Balancing Real Estate Development Potentials and Heritage Conservation Challenges of Inner Center Using Karachi as Case Study

Purpose: Heritage preservation in inner city areas in cities of Global South face primary conflict with real estate development trends. Lack of government policies and enforcement in creating economic viability of conservation and its integration with urban planning results in aggravating conflict of interest between heritage advocates and developers. Design/Methodology/Approach: The vision for conservation of heritage and its integration with city planning is significant as an approach. Using literature review, along with interviews of stakeholders, reviewing case study examples from Singapore, Shanghai and Seoul, the paper brings out the multiple directions to tackling similar issues, outlining lessons learnt. The paper critically examines the challenges of heritage preservation and building regulations from economic and urban planning perspective for Karachi as case study. Findings: Amidst rising pressures for real estate development, conservation of built cultural heritage in cities requires clear policy direction and incentive-based mechanisms to balance development demands while ensuring meaningful heritage conservation for the city. Implications/Originality/Value: A Spectrum of approaches to conservation is outlined in the study, highlighting the need for a multi-disciplinary approach to conservation planning. The issue is significant and pressing for cities of South Asian context