‘Urban population growth needs to be matched with effective planning, development’

Pakistan currently has 82 million people living in urban areas, 30 million of whom are living in informal settlements. Karachi is no different: approximately half of its population lives in informal settlements.

Hence, urban population growth in Pakistan needs to be matched with effective urban planning and development initiatives. This has become even more important in the wake of Pakistan’s devastating floods, which have caused additional migration from rural areas to already migrant-stressed cities like Karachi.

These observations were made during an international urban resilience conference titled ‘Reimagining Resilience: The Transition to Sustainable Cities’, which was hosted by the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Karachi, in collaboration with UNDP Pakistan and the Sindh government at the IBA City Campus on Wednesday.

The conference facilitated expert discussion and policy recommendations for Pakistan to effectively respond to urban resilience and development challenges. It focused on reimagining resilience to create a new paradigm for city governance.

It suggested doing so by stepping out of traditional governance and economic development approaches, and creating spaces for engagement with citizens and experts alike to create inclusive and climate-adaptive cities.

The conference brought together senior government representatives, national and international urban resilience advocates, subject matter experts, and representatives of Pakistan’s private sector and UN agencies.

Dr S Akbar Zaidi, executive director of IBA Karachi and principal investigator for the UNDP-IBA Karachi Urban Resilience Project, said that even though cities are considered hubs of economic activity, poor urban planning has left many in want of basic services such as water, electricity, energy, health and education.

“Unregulated expansion of these communities has resulted in overburdened transport networks, which exacerbate the issue of low employment opportunities for such people,” added Dr Zaidi.

UNDP Pakistan Resident Representative Knut Ostby said that while Pakistan’s current urban context presents a crisis for cities and its governments, it also presents an opportunity for resilience building.

“This is key to achieving sustainable development and ensuring that urban areas continue to serve as inclusive spaces for human development and economic growth,” added Ostby.

The keynote address was delivered by Sindh Environment Minister Ismail Rahoo, who said that despite contributing less than a per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, Pakistan is among the most vulnerable countries. He highlighted the provincial government’s various sustainable development initiatives for Karachi through public-private partnerships.

Karachi Commissioner Iqbal Memon’s address focused on the challenges faced by policymakers due to a lack of data. The introductory session of the conference concluded with Dr Zaidi and Ostby presenting the UNDP-IBA report on ‘Migration, Livelihoods & Resilience in Karachi: A Study on Social Cohesion and Informal Urban Settlements’ to Rahoo. The report is a culmination of a six-month research led by UNDP Pakistan and IBA Karachi into two informal settlements of the city: Azam Basti and Rehri Goth.