VIRTUAL London Heritages Conference
Abstract
The urban fabric of Lahore city is a culmination of time and space, having the residue of its distant past imprinted in the shape of its urban heritage. Post-partition, the contemporary housing challenge has significantly impacted many urban heritage sites in Lahore. The challenge and shortage of housing have affected the urban heritage sites of Lahore in an unconventional manner where the heritage sites have acted as black holes or vaccines, alluring informal settlements to settle around or inside their premises. The research aims to examine and map the type of informal settlements existing around the selected heritage sites and their impact on the heritage sites. The study also seeks to highlight the correlation and possible factors which have facilitated the growth of such informal settlements around the urban heritage of Lahore. A comparative analysis of selected heritage sites in Lahore shall be conducted to achieve the research objectives. Maps, interviews, and pictures shall establish the case presented. The findings shall focus on identifying the types of mutualities existing in the urban fabric of Lahore city through the selected sites. The research shall develop an understanding of the existing link between urban heritage and informal settlements in Lahore. It shall also help understand how the urban heritage sites of the city have been affected in specific and the global south in general, leading to the contemporary challenges of housing and urban development.
Hafsa Imtiaz is an Associate professor at the National College of Arts, Lahore. She has been part of the architecture faculty since 2005, teaching design studios II III and IV, History of Art and Architecture, Architecture Seminars, and Urban Planning. She finished her Master’s in Urban Building from Glasgow School of Art, UK, and is presently a candidate for PhD in Architecture at Taylor’s University, Malaysia. Hafsa has also been actively engaged in her practice and is a principal architect at the Design Center. Hafsa’s Master’s degree research focused on phenomenology, human experience, p
Mehreen Mustafa