KARACHI: Innovation is necessary. But, the challenge is to combine innovation with tradition in a way that not only needs of the people are catered to efficiently, but the local identity is also preserved. Also, it is important to document social changes brought about by technological changes.

These points were raised by researchers during presentation of their papers on Saturday at the conclusion of the third international conference on urban and regional planning organised by the department of architecture and planning at NED University of Engineering and Technology.

The theme of the two-day conference was Innovation in planning and practice.

Giving a presentation on the paper titled ‘Challenges and emerging opportunities in land administration, a case study of Peshawar’, Mohammad Nazeef Pasha of the planning and development department of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government said that while land was the most important component of urban planning, it was a widely misused asset.

The current system of land administration inherited from the British, he pointed out, was obsolete in which the ‘patwari’ maintained the land records in paper form and reported them to higher authorities.

This record keeping, he said, had been questioned many times and attempts had been made to simplify it and make it transparent.

He suggested digitalising land records which, he said, would result in more user-friendly and credible land information system.

Dr Nyoman Gede Maha Putra, a seasoned architect from Indonesia, and Dr Ameen Monasser, currently an assistant professor at the department of architecture and environmental design at Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology, Karachi, shared the opinion that tradition was an asset associated with economy and human memories.

They underscored the need for combining innovation with tradition from planning perspectives. However, they acknowledged that it’s a continued struggle how to link with the global order and not to suffocate the local identity.

Tahira Hasan, director at the Imkaan Welfare Organisation, informed the audience about the various projects the organisation had initiated, especially Khel — a Recreation and Learning Centre for children — which kicked off a year ago in Machar Colony.

She explained how a different methodology of making children learn through play in a safe and nurturing environment produced positive results.

Dr Mansoor Ali, an NED alumni and visiting professor in the UK and Italy, presented key features of his paper titled ‘Supporting innovation programmes in Africa: learning from experience’.

The paper was based on his experience of supporting innovation programmes in basic services across African countries.

Dr Muhammad Ahmed Al-Rashid of University of Malaya, Malaysia, Muhammad Shafaat Nawaz, an assistant director, town planning, at Lahore Development Authority and Dr S. Shabih-ul-Hasan, a spatial planning expert, also spoke.

Published in Dawn, March 18th, 2019