Local Democracy, Planning and Management: Some Perspectives from the Karachi Metropolitan Region

Abstract

This paper examines the evolution of urban planning and management in Karachi, Pakistan, focusing on the city’s uneven institutional transformations since independence. Various models of governance have been tested, including centralised city government, fragmented functional administrations, elected municipalities alongside development authorities, and hybrid arrangements combining formal and informal institutions. The study documents these shifts and analyses their outcomes, highlighting their impact on planning and management processes up to the present. On this basis, the paper proposes normative recommendations for strengthening local democracy, governance, and planning capacity in Karachi.