Understanding Localness of Built Form at the Urban Scale: Case of Karachi, Pakistan
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Submitted
June 29, 2017
Published
June 30, 2017
Keywords:
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Global, Indigenous, Local, Urban Morphologies, Karachi
Abstract
Many cities in the developing world aspire to imitate cities of the West in their built form, since for them this represents ‘modernism’ and the future. Pakistan is a young country and the contribution of a new generation of architects and planners has been inspired by the West, in the post-modern traditions; and not informed by the local cultural, social, and physical aspects of the society. Karachi, within Pakistan, has recently seen the construction of a number of buildings and urban design projects that conform to the international concepts of entrepreneurship and innovation and are a response to the desire of politicians to create a global image for the city.
Using the Urdu word maqamiat in relation to the built form, this research assesses what it means for a city to be local in the context of Karachi, being specific, having particular variables impacting the built form, but dealing with similar issues of identity crises as other formally colonized nations. A combination of deductive and inductive research approach that arches over mixed methods is used in order to reveal the nature and value of maqamiat in the built form.
Semi structured interviews, focus groups, urban morphological documentation, archive review, and personal observation methods have been used for data collecting. Content, narrative, and focus group analyses are used to interpret data. This research is part of a PhD that was undertaken at Oxford Brookes University from 2012- 2016. The research postulates lessons from its study of local processes of built form production about the value given to local places by indigenous communities and the impact of global forces through image ability, aesthetics, and style.
Using the Urdu word maqamiat in relation to the built form, this research assesses what it means for a city to be local in the context of Karachi, being specific, having particular variables impacting the built form, but dealing with similar issues of identity crises as other formally colonized nations. A combination of deductive and inductive research approach that arches over mixed methods is used in order to reveal the nature and value of maqamiat in the built form.
Semi structured interviews, focus groups, urban morphological documentation, archive review, and personal observation methods have been used for data collecting. Content, narrative, and focus group analyses are used to interpret data. This research is part of a PhD that was undertaken at Oxford Brookes University from 2012- 2016. The research postulates lessons from its study of local processes of built form production about the value given to local places by indigenous communities and the impact of global forces through image ability, aesthetics, and style.
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References
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9. Marston, S. A., J. P. J. III, et al. (2005). "Human geography without scale." Trans Inst Br Geogr 30: 416-432.
10. Mumtaz, K. K. (1999). Modernity and Tradition: Contemporary Architecture in Pakistan. Lahore, Oxford University Press.
11. Oliver, P. (1997). Encyclopaedia of vernacular architecture of the world, Volume 1, Theories and principles. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press 1.
12. Peterson, M. (2010). Sound, Space and the City. Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press.
13. Sepea, M. and M. Pittb (2014). "The characters of place in urban design." Urban Design International 19(3): 215-227.Baloy (2011)
14. Sheppard, E. and R. B. McMaster, Eds. (2003). Scale and Geographic Inquiry. Oxford, Blackwell
15. Steger, M. B. and A. McNevin (2010). "Global ideologies and urban landscapes: Introduction to the special issue." Globalizations7(3): 319-326.
2. Baloy, N. J. K. (2011). "“We Can’t Feel Our Language” Making Places in the City for Aboriginal Language Revitalization." American Indian Quarterly 35(4): 515-548.
3. Davoudi, S. and A. Madanipour, Eds. (2015). Reconsidering Localism. New York, Routledge Royal Town Planning Institute.
4. Hirt, S. and D. Zahm, Eds. (2012). The urban wisdom of Jane Jacobs. Oxfordshire, Routledge.
5. Holtzman, J. (2004). "The Local in the Local." Current Anthropology 45(1): 61-84.
6. KDA (1969). A Note on Development of Kehkashan (Clifton): KDA Scheme No.5’. Karachi.
7. Low, S. and D. Lawrence-Zúñiga, Eds. (2003). The anthropology of space and place: locating culture. Oxford, Blackwell.
8. Low, S. M. (2009). "Towards an anthropological theory of space and place." Semiotica 175(1/4): 21-37.
9. Marston, S. A., J. P. J. III, et al. (2005). "Human geography without scale." Trans Inst Br Geogr 30: 416-432.
10. Mumtaz, K. K. (1999). Modernity and Tradition: Contemporary Architecture in Pakistan. Lahore, Oxford University Press.
11. Oliver, P. (1997). Encyclopaedia of vernacular architecture of the world, Volume 1, Theories and principles. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press 1.
12. Peterson, M. (2010). Sound, Space and the City. Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press.
13. Sepea, M. and M. Pittb (2014). "The characters of place in urban design." Urban Design International 19(3): 215-227.Baloy (2011)
14. Sheppard, E. and R. B. McMaster, Eds. (2003). Scale and Geographic Inquiry. Oxford, Blackwell
15. Steger, M. B. and A. McNevin (2010). "Global ideologies and urban landscapes: Introduction to the special issue." Globalizations7(3): 319-326.
Authors
Ahmed, S. (2017). Understanding Localness of Built Form at the Urban Scale: Case of Karachi, Pakistan. Environmental Science & Sustainable Development, 2(1), 39–51. https://doi.org/10.21625/essd.v2i1.87
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