Shabbir was an integral part of the MCP, from its conception until his passing late last year. He was among the Founding Members of the Global Advisory Board and actively participated in many of our Annual Coordinator’s Meetings in cities around the world. This photo, from our 1994 Meeting in Jakarta, shows him –in a red circle –among our city coordinators and other members of the Advisory Board including Manuel Castells, Jacques d’Amboise and Ellen Brennan.
In his role as Director of Governance at the UN Development Programme, he supported our multi-year research project of Case Studies on “Environmental Justice: Innovations at the Intersection of Poverty and the Environment.”
He was a lifelong champion of decentralized governance and of including civil society in the work of the UN, and later the East-West Center in Hawaii. He invited my participation in formulating the UNDP Strategy Paper — Cities, People & Poverty: Urban Development Cooperation for the 1990s and commissioned a chapter on “Mega-Cities: Global Urbanization and Innovation,” in his edited volume, Urban Management: Policies and Innovations in Developing Countries, 1993.
On a personal note, Shabbir was a treasured friend. We visited his home in Honolulu many times after he left NY, including on our Honeymoon in 1988. He was a bright light and generous spirit to all who knew him.
He will be greatly missed.
