In 2008-09, the author and his colleagues were involved in a study to understand density related issues in low and lower middle income settlements in Karachi. This study was supported by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), UK. For the study three settlements and one apartment complex were chosen. The settlements and the complex that were chosen were very different from each other both in physical and sociological terms. Some low income settlements in Karachi:

1. Khuda-ki-Basti-3 (KKB-3) is a recently developed suburban settlement with a population density of 501 persons per hectare. It is estimated that in another ten years, it will have a density of at least 1300.
2. Nawalane is one of Karachi’s oldest settlements. It has densified overtime and has a density of 3376 persons per hectare. Due to this high and unplanned density, it has many social problems in certain parts of it.
3. Paposh Nagar was a government scheme of single storey core housing. It was planned for a density of 240 persons per hectare. Today it has a density of 1181 persons per hectare and has houses of two to five storeys high.
4. Fahad Square is a 10-year old apartment complex in a planned government sector and as such, unlike the other examples, makes use of the sectors’ social and commercial planned facilities. Its current density is 942 persons per hectare.