1. Documentation on Urban Issues
         News clippings Catalog, Analysis
         Research, case studies, profiles

2. URC Forums on Issues such as
         City Transport
         City Sewerage
         City Water Supply

3. Watch Groups on City Planning
         Mass Transit systems,
         Sewerage,
         City Land Management

4. Youth Training Programme

5. Eviction Watch

6. Networking with city actors.

7. Publications

Due to the information and alternatives supplied to the communities living along the Lyari corridor, the Lyari Expressway, which was going to uproot 125,000 people and cause immense environmental danger to the city was abandoned. It was replaced by the northern bypass for which the URC had pressed. 

As a result of the URC's work the Karachi Mass Transit Project (KMPT) was modified considerably because of pressure from citizen's groups and was made more environmentally friendly and cost effective.

Coming soon: Detail of how URC, OPP and friends have successfully challenged the city's new mega-Sewerage system plans involving a $US100 million loan from the World Bank and proposed a much less expensive and more effective alternative which is now being considered by city planners. 

Working women and low income communities
People’s struggles to save open spaces and amenity plots 
Impacts of road accidents
Home based shoe making factories in Orangi Town
Extension of technical support to schools in Orangi Town
Surveys of Community Based Organisations in Lyari district of Karachi

Young Professionals engaged in research for the URC

1. The necessity to acquire an holistic and realistic understanding your city and how it functions

2. The need to formulate attractive alternative city planning options. The advantages of being pro-active and having informed options; to see what can be done before things happen.

3. The need to organise information in a way that can be used by the communities and press to inform from a populist perspective.

4. The need for a base line and analysis of options for the future.

5. The impacts / advantages of having a philosophy to hold on to and give vision.

6.  The need to address micro level issues in the city and the need to understand these in the context of the macro functioning of the city.

7.  The advantages and impacts of processing information. The newspaper article collection system is simple and useful.

8. The use of YP’s as trainees and useful resource persons, and in particular the scope of issues they are involved in researching.

9.  The necessity to develop relationships with government personnel and urban actors such as press, government agencies and interest groups.

10. The strength of the nexus between OPP, Dawood College and the URC.

This brief report is from an ACHR TAP Exposure to the URC in March 1999.
Maurice Leonhardt