Flaneur's Diary: Living on the Edge
Slums and skyscrapers; it seemed paradoxical that they could exist so closely together. I wondered how palatial skyscrapers could grow out of seemingly poor countries. This course taught me the ramifications of neoliberal policies across the globe. I read examples of exploitation, gentrification, and gross human rights violations. I chose Karachi because I had never heard of the city before. I wanted to virtually explore a city that I was unfamiliar with. Karachi was an abstract mystery; digging through newspapers, scholarly articles, and youtube videos brought the city to life for me. I touched down into the city with Google Earth. I virtually walked along the Abdul Rehman Goth shores where the first Karachi inhabitants created a fishing village. I journeyed through Clifton, the upscale business district where the tallest Karachi building, Bahria Icon Tower stands. I then traveled to Lyari and along the river up to Orangi Town where the largest slums of Karachi exist. Made my way east to the theme parks and master planned communities that are leap frogged away from the metro city, then back down to the shores where the luxury Crescent Bay is still in development.
In my informational research I learned about Karachiites, what makes them proud of the city and what makes them struggle and plea for change. Every city is a complex web of opportunity and exploitation. There are parts of Karachi that I fell in love with, and there are parts that concerned me. Karachi seemed different than many of the cities we learned about in this course. Transnational developers and investors are making their mark on the city but not to the scale as we have seen in some other cities. The government makes an effort to regularize the katchi abadi settlements to protect them. There is a ban on building skyscrapers until the water shortage is addressed. Karachi is like many global cities including those in the United States, a battle between what is best for the people and what is best for corporate profits are eternally battling. The city is the battlefield where slums and skyscrapers clash.
The images below are screenshots taken from my Google Earth virtual flaneur journey through Karachi. Each screenshot includes who is credited for uploading the image.
I applied what I learned in this course as I became an active flaneur in my own city of Phoenix. Read my flaneur diary about my observation through a swapmeet and upscale mall, and then a drive and walk through a masterplanned community.