The Architecture of Informality in Islamabad: Book Talk and Discussion

Among urban designers and municipal officials, the term encroachment is defined as a deviation from the official master plan. But in cities today, such informal modifications to the urban fabric are deeply enmeshed with formal planning procedures.

On February 26, the Penn Institute for Urban Research and Forum on the Urban Informality hosted a book talk and discussion on Master Plans and Encroachments: The Architecture of Informality, a new book part the Penn Press series The City in the Twenty-First Century, edited in conjunction with Penn IUR. The book examines informality in the high-modernist city of Islamabad as a strategic conformity to official schemes and regulations rather than as a deviation from them.

Faiza Moatasim, the author and Assistant Professor of Architecture in Urbanism and Urban Design at USC School of Architecture, alongside discussants Aasim Sajjad Akhtar, Associate Professor of Political Economy at Quaid-i-Azam University, and Liza Weinstein, Department Chair and Associate Professor of Sociology at Northeastern University, delved into the intricate relationship between formal and informal urban development. Moatasim highlighted how informal settlements and practices often emerge as direct responses to the gaps and opportunities presented by official urban policies and master plans, coining this phenomenon as "strategic conformity." This concept underscores the nuanced interplay between legality and strategic exploitation of regulatory frameworks by residents of informal settlements, thereby complicating the binary view of formality and informality in urban spaces.

Through the lens of Islamabad's development history as a meticulously planned city, Moatasim shed light on the unintended consequences of modernist urban ideals that inadvertently fostered conditions conducive to informal practices. She presented detailed case studies illustrating the integration of informal settlements and commercial encroachments into the urban fabric of Islamabad, challenging prevalent notions of urban illegality and disorder. These case studies reveal how informal practices serve essential roles within the urban ecosystem, addressing critical needs and providing indispensable services to marginalized populations.

The discussion broadened to consider the research's implications for urban planning and policy-making, with a strong call for a reevaluation of current perspectives on informality. Moatasim advocated for recognizing the strategic and functional dimensions of informality, suggesting that such acknowledgment could pave the way for more inclusive and effective urban governance strategies. This approach directly challenges traditional urban planning paradigms, which often prioritize the eradication of informality without fully appreciating its socio-economic dynamics and the vital contributions it makes to urban life.

Moatasim's work offers a profound examination of urban informality, advocating for a paradigm shift in how it is perceived and integrated into urban governance and planning strategies. It prompts a reconsideration of conventional urban planning approaches and the importance of integrating informality into governance strategies for more adaptive and inclusive urban growth management. This discussion underscored the need for policies that address the realities of urban informality, advocating for a nuanced understanding of urban dynamics and a shift towards more equitable urban development strategies.

Written by Anushka Samant, Penn IUR Student Events Coordinator