Urban Housing Collective — Karachi Pilot

Over 2.1 million people in Karachi live in informal settlements with no security of tenure. When displacement occurs — through flood, eviction, or government redevelopment — families have no access to dignified transitional housing, forcing them into overcrowded shelters or onto the streets. The gap is not just physical: it is also institutional. There is no coordinated system to move families from crisis to stability. Existing government shelters are under-resourced, stigmatized, and disconnected from livelihood support. International humanitarian actors focus on acute disaster response, not chronic urban displacement. The result: tens of thousands of families cycle between crisis and precarity with no pathway out.

A 50-unit community-managed transitional housing pilot in Lyari, Karachi, combining dignified temporary accommodation (6–18 month stays) with wraparound support including legal aid, livelihood training, and mental health referrals. Community members fill 60% of management roles — building long-term local capacity and reducing costs. A digital tracking system logs each family's pathway from intake to exit, generating the evidence base needed for replication and government adoption. Phase 2 (year 3) would scale to 200 units across 3 informal settlement clusters, with a target of government co-financing.

400 displaced families in Phase 1, primarily women-headed households and families evicted from flood-prone areas in Lyari and Baldia Town. An estimated 1,800 individuals direct beneficiaries; 12,000 community members indirect beneficiaries through reduced overcrowding pressure.

Architect with community housing experience in South Asian contexts; Grant writer with USAID/FCDO experience; M&E specialist for housing programs

Rukh has operated in Lyari for 12 years. They have successfully resettled 4,200 families. Fatima Naqvi (Director) is a Chevening Scholar and Ashoka Fellow. Two prior community housing pilots completed with UNHCR co-funding.