‘Cities on Stage’: Italian urban regeneration exhibition concludes

KARACHI: The travelling exhibition “Cities on Stage. Urban Regeneration: the Italian way to a sustainable future” concluded in Karachi at the Quaid-e-Azam Flag Staff House, a house museum dedicated to the personal life of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan. The house was designed by British architect Moses Somake and was built in the fading year of the 19th century.

Cities on Stage around the world is sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and organized by Ance, Associazione Mecenate 90 ETS, and Fondazione Musica per Roma. It brings abroad, around the world, the experiences of urban regeneration in Italy gathered by the Città in Scena Festival.

Recent years in Italy have been characterized by a great and widespread focus on urban regeneration processes. Thanks in part to the resources of Next Generation EU and other national public measures; this has become the most widespread practice for managing environmental, energy, and social transitions and limiting land use.

This has been achieved by reclaiming abandoned spaces and buildings in both the suburbs and historic centres, redirecting them toward new functions related to the needs of local communities.

The exhibition has a twofold objective: on the one hand, to account for the vitality in design and construction that exists in Italy and is significantly transforming Italian cities from north to south; on the other hand, to illustrate, through a series of significant examples, the variety of solutions adopted, demonstrating the broad conceptual, design, technological, and construction capabilities that have developed enormously in Italy in recent years. Since 2023, it has become one of the best and most significant expressions of Made in Italy.

A presentation on “Regeneration: The Italian Way to a sustainable Future” was delivered by Dr. Marco D’Egidio, Senior Technology Officer from ANCE, followed by a panel discussion with Dr. Tania Ali Soomro, Assistant Professor at NED University of Engineering and Technology, Salman Jawed of Coalesce Design Studios, Ms. Mehreen Gondal, Founder and Lead Interior Designer at Ocean Design Studio, and Mustafa Iqbal, Sustainability Expert.

The discussion was moderated by Aarij Iqbal, President of the Italian Development Committee, who, together with the Consulate of Italy, showcased Italian excellence in Karachi.

The exhibition highlights the best practices of urban regeneration developed in Italy and promotes the skills and technologies in the design of urban spaces, buildings and housing of Italian public administrations, businesses, and designers.

It presented a new concept in construction aimed at saving raw materials and promoting the use and recovery of materials already used, in order to optimize them for specific purposes, contributing to a cleaner world that does not produce or at least limits waste and scrap materials.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026