Lahore
“PAKISTAN is projected to urbanise at a rapid rate over the next decade, with our urban and rural populations set to equalise in 2030”.
This was revealed in a research supplement launched at a local hotel on Thursday which provided a detailed information as a result of an extensive research on how cities across the world grew and consumed energy after an extensive study of over 500 urban centres.
At the launch event invited a cross section of stakeholders including urban developers, architects, corporate entities and other public and private sector organisations. This growth will come with a number of challenges but also opportunities and it’s imperative that concrete urban planning and design steps are taken to ensure a prosperous future for Pakistani communities
John Russell, a world renowned City Development expert, who is currently based in The Hague, gave a detailed presentation about the potential growth scenarios for an urban hub like Lahore. While many major urban centres in Pakistan share characteristics such as high population density and low per capita GDP, as well as resource and transport challenges, Lahore presents distinct features contributed in the history as a Mughal imperial capital, and its current role today as provincial epicenter. “While significant investment has been made into Lahore’s development, further careful planning will help achieve more efficient and integrated use of resources, particularly energy resources,” said Mr. Russell. “By encouraging urban design-led efforts here and in other urban centres in Pakistan, resilience can be built into these systems and services to ensure greater wellbeing and prosperity for the future.”
The publication, New Lenses on Future Cities, produced in collaboration with the Singapore Centre for Livable Cities and using research from global consultants Booz & Company, surveyed a diverse mixture of urban centres, and
groups’ cities into six illustrative archetypes indicating where energy use is most concentrated and where future urbanisation is set to take place. It also identifies potential development pathways that help to give cities ‘room to maneuver’ in how they use resources and promote economic development whilst keeping the city livable.