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How to Eliminate Slums in Pakistan

Article in International Journal of Urban Planning and Smart Cities · July 2020
DOI: 10.4018/IJUPSC.2020070103

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International Journal of Urban Planning and Smart Cities
Volume 1 • Issue 2 • July-December 2020

How to Eliminate Slums in Pakistan

Niaz Ahmad, University of Peshawar, Pakistan

ABSTRACT

Pakistan is faced with the challenge of population increase and uncontrolled urbanization. Government
failure to properly manage and accommodate the increased population in cities has been the major
cause for slum formation. The government attempted various techniques to overcome the slum
condition in cities. However, these initiatives were never chosen through a research process, nor
were these evidence based. This research advocates that slums are formed through various means and
that each requires different techniques, rather than upgrading infrastructure only. The reason for the
existence of these slums is that public sector housing is not in range of the needy class nor is there
some sort of mechanism for them to meet their housing demand in a proper manner. Therefore, the
market forces are free to carve alternate ways for the shelter needs of the poor. This is how slums
formed and progressed in Pakistan. The government spent millions every year but failed to stop slum
formation. This research is to understand the slum formation process and suggests the choice of a
feasible option among preventive or curative measures for its clearance.

KEywoRdS
Slums, Uncontrolled Urbanization, Development Control, Dilapidation, Curative Measures, Preventive Measures

INTRodUCTIoN

Un-managed urbanization has widespread ramification on physical and social infrastructure (Rojas
and Eduardo, 2010). This has exacerbate inequality, exclusion and vulnerability among the urban
dwellers (UN-Habitat, 2008; 2010b).The rise of such an urbanization in parallel with gaps in urban
planning and land management has contributed to the lack of serviced land and affordable housing
(UN-Habitat, 2003; Banerjee and Banashree, 2010). This phenomenon has led to the rise of slums and
have caused haphazard urban growth in most of the developing countries (Banerjee, 2006). UN-Habitat
State of the World Cities Report 2012/13 proclaimed that the proportion of urban population residing
in informal settlements rose to 49% in Pakistan. Similarly, a recent study of UN-habitat regarding the
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Settlements Improvements Program (KP-SIP)-2016 highlighted that presently,
the proportion of slum dwellers are likely to increase unless there is an increase in the availability of
service land and equal access to affordable housing for low income dwellers of the cities.
It has been identified through various studies that population increase and institutional capacities
are responsible for mismanagement in cities (Banerjee and Banashree, 2011; Cities Alliance, 2011).
Population of Pakistan is reached to almost 207 million (GoP, 2017). Among it, the urban share is
about 76 million, growing at the rate of3% per annum, adding further 1.6 million people annually
to the urban share with no thought out plan. This process of uncontrolled urbanization has resulted
in overcrowding and deterioration of environment in cities (Baker and Judy, 2008). It has severely
taxed the already inadequate civic amenities and services to a considerable extent. Consequently,
most of the posh localities of ancient time are engulf by slums characteristics (Handzic, 2010). It

DOI: 10.4018/IJUPSC.2020070103

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30
 International Journal of Urban Planning and Smart Cities
Volume 1 • Issue 2 • July-December 2020

vigorously intensified the process of gentrification from these localities to the better places or newly
emerged towns (Fernandes, 2011; UN-Habitat, 2006, 2008). Most of the evacuated houses are illegally
converted into other profitable uses. Illegal subdivision coupled with incompatible change of use has
not only disturb the social fabric but rather paved ways for further deprivation and delinquencies. This
process of continuous plot subdivision and land use violation caused densification and intensification
of the available services and amenities. This phenomenon increases dilapidation and environmental
degradation within these localities and finally convert it into slums (UN-Habitat, 2010a). The goal
of this research is to discourage slum formation in cities.
Provision of services (curative approach) is no more a suitable solution, as when the government
up-grade one slum another crop up even faster than the one’s up gradation. Therefore, this research
advocate that there is a need to shift engineering solution to that of an urban planning approach. Various
type of slums are to be dealt with according to its formation process. Because, adopting curative
measure to improve the miserable condition in slums clearance programs, particularly Community
Infrastructure Project (CIP) been carried out in the whole of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (during nineties)
but didn’t succeed. The government did upgrade some portion of the existing slums, however, no
action were taken to stop further formation of slums. Resultantly, the process of slum formation didn’t
stop even with the spent of millions of funds through CIP project in KP.
Similarly, Global Report on Human Settlements (2009) highlighted the widespread failure of
curative approach to improve the living condition of the majority of urban inhabitants, living in
predominantly strapped municipalities of rapidly growing cities in the developing world. The report
assesses the effectiveness of urban planning as a tool for dealing with the unprecedented challenges
facing 21st-century cities and firmly suggest to enhance sustainable urbanization. However, throughout
the developing world, urban planning systems is very weak and have often failed to solve urban
problems. Particularly the problem of urban fragmentation and mismanagement. It induced urban
sprawl (formation of slums and squatter settlements) in Pakistan too.
Therefore, substantial reform in slums up-gradation approach are required. It is need of the day,
rather we will have to spend millions of funds to recover the adverse effects that will arise from the
slums in future. We need to fill the gaps within the existing legal and regulatory frame work dealing
with urban planning and management. We need to prepare pro poor policies to ensure decent and
honorable accommodation for them to live. We need to limit our cities through development control
mechanism to avoid slum formation and proliferation. In this regard it must be obligatory for private
developer/land owners to ensure a standard proportion between built-up and green spaces in urban
enclaves. Similarly, provision of social amenities alongside standard size of streets and roads are
necessary to be ensured in urban areas before it is allowed to sale land with in urban boundaries.

REASoNS FoR THE GRowTH oF SLUMS

In the absence of land use plan and development control mechanism spatial growth of cities are mostly
flawed. It has vigorously support maxing up of non-compatible land uses and sprawl of the cities.
Ahmad, 2012 calculated that 60-80% spatial growth of cities are causing slums in Pakistan. None
existence/implementation practices of local building codes for residential and commercial building
are mainly contributing in the slum making process. Building construction are usually taken place in
an informal manner. Building norms are only in practice within planned housing schemes only, which
are under jurisdiction of the development Authority (DA) or Cantonment Board (CB). There exists
no procedure for other part of cities growth, which are mostly under Tehsil Municipal Administration
(TMA) due to lack of professional planners in it. Houses construction are continuously in progress
without ensuring floor area ratio, plinth level, street width or sewerage system. Most often TMA shows
their interests for commercial buildings only. Here again TMA never attempts to ensure some kind of
by laws for building construction. TMA activities are just to collect construction fee from commercial
buildings only. Building Control Agency (BCA) is considered as a revenue generation entity and

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