The Urban and Water Thematic Group is pleased to invite you to our first Fall Talk Shop Series on Water pricing on September 25, 2025, at 11:00 am.
Speaker: Hassaan F. Khan
Speaker’s Bio: Hassaan F. Khan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning at Tufts University. His teaching and research focus on issues of environmental justice and equity, combining rigorous systems analysis with mixed methods approaches, to study water management in the global south. He is the Founding Director of an interdisciplinary research group (KWP) that is developing technological and policy-based solutions to urban water challenges in South Asian cities. Dr Khan aims to shift water discourse away from centralized, infrastructure-heavy approaches that neglect marginalized communities. His parallel research involves integrating hydrologic and socioeconomic models to support water management decisions at various scales—from transboundary river basins (like the Mekong, Niger, Indus, and Kabul) to urban systems (such as San Francisco, Pune, Karachi, and Amman). He has collaborated with organizations including the World Bank, USAID, IWMI, and Pakistan’s Higher Education Commission.
Before Tufts, Dr Khan taught at Habib University in Karachi and was a Postdoctoral Scholar at Stanford. He holds a Ph.D. in Water Resources Engineering from UMass Amherst and a B.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Lafayette College.
Synopsis: Across much of the Global South, urban water utilities struggle with two linked challenges: chronic financial shortfalls and inequities in household water costs. In this talk, I present findings from a new study that uses household survey data and property records from Karachi, Pakistan, to test alternative pricing and reform strategies in largely unmetered water systems. The study combines regression modeling with simulation analyses to explore how reforms such as improved bill distribution, property-value–indexed tariffs, and targeted service improvements could both strengthen utility revenues and ease the burden on poorer households. By highlighting these “second-best” strategies, the talk points to practical, more just pathways for water utilities to move toward financial sustainability and distributional equity in challenging contexts.
Discussant: Fan Zhang
Discussant’s Bio: Fan is the Global Lead for Water Economics and Climate Change. Since joining the Water GP in November 2021, she has led efforts to develop new diagnostic tools, important analytical work, and data dashboard to support water analysis in CCDRs. She is also leading a multi-year water economics research program to deliver cutting-edge knowledge of the role of water in economy, and to enhance understanding of how climate change-related impacts on water supply and demand affect the economy. The Water, Economy and Climate Change (WE&CC) GSG is the Water GP’s newest GSG. Launched in December 2021, the objective of the GSG is to expand global knowledge of the role water plays in economies and in climate change transitions. Through the development of tools and analytics, the GSG helps to inform policy dialogue and the development of water programs and projects, as well as to foster a vibrant community of water economists and climate change specialists within the Water GP and across the Bank.
Moderator : Gustavo Saltiel, Urban and Urban TG Chair
Registrations:
In-Person (MC 1 – 860)
Click here if you plan to join virtually by Webex
On September 25th, you will be able to join the Webex session directly by using the link provided below, among other available options.
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Meeting number: 2300 379 2295
Password: Society1818
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1-650-479-3207 Call-in number (US/Canada)
Access code: 2300 379 2295
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