Dr Suneela Ahmed is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Architecture and Planning, NED University of Engineering and Technology. An architect by profession, she has 18 years of research and teaching experience at both local and international levels.
During this period, the urban researcher has managed various professional aspects ranging from architectural and urban design consultancy, advocacy and outreach. Striking a balance between different professional endeavours, she says her strength and interest lies in bridging the gap between academia and practice. In her interview with Bol News, Dr Ahmed discusses the metropolis’ growth and housing problems.
Karachi is one of the fastest-growing cities in the region. What do you think are the megacity’s problems?
Karachi has significant communities representing almost every ethnic group in Pakistan. Rapid urbanisation is taking place mainly due to the post-independence migration of Muslims from India; the migration of labour in search of greener pastures from various parts of the country.
This has often resulted in haphazard planning and poor management posing serious challenges for the city. Karachi is still the traditional ‘immigrant-receiving’ society. This has resulted in what we call urban sprawl, which is not considered as something really positive in terms of sustainable development. People have started creating new habitats and landscapes even outside the city limits — Bahria Town and DHA [City] are examples.
These are well-planned and organised localities but for a certain income group who are mostly interested in investing in these areas for capital gains. These societies do not solve the housing problem of the city. There are also a fairly large number of katchi abadis and low-income settlements within the city which need upgrade and infrastructure provision to improve the quality of housing stock.
Besides Bahria Town and DHA [City], a number of private schemes which remain ghost towns can be witnessed on both sides of the Superhighway leading to Hyderabad. Naturally, the way this city is growing, a time may come when [half of] Sindh’s population will be living in Karachi, extending the city to uncontrollable limits.
Urban sprawl, which Karachi is experiencing, is the result of migration of a population from populated towns and cities in other parts of the country, to low-density residential development in Karachi, mostly on the suburbs and what was previously marked as agricultural land.
The end result is the spreading of a city and its suburbs and eventually eating up the agricultural land and the green lungs. Thus, it has become impossible for a single administrator or mayor of Karachi to look after the city and ensure uninterrupted supply of civic amenities to the citizens.
Similarly, Karachi has to be equipped adequately to improve the law and order situation. So now it is time to look at the causes and the effects of urban sprawl so that one can gain a better understanding of it.
It is often said that nobody wants to own Karachi. Do you agree with this?
In a way, yes. The labourers from various towns, villages and cities come here as single men to earn bread and butter for their families. As such they have no ownership in this city.
They own the village where they have their families, their land, their cattle and relatives. These people mostly are generally bus or taxi drivers, daily wage labourers, fruit or vegetable vendors. Many of them live in Al-Asif Square in Sohrab Goth or the surrounding areas. Living in Karachi for them is like living in a rented house where you don’t want to make improvements in the house because you don’t own it. Similarly, they never try to become a part of any improvement or betterment of Karachi.
But frankly speaking so is the case with Karachi’s elites. They have their homes in Dubai, London or the US. Their children have studied or are studying in the UK or USA and as such they prefer to … finally settle down [there] with their families.
Going abroad for the purpose of studies has been a tradition around the globe for a long time. In Pakistan, however, this trend has been on a hike since the last few years. Every year, more than 50,000 Pakistani students go abroad to pursue higher studies in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and Europe.
After getting the required education they try to settle down there and those who get a chance to live there, have no stake in the city of their birth. So, unfortunately the elite is also not pushed about what is happening in this city.
Now what is left is the middle class. They are busy making both ends meet with no time left to think about the city they live in. Yes, there are landlords from Sindh also. They have enough to buy anything they want so why should they care for the city? They also have their permanent homes in their villages. So in short, nobody really owns this city.
What is the solution to the woes of the people of this city?
To solve the problem of urban sprawl, cities must implement better planning policies that concentrate growth and prevent sprawling into rural areas. Had there been a well-planned and organised vertical development the situation with regard to civic amenities would have been much better.
A large number of vacant plots within the city could have been used for developing planned localities to settle people well within the city limits. Think of those people who are now living in Bahria Town or planning to reside in DHA [City], which is even [further] away from Bahria Town, coming daily to work in I.I. Chundrigar Road.
