Baldy Center grant to support urban planning dissertation on affordable housing in Lahore, Pakistan

Awarded annually by UB’s Baldy Center for Law and Social Policy, the grant supports work by faculty and select graduate students in the broad, interdisciplinary arena of law, legal institutions, and social policy.

Rehman-Veal’s doctoral research focuses on the evolution of housing policy and access for low- and middle-income population in Lahore, where market-oriented approaches, limited investment in deteriorating neighborhoods, and land development policy has historically favored higher income groups.

“Providing access to housing for the low- or middle-income households is a major challenge for policymakers and administrators in Lahore Metropolitan Area,” Rehman-Veal states. “Although the Punjab government has implemented policies over the last 75 years to create housing opportunities for all the income levels, housing affordability has continued to decline for the low- and middle-income population of Lahore.”

“These gaps in the intentions of housing policies and their outcomes need to be identified,” she continues. “My research will explore current structural flaws in housing policies toward better solutions.”

As part of her dissertation, Rehman-Veal will conduct a content analysis of housing laws and policies in Lahore, as well as interviews with urban planners that have worked in the city’s housing space, to determine housing policy and implementation impacts on low- and middle-income households.

"The Baldy Center grant will support research travel and field-based data collection activities integral to the successful execution of the study, including site visits, interviews with urban planners and public administrators, and primary data collection,” Rehman-Veal says of the $2,500 award.

Rehman-Veal is working under the guidance of a dissertation committee chaired by Robert Silverman, professor of urban planning. Silverman’s research explores community development and equity in urban communities and challenges the notion that quality, affordable housing is readily available in struggling cities. Rehman-Veal has already co-authored several studies with Silverman, including a comparative analysis of social equity policies in recreational cannabis dispensary siting and the use of ChatGPT to enhance public participation in planning and policymaking.

A native of Pakistan and a first-generation U.S. immigrant, Rehman-Veal also holds a BS in City and Regional Planning from the University of Engineering and Technology Lahore, Pakistan, and a Master of Public Administration from California State University, San Bernardino.