Education
- Master’s in Urban & Regional Planning, N.E.D. University of Engineering & Technology, Karachi (2005)
- B.E. (Civil), N.E.D. University of Engineering & Technology, Karachi (1992)
- Completed with Distinction: Columbia University’s The Age of Sustainable Development (2014); SDG Academy/SDSN’s Sustainable Cities (2018); Acumen Academy/IDEO.org’s An Introduction to Human Centered Design (2020)
Research Interests
- Sustainable city design and climate change
- Urban resilience planning
- Human-centered design
- Southern urbanism
- Public policy and political economy analysis
Biography
Farhan Anwar has been Associate Professor of Practice in Habib University’s Social Development & Policy program since 2022, teaching Public Policy I & II and Urban Sustainability, having first taught at Habib as Visiting Faculty (January 2019–December 2020). He is also Founder and CEO of Urban Collaborative, a private consultancy promoting sustainable urban design practices in Pakistan.
Anwar’s portfolio spans urban sustainability planning, smart cities, climate adaptation, and institutional strengthening. He served as an Urban Reforms Consultant to the World Bank (2006–2013) and continues to consult for the World Bank on the Karachi Transformation Strategy project, including its Karachi Water and Sewerage Services Improvement Project (2020–ongoing) and Community Livability, Inclusion, and Climate Resilience (CLICK) component (2024–ongoing). He has also consulted for the Asian Development Bank, JICA, IUCN, and WWF Pakistan, and is Lead Author of the Sindh Government’s Sanitation Strategy and author of Pakistan’s National Strategy and Action Plan for the Mangroves of the Future Regional Program.
He continues to write on urban issues for Pakistani media, having contributed the weekly “Elasti-cities” column in The Express Tribune (2013–2016) and remaining a regular Op-Ed contributor to Dawn. His recent work includes a National Endowment for Democracy-funded content-engagement project (2024–ongoing) and Friedrich Naumann Foundation-funded urban research (2023).
Selected Publications
- Cities of the Future – Learnings from COVID-19 Pandemic, Shehri-CBE/Friedrich Naumann Stiftung, 2020.
- Mobility from the Lens of Gender – Case Study Karachi, Shehri-CBE/Friedrich Naumann Stiftung, 2020.
- Transit Oriented Development & Sustainable Urban Planning – Strategic Planning for a Livable Karachi, Shehri-CBE/Friedrich Naumann Stiftung, 2019.
- Pakistan National Strategy and Action Plan – MFF, The World Conservation Union, 2014.
- Karachi City Climate Change Adaptation Strategy – A Roadmap, Shehri-CBE/Friedrich Naumann Stiftung, 2012.
Honors
- Founding Member, Pak-US Alumni Association
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