green

Specific interventions include bringing to its old glory the Jhule Lal Mandir, relocating and renovating the Custom House Museum, improving the triangular space between the Karachi Port Trust (KPT) House and the Mandir, with the introduction of a dancing fountain for visitors, placing of statues of Pakistani heroes, the introduction of Baloch cuisine on the streets and creating performing platforms for local artists such as Qawalls from the Karachi shoe market.

The area around the Aga Khan Jamat Khana is also being considered to be rejuvenated by developing architecturally relevant and appealing hotel spaces. The KPT will be opening up the stadium for pedestrian access so they can watch games with the possibility of laying a walking track for public use adjacent to the stadium.

The streets are being cobbled with benches, trees and water bodies. To steer and manage the project in a participatory and transparent manner, the Eduljee Dinshaw Road Project Trust has been established.

Such initiatives and interventions are most welcome and if they find a larger footprint, can go a long way in promoting greater community bonding, social cohesion and cultural and environmental sustainability in the city.      
The writer is an urban planner and runs a non-profit organisation based in Karachi city focusing on urban sustainability issues

Published in The Express Tribune, August 24^th, 2015.