PROJECT OVERVIEW

Millions live in peri-urban areas across South Asia, caught between rural and urban worlds with little support from either. This binational research and dialogue project brought together scholars, experts and young researchers from India and Pakistan to build shared understanding of peri-urban challenges, combining socioeconomic and ecological data with remote sensing and land cover mapping across both countries.

WHAT WE DID

The project established a joint research programme promoting sustained dialogue between Indian and Pakistani researchers on peri-urbanism, integrated socioeconomic and ecological data with remotely sensed images and thematic maps to produce databases and maps of peri-urban characteristics, and explored environmental, health and governance issues across rural, urban and peri-urban areas within and between both countries. Findings were disseminated through workshops, seminars, documentary screenings and media coverage across TV, radio and print.

WHAT WE ACHIEVED

The project built a unique cross-national research partnership spanning India, Pakistan and the United States, generated new knowledge on rural to urban transitions, and strengthened the capacity of senior and junior researchers and decision makers at local, state and national levels to address peri-urban challenges in their respective contexts and across borders.

FUNDER

US Department of State, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs

PARTNER INSTITUTIONS

East-West Center, Hawaii, USA

Sustainable Development Policy Institute, Islamabad, Pakistan