Director General, Dr. Imtiaz Bhatti, 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗸𝗲𝘆𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 at the 𝗜𝗕𝗔-𝗖𝗕𝗘𝗥 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗽 𝗼𝗻 “𝗔𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮 𝗦𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲” on February 25, 2025. The event, hosted in collaboration with Consortium for Development Policy Research (𝗖𝗗𝗣𝗥), International Growth Centre (𝗜𝗚𝗖), The World Bank, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 The Urban Unit 𝗟𝗮𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗲, brought together policymakers, researchers, and practitioners to tackle the pressing challenges of climate-resilient urban development.
🌍 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗔𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗚’𝘀 𝗦𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗻 “𝗦𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗩𝘂𝗹𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀”:
🔹 How 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱-𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘇𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀, 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀, 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 threaten urban livability.
🔹 The disproportionate impact of climate risks on marginalized communities due to inadequate infrastructure.
🔹 The urgent need for 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 for evidence-based planning.
💡 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘆 & 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀:
✅ 𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘂𝗿𝗯𝗮𝗻 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 leveraging climate data for risk mitigation.
✅ 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀 & 𝘄𝗲𝘁𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 to enhance urban resilience.
✅ 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝗿𝗯𝗮𝗻 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 & 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘀 to combat heat islands.
✅ 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 to prevent gentrification & displacement.
✅ 𝗟𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 & 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗴𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 for future-ready cities.
The 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗗𝗨𝗥𝗣𝗦𝗣, 𝗖𝗗𝗣𝗥, 𝗜𝗚𝗖, Institute of Business Administration 𝗜𝗕𝗔, 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗕𝗮𝗻𝗸, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗿𝗯𝗮𝗻 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘁 marks a significant step in designing policies that 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝗱𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝗸𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻’𝘀 𝘂𝗿𝗯𝗮𝗻 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗲. The DG looked forward to continued engagements to translate these discussions into 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗲 𝘂𝗿𝗯𝗮𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀.
Earlier in the program, DURPSP’s Director (Technical), Syed Jawad Muzaffar, spoke on the hazards of climate change and need for futuristic planning.
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Dr. Imtiaz Bhatti is a senior civil servant currently serving as the Director General of Urban & Regional Policy and Strategic Planning (DURPSP) at the Planning & Development Board, Sindh. With extensive experience in civil service, academia, and development sectors, he brings a pragmatic approach to governance reform, public finance, and sustainable urban planning.
Dr. Bhatti holds a PhD in Public Policy from The George Washington University, where he specialized in public finance. A Fulbright Fellow, he has also completed advanced training in behavioral insights at the Harvard Kennedy School and was ranked first nationally in the Senior Management Course at the National Institute of Management, Karachi, in 2022.
Under his leadership, DURPSP has advanced critical initiatives, including the approval and notification of comprehensive master plans for 17 secondary cities and the implementation of the European Union-funded Rural Growth Centers (RGC) Project. These efforts aim to address unplanned urban growth and foster integrated development in Sindh.
In addition to his government roles, Dr. Bhatti has contributed to academic discourse as a visiting faculty member at the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Karachi, and has worked on development projects with organizations such as the Asian Development Bank, USAID, and the World Bank.
Dr. Bhatti is committed to creating practical and inclusive solutions for urban and regional challenges, focusing on sustainable development and improved governance outcomes in Sindh.
