Increasing urbanisation and growing demographic pressures necessitate infrastructural investment and development. Yet, across South Asia, such initiatives have often generated and exacerbated socioeconomic inequalities and, in particular, resulted in mass evictions and displacement of working-class groups. In this two-day symposium organised by Mushtaq Gurmani School of Humanities and Social Sciences (MGSHSS), researchers, activists and policymakers come together to debate these questions. An art exhibition, featuring local artists, on urban change and its experience, will run parallel to the panel discussions.
Programme Schedule
Day 1
Date: Thursday, February 21, 2019
Time: 5:30 pm onwards
Venue: LUMS Faculty Lounge, Main Academic Block
5:30 pm – 5:45 pm
Welcome
5:45 pm – 7:15 pm
Witnessing change: Articulation and experiences of urban transformation and displacement
Panellists:
Hala Bashir Malik (BNU/Hyper-Practice)
Soha Macktoom (Karachi Urban Lab)
Zahra Malkani (Habib University)
Shahana Rajani (Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture)
Moderator: Ali Usman Qasmi (LUMS)
7:30 pm
Exhibition Opening, SDSB Building Basement*
Curated by Hala Bashir Malik
Witnessing change: Experiences of urban transformation and displacement
by Zahra Malkani, Shahana Rajani, Abeera Kamran, Faizan Ahmad, Hajra Cheema, Nashmia Haroon, Sachal Rizvi, on display February 21 – March 7, 2019**
*The exhibitions will not be available for viewing on February 22, 2019
**Works by Zahra Malkani, Shahana Rajani and Abeera Kamran will be on display February 21 – 24, 2019
Day 2
Date: Friday, February 22, 2019
Time: 2:00 pm onwards
Venue: Saeed Saigol Auditorium, Main Academic Block, LUMS
2:00 pm – 2:20 pm
Dislocation, kinship and care: Findings from Lahore and Colombo
(Fizzah Sajjad, Ammara Maqsood & Asha Abeyasekera, Iromi Perera, Jonathan Spencer)
2:20 pm – 3:30 pm
Land acquisition, housing and mass displacement: Scope for policy changes
Panellists:
Aisha Ahmad (University of Oxford)
Alia Amirali (Awami Workers Party)
Ali Nawaz Awan (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf)
Representative from Lahore Development Authority (Tentative)
Moderator: Sameen Mohsin Ali (LUMS)
3:30 pm
Tea
4:00 pm – 5:30 pm
Reflections on urban housing and activism: Comparative perspectives from South Asia
Panellists
Iromi Perera (Researcher & activist)
Mohammad Arsam Saleem (Karachi Urban Lab)
Amen Jaffer (LUMS)
Maryam Hussain (Activist)
Moderator: Nida Kirmani (LUMS)
5:30 pm – 5:45 pm
Closing remarks by Professor Kamran Asdar Ali, Dean MGSHSS
To register your interest, please fill this form
This public event is part of the project “Rebuilding Kinship and Care after Dislocation: Lahore and Colombo Compared” funded by the Global Challenges Research Fund and the British Academy’s Cities & Infrastructure Programme.
