Khuda Ki Basti 3 is a 10-year-old settlement within Khuda Ki Basti, Karachi, consisting of 1237 plots each of 67 square metres. The settlement is 25 kilometres from the city centre and was planned according to the Karachi Building Control Authority (KBCA) regulations for a density of 1250 persons per hectare. It has already reached a density of 501 persons per hectare

People in Khuda Ki Basti 3 are building and extending their own homes. The density is increasing and like other similar settlements will soon be much higher than originally planned . Some 30 per cent of the households carry out some form of economic activity in their homes and an additional 60 per cent would also like to do so. The NGO Saiban created this settlement and supports it by linking it up with service providing NGOs and government departments. As such, the settlement has comparatively good social sector facilities.

Khuda Ki Basti 3 was remodelled, recognising the advantages of organic growth and incremental densification, but also considering how this growth could have been improved upon. We found that roadways and community spaces could be combined in order to increase the area available for parks, amenities, and commercial and educational facilities. Individual plots could be smaller if residents were allowed to build additional floors on each house. In the resulting high-density settlement, we estimate the price of a plot would fall by 41 per cent. The remodelled density is 1,755 persons per hectare.

More information on Khuda Ki Basti 3 is presented in a working paper available for downloading.