Gali Surjan Singh and Koocha Charkh Garan is in the famous Walled City of Lahore, a historic core which dates back several centuries. The historic urban landscape also contains a high density of buildings that reflect the city’s architectural heritage from the Mughal, Sikh and British periods.

In 2007, a Public-Private Partnership framework agreement was signed between the Aga Khan Trust for Culture and the Government of Punjab (GoPunjab) to jointly carry out planning and conservation projects in the Walled City. Over the past decade, the Aga Khan Cultural Service-Pakistan, has provided technical assistance to the GoPunjab on several fronts from neighbourhood rehabilitation to monument conservation. The Mohalla Demonstration Project in Gali Surjan Singh and Koocha Charkh Garan was one of the first pilot initiatives carried out over a period of two years (2009 2010). By integrating neighbourhood rehabilitation and historic home conservation, this undertaking laid the benchmark for the larger Pilot Urban Rehabilitation and Infrastructure Improvement (Shahi Guzargah/ Royal Trail) Project, which the Walled City of Lahore Authority undertook.