Land contestation in Karachi and the impact on housing and urban development

Karachi is one of the world’s fastest growing large cities. This paper describes the complex processes by which land is (formally and informally) made available for housing (and for commercial development), as well as who benefits – and how the low-income majority of Karachi citizens lose out. It also describes what underpins this – especially the political complications in a city that has grown so rapidly, has had fundamental changes in its ethnic composition (and thus also in its politics) and has attracted so many illegal immigrants. The paper describes the changes in formal and informal land markets over the last 50 years and the changing responses by government agencies to housing (and land for housing) issues. Also explored are the connections among land, housing and transport (which include different processes of densification) and the complex politics involved. The paper ends with recommendations for land titling, for changes in transport policies, for better use of land already owned by government agencies, for cross-political party agreement on how to address serious security issues (that are leading to loss of investment) and for increased political effectiveness of Karachi’s active civil society organizations.