IBA launches Centre for Urban Studies and Policy

The Institute of Business Administration (IBA) has launched a Centre for Urban Studies and Policy (CUSP) to produce research-based evidence and policy ideas on the challenges generated by rapid urbanisation, said a press release issued by the institute on Wednesday.

The CUSP will host associates who will be expected to write discussion papers and opinion pieces on critical urban issues as well as engage in dialogue with policymakers and stakeholders at the local, provincial and national levels. Through these activities, the CUSP will contribute to the discourse and debate on urbanisation in Pakistan.

Nested within the CUSP set-up is the Karachi Urban Lab (KUL), a collaboration between the IBA’s Dr Nausheen H. Anwar and the NED University’s Dr Noman Ahmed. The KUL is an evolving experiment in interdisciplinary urban research and its mission is to serve as an incubator for learning, teaching and practice.

The KUL also provides students and urban professionals opportunities for training in research methods, cutting-edge theory and concepts to help build a global knowledge base. Currently, the KUL is focusing on three themes: land-use and urban renewal, water infrastructure and environmental justice in Karachi and the wider Sindh region.

“This allows the KUL to generate insights into the dynamics of migration, planning regimes, infrastructural reorganisation, environmental and climate change related shifts and political struggles over resources,” said the press release.