KARACHI – A Pakistani woman has won the inaugural Young Climate Prize by the World Around, a non-profit organisation, for her project addressing the flooding crisis in urban areas.
Namra Khalid, 25, was conferred with the award in “visionary” category in recognition of her efforts to establish Karachi Cartography to create a climate map of the city.
Khalid, who returned to the southern port city after completing his degree in architectural design from the United States in 2020, was compelled to take steps from protecting the most populace city from becoming unlivable after it witnessed abnormal rains and severe heatwaves that has killed hundreds of people in the city.
The designer received the award at the Guggenheim Museum in New York on Saturday, April 22, as she shared the development on her instagram.
“@karachicartography has won the Young Climate Visionary Prize by @theworldaround presented by @metaopenarts!” she wrote besides thanking the collaborators and “friends and family” for supporting her.
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The organisation in its press release said: “Urban researcher Khalid was awarded the visionary prize for her project addressing the flooding crisis in Pakistan. Working with Dutch special envoy for International Water Affairs Henk Ovink, Khalid created a map of Karachi that demonstrates the areas of the city susceptible to climate events”.
Namra Khalid’s website Karachi Cartography said that the city is projected to be submerged underwater by 2060 and there is so far no plan to deal with the potential catastrophe.
“The infrastructural mayhem is only increasing vulnerabilities. We, at Karachi Cartography, strongly believe that planning and redesigning without a comprehensive understanding of past, present, and potential precarity will only exacerbate dysfunctionality and increase vulnerabilities,” it said.
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