The historic city of Shikarpoor is a unique representation of Sindh's built form traditions, which have evolved over centuries in response to the changing socioeconomic and political influences experienced by resident communities. In addition, the historic built environment represents adaptations responding to climatic factors. The descriptive analysis on the city's urban form presented here is derived from an extensive literature review of historic accounts, comparative study of historical and current maps, and perceptions derived through primary field data. This analytical retrospect is aimed at stimulating sensitivity for the present state of affairs regarding Shikarpoor's historic fabric. The review offers an understanding of the city's morphological form – focusing on the street patterns, circulation, directions of expansion and the overall character of the historic built fabric, including open spaces, other elements of the urban environment and buildings.

Shikarpoor was originally laid out as a walled city, built with burnt bricks, enclosing an area within walls stretching 3800 yards in circumference and with eight gated and guarded entry points. This historic core within the walled limits (presently what is contained within the Circular Road) has narrow, winding streets and alleys with a well-preserved form and layout and, even today, the inner streets can only accommodate pedestrian traffic. The dense built fabric retains much of its traditional architectural style, with constructions in timber, mud and brick. However, in recent years, this is rapidly changing and new constructions in cement concrete, which are ill-suited to the historic environment in terms of scale and proportion, are increasingly replacing traditional buildings.

Within the city limits, the most important traffic artery is the Circular Road that goes around the historic core, following the original city walls and is the nerve centre of all vehicular movement. Beyond this point, vehicular traffic can only penetrate inside the inner city core at a few locations, and then only up to a certain point. The densely built walled city areas have in their immediate periphery some extensions of built-up areas that largely developed under the colonial regime, beyond which lie the extensive suburbs that comprise agricultural lands, parks and gardens, orchards, and other features such as canals, water tanks or ponds, which form an integral part of the irrigation system sustaining agricultural activities.