Nausheen H Anwar

Director, Karachi Urban Lab (KUL) and Professor City & Regional Planning, School of Economics & Social Sciences, IBA, Karachi,  Pakistan. I received my PhD from the Urban Planning Program at Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP); I also hold a MIA from Columbia University's School of International & Public Affairs (SIPA). I have held post-doctoral positions at Harvard University, and at the Asia Research Institute (ARI), National University of Singapore. My research looks at the interactions between vulnerability, climate change impacts - e.g. heat (extreme, chronic), urban flooding - and post-colonial histories/contexts of infrastructural violence, land displacement and anti-poor urban planning in the urban Global South.  I am particularly interested in understanding the multi-dimensional risks and uncertainties that arise from these interactions, and the gendered/intersectional implications and impacts on public health. I am also interested in understanding how the environment/climate has been represented in post-colonial, mid-20th century, modern architectural practice/thought.  I am the recipient of grants from various institutions: IDRC, UKRI/GCRF, ESRC-AHRC, British Academy, ICRC, RSA. I have  published widely in academic journals such as Antipode, Urban Studies, South Asian History & Culture, EPW and Political Geography; and written articles for national and international media such as Dawn, Prism, MIT Technology Review Pakistan and Huffington Post.

As Director of the Karachi Urban Lab (KUL), I am collaborating with colleagues to facilitate an experiment in  creative and critical thinking about cities, urban research, teaching, and training students and a new generation of urban professionals. The KUL’s mission is to nurture and develop ideas that enable explorations and connections between research, teaching, public policy dialogue and advocacy.