The Asian Development Bank has said that Pakistan’s cities are becoming unlivable and the country’s urban centers are losing their viability due to low scores in several competitive indices, including problems such as congestion, lack of attractiveness, and pollution.
According to the report, in the launch of the Pakistan National Urban Assessment Report, the Asian Development Bank pointed out that most of the urban centers have insufficient capacity to host and encourage economic, social, and cultural activities, and the few green spaces that were left in the cities were also destroyed. is being done and now attention is being paid to creating green areas only in elite and elite areas.
Presenting the report, Asian Development Bank Country Director Emma Xiaoqinfan said that the rapid growth of the urban population in Pakistan is adding to urban problems, and when the urban population reaches 99 million or 40 percent of the country’s total population by 2030. If reached, the pressure on cities will further increase due to the growing deficit of urban infrastructure and services.
He added that the Asian Development Bank will continue to support a balanced urban population by developing climate-efficient infrastructure to improve the delivery of high-quality integrated municipal services in medium-sized cities.
The report recommended that as cities prepare to prepare new master plans or update existing plans, land use, and management can be steered toward more sustainable paths.
The report states that while cities in Pakistan face similar development challenges, there are fundamental differences in terms of urban population between the four provinces and major cities, with Karachi’s population nearly doubling over the past two decades. While the population of Lahore has increased by 138%.
The report states that there is a need to reduce the demographic pressure on these two cities by building alternative urban centers and improving socio-economic opportunities and living conditions in rural areas.
Karachi: The report found that class disparity is a major problem in Karachi as most of the privileged class live in cantonment areas or private housing societies, while low-income people are pushed into the city’s largest district, East.
In this regard, it was told that this city is also divided on religious and ethnic lines, due to which many incidents of violence have occurred in the past. The report said that Karachi is the only city in Pakistan that has limited land and Expanding rapidly due to urgent residential needs.
Lahore: Illegal constructions are the biggest challenge facing Lahore, many unorganized housing schemes are springing up in the city with poor planning, many of them are illegal and the city initially had such illegal constructions. There is no mechanism to stop reporting or not.
The city missed a rare opportunity to establish its newly constructed ring road as a border and turn it into an economic corridor.
Peshawar: Population pressure has increased in Peshawar following the merger of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, resulting in migration from these areas to Peshawar, resulting in a doubling of the population between 1998 and 2017.
The KP Urban Policy adopted in early 2023 guides Peshawar’s growth from 2030 onwards, the city’s infrastructure is improving, and the operationalization of the first BRT line in 2020 has reduced traffic and Urban mobility has increased.
Quetta: Although Quetta is directly threatened by climate change and therefore receives support from international organizations, it does not have any communication or cooperation with other provinces to provide guidance and information in this regard. Work is also limited and no Public Private Partnership project is planned.
Islamabad: Although the federal capital Islamabad was built as a sparsely populated city, the city has now deviated from the plan due to pressure from the growing demand for housing in the city. The main problem is institutional.
Instead of cooperating under a central metropolitan authority, the agencies operate as competitors and struggle for power.
In his detailed presentation and observation, the lead author of the report, Prof. Spiro N. Polalis, said that Pakistan is at a critical juncture where increasing activity in cities is undoubtedly the main driver of economic and social development, which is accompanied by failing public services, declining quality Challenges such as decline in livelihoods and economic output are being faced.
