Turning cities into engines of growth and prosperity

Pakistan has been facing a problematic journey of economic growth for the last few decades. Cities are increasingly being considered important engines of economic opportunity since they host agglomerations of people, businesses and ideas. It is thus safe to state that the suboptimal performance of our cities is partly responsible for the sporadic, volatile and declining economic growth trends in Pakistan. We must question what factors are inhibiting our cities from functioning as optimal engines of economic progress. What factors are hindering our cities from successfully delivering opportunities and returns? In this article, an Urbanist and an Economist come together to shares ideas that can help transform cities into engines of growth and social prosperity.

With numerous spatial restrictions to economic growth, instead of reducing physical distances between people and economic opportunities, our out-dated and socially disastrous master planning processes have disconnected citizens from the places they need to be. Large cities in Pakistan have economically unfriendly by-laws that limit mixed-use (commercial, residential, recreations, educational) development thereby furthering urban sprawl, heat emissions of cars and unaffordable commercial properties and rents. City cores should be allowed to pursue mixed use through revised regulations on density especially for businesses.

Moreover, due to the above-mentioned models of urban planning, urban transportation in Pakistan is focused on cars, widening of roads, building redundant bridges and underpasses and the recent trend of fenced Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems. Pedestrian paths are either non-existent or poorly designed. Encouraging mixed use density will enable walkability and connectivity in cities. It will reduce the number of vehicles on our roads that will lead not only to a reduction in automobile emissions, but also to safer and more accessible urban street life. There has been much discussion on various forums on both federal and provincial tax collection mechanisms. With regard to cities, the tax collection system is not conducive to the varying tiers of the urban economy. Cities, as is historically proven, are used for the pursuit of commerce, the expression of culture and serve as the platform for social mobility. Unfortunately, Pakistani cities face systemic hindrances in all three of these aspects. For example, the recent move of removing khokhas (street kiosks) from many cities needs to be critically reexamined. Municipal governments should issue tradable permits for street vendors to establish khokhas that will enable cities to leverage a largely untapped municipal tax base. Lastly cities need to ensure high rise development that will add value to properties leading to a higher revenue generation. Urban regeneration of state properties in cities can attract huge investment, economic activity and revenue generation.

Pakistan, like most of the world, is witnessing a rising trend of technology start-ups and the gigabyte economy. However, our cities are not positioning themselves as friendly home grounds to the tech economy. There are growing international examples spanning from Canada to the United Kingdom and from Brazil across till our neighbouring China, where cities are making regulatory and land use changes to accommodate the tech sector. There is a crucial need to develop special technology zones using state properties in big cities to accommodate up to 10,000 IT workers in each city which can generate exports worth five billion dollars.

Furthermore, an unprecedented increase in rural to urban migration has been discussed in policy circles as more of a problem and less of an opportunity. Having more people in cities is not a threat nor is it a hindrance to growth unless there is a lack of proper governance and service delivery. The threat, perhaps, is the colonial administrative practices and lack of understanding among policymakers about the urban policy. Socio-historically, cities provide chances for upward social mobility to otherwise generationally rural dwellers. Someone moving to a city from a village may become a doctor, lawyer, scientist, an entrepreneur, a government servant or activist who may change the lives of millions. Instead of sending charity and loan-money to poor people in rural areas, they should be encouraged to move to cities through the removal of restrictions to their social mobility.

Urban planning in Pakistan has kept large scale property developers and the economic elite central to its vision. Cities have been designed by engineers who were largely instructed by property moguls to increase profits and the attractiveness of gated residential communities. Thus the urban dream in Pakistan has been contained to that of a gated community — a lifestyle that promotes enclosed security, a faux sense of community, and unnecessarily large floor plans and private gardens. This has exacerbated, beyond redemption, the very visual spread of economic inequality in our cities — the sprawling neighbourhoods of the elite are found spatially juxtaposed with the infrastructural squalor of informal squatter communities.

The urban dream could have been repackaged and sold to prospective city dwellers as one of interactive communal living, shared public spaces, open and secure streets and neighbourhoods. Cities need to think and plan for the most important aspect of human life that is quality of life which is mainly dependent on the vibrancy of public paces in our cities. Widely accessible parks, public performances, public art and active participation in service delivery in water, garbage collection and preventive health can increase positive contribution to city life.

Pakistan needs to take immediate steps towards removing barriers to smooth economic functioning and quality of life in our cities if it wishes to realise the full potential of rapid urbanisation. In order to realise these goals our cities need to establish and implement devolved, proficient, and people-centric city governments.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 31^st, 2019.

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