National Institute of Urban Infrastructure Planning, the brainchild of Dr. Murtaza Haider (Ast. Prof. McGill University 2002-2006, Asoc. Prof. Ryerson University 2006-Current) is established at University of Engineering and Technology (Peshawar) (UET, Peshawar) with the grant of US$3.0 million from Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan. Main focus of NIUIP is to address the persistent urban decay and research in improvement of urban infrastructure of Pakistan.
Contents
History
In December 2003, Professor Haider, attended the Urban Research Symposium in Washington, DC, which was organized by the World Bank. The interactions with urban planners and engineers from the developing countries gave birth to the idea of establishing a new infrastructure planning institute in Pakistan. Later in June and July 2004, Professor Haider visited the National Institute of Urban Affairs, India and the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, India, both located in New Delhi, to learn from the experience of Indian planners.
Professor Haider contacted UET Peshawar and the HEC with suggestions to address Pakistan’s urban challenges in a systematic manner. Dr. Sohail Naqvi, Executive Director of the HEC, was equally concerned about the urban decay in Pakistan. Professor Haider, who specializes in urban planning and is also an alumnus of UET Peshawar, offered his assistance and Canadian expertise in establishing a National Institute of Urban Infrastructure Planning to be based at UET Peshawar. HEC engaged Professor Haider under the reverse brain drain program to develop the detail proposal for NIUIP. In the start of 2005 HEC approved the proposal and NIUIP was formally established at UET, Peshawar.
Objectives
Main objectives of formation of NIUIP are to:
Research linkages
In September 2005, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between McGill and NIUIP, UET Peshawar for cooperation through activities as:
Faculty development and research areas
Initial research focus of NIUIP is in: