Staff Reporter
Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, Islamabad, is organizing series of webinars on Master plans of Cities, their future and development, in the month of January. VC PIDE, Dr. Nadeem ul Haq will be hosting these webinars along with the eminent speakers, experts in their field i.e Urban development, Urban economics, Master plans specialists, best architects and designers of national and international level.
According to PIDE research and recent publication on Cities and Urbanization, a guide to Policy and research, Pakistan currently has some of the largest cities in the world. It has about 20 cities with populations of above a million. Karachi and Lahore are among the twenty-five mega cities in the world. This rapid urbanization is accompanied by congestion, pollution, mobility issues, shortage of housing and other utilities and sprawl. Pakistan also has 40 percent of its urban population living in slums.
There is clear shortage of urban public spaces, libraries, office and commercial spaces, and sustainable urban transportation. Our cities are not inclusive either. People living in slums, and street hawkers face a constant threat of eviction. Urban planning in Pakistan has not kept pace with the changes brought about by rapid urbanization. Pakistani cities lack the vigour and dynamism of a modern, productive, competitive cities. Future of the countries are in the cities hence they should be better managed. In this webinar, we will learn from speakers how cities can do it right and how we can improve our current cities.
