Shehersaaz is a civil society initiative aimed to make the urban and suburban settlements of Pakistan safer, resilient, sustainable, inclusive, and humane. Shehersaaz undertakes research, identifies problems, and offers and demonstrates solutions for addressing the challenges being faced by urban and sub-urban areas of Pakistan.
Shehersaaz is a Persian rooted Urdu word compounding Sheher (City or Cities) and Saaz (Maker or Makers). Our subject matter includes all elements that make up or shape a particular city or an urban place including:
- People or inhabitants and their social, economic and political relations with their fellow inhabitants in the same city as well as with those living elsewhere
- Natural and built environment Infrastructure, amenities, services, and utilities Administration, planning and governance.
- Simply we are interested in and deal with all which reflect the image and essence of a city.
Cities
There are many people in the city whose voices are rarely heard. They live in a city of other people’s making. Ultimately we need to incorporate these other voices, we need to feminize the city, and encourage the engagement of the young and old; we need cities which reflect the needs and preferences of all citizens. If not, we impoverish our cities and our society. The real wealth of a city lies in the collective and individual creativity of all citizens.
John R. Short; The Humane City