Islamabad master plan: Know thy city — I
How violations are defacing Islamabad the beautiful.
A beautiful view of Rawal Lake in Islamabad. PHOTO: ZAFAR ASLAM
ISLAMABAD:
If you have ever wondered why changes in Islamabad’s master plan kick up a storm, it’s time to get to know the city better. The federal capital was conceived as an administrative city and as a cultural centre, planned as a dynapolis or a dynamic city. Its amenities run in the direction of its expansion and its planning provides for dynamic and parallel development of several functions.
The fact that it is so well-planned means that changes in its grid pattern will mar the symmetry that distinguishes it from tens of other cities in the country.
The seat of government is housed in the northeast, while residential and allied facilities are accommodated in the south. Southwest in a lattice of grids house federal government employees in the immediate vicinity of the secretariat.
A national park for recreation and institutions of national importance was planned on the eastern side of Islamabad Highway.
The rural periphery north of the urban area and a two kilometre-area around the Rawal Lake was declared as the Margalla Hills National Park by the government in 1980 to protect the lake and to conserve the environment particularly through afforestation projects.
The road network is dependent upon the natural axis of the valley. Its skeleton is built on a grid iron pattern. For inter-city movement, four highways serve as utility and communication corridors, namely Islamabad, Kashmir, Soan and capital highways. GT Road was accommodated in the plan.
A grid system of an axis of 2,100 yards was envisaged to create major urban areas each having an area of 911.15 acres.
Marakiz or commercial centres were planned in each sector whereas in each sub-sector small shopping centres for meeting the daily needs of residents within a short radius were constructed.
Blue Area was earmarked to fulfil the commercial needs of the city’s residents. Blue Area runs throughout the length of Islamabad and will expand with the city’s dynamic growth.
In 1974 on the recommendation of a panel of architects and planners the width of the Blue Area was curtailed and the alignment was shifted between sectors F and E beyond 9 series sectors to reduce the scale of commercial area.
But in 2007, the government issued a statutory regulatory order to allow construction on patches of land and astride major roads within built-up areas in Zone IV, subject to permission from CDA on the basis of planning parameters. Subsequently, the Supreme Court took suo motu action with respect to non-conforming land use especially in Zones III and IV and decided that land owners in Zone-IV shall be facilitated in getting approval for construction.
Private land owners in Zone-IV were allowed residential and commercial construction like other areas and zones of Islamabad. They were also permitted to establish agro-farms of minimum size of four kanals.
The government approved five sub-divisions of Zone IV, A, B1, B2, C and D with varied land use. Mixed land use is allowed in subzones B1 and B2. Agro farming, institutions, IT parks and public sector housing are permissible in Subzone C. Agro-farming, conservation and recreation projects are allowed in Subzone D.
Subzones C and D comprise 60% or 45,000 acres of the total area of Zone IV which spans 70,000 acres. This was to ensure the original plan to keep the area predominantly green. Commercial activity astride defined major roads is permissible at selected locations.
All the various elements of the city are knitted together in a way that any change will deform its structure.
The writer is a retired CDA project director and a town and environmental planner.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 13th, 2014.
If you have ever wondered why changes in Islamabad’s master plan kick up a storm, it’s time to get to know the city better. The federal capital was conceived as an administrative city and as a cultural centre, planned as a dynapolis or a dynamic city. Its amenities run in the direction of its expansion and its planning provides for dynamic and parallel development of several functions.
The fact that it is so well-planned means that changes in its grid pattern will mar the symmetry that distinguishes it from tens of other cities in the country.
The seat of government is housed in the northeast, while residential and allied facilities are accommodated in the south. Southwest in a lattice of grids house federal government employees in the immediate vicinity of the secretariat.
A national park for recreation and institutions of national importance was planned on the eastern side of Islamabad Highway.
The rural periphery north of the urban area and a two kilometre-area around the Rawal Lake was declared as the Margalla Hills National Park by the government in 1980 to protect the lake and to conserve the environment particularly through afforestation projects.
The road network is dependent upon the natural axis of the valley. Its skeleton is built on a grid iron pattern. For inter-city movement, four highways serve as utility and communication corridors, namely Islamabad, Kashmir, Soan and capital highways. GT Road was accommodated in the plan.
A grid system of an axis of 2,100 yards was envisaged to create major urban areas each having an area of 911.15 acres.
Marakiz or commercial centres were planned in each sector whereas in each sub-sector small shopping centres for meeting the daily needs of residents within a short radius were constructed.
Blue Area was earmarked to fulfil the commercial needs of the city’s residents. Blue Area runs throughout the length of Islamabad and will expand with the city’s dynamic growth.
In 1974 on the recommendation of a panel of architects and planners the width of the Blue Area was curtailed and the alignment was shifted between sectors F and E beyond 9 series sectors to reduce the scale of commercial area.
But in 2007, the government issued a statutory regulatory order to allow construction on patches of land and astride major roads within built-up areas in Zone IV, subject to permission from CDA on the basis of planning parameters. Subsequently, the Supreme Court took suo motu action with respect to non-conforming land use especially in Zones III and IV and decided that land owners in Zone-IV shall be facilitated in getting approval for construction.
Private land owners in Zone-IV were allowed residential and commercial construction like other areas and zones of Islamabad. They were also permitted to establish agro-farms of minimum size of four kanals.
The government approved five sub-divisions of Zone IV, A, B1, B2, C and D with varied land use. Mixed land use is allowed in subzones B1 and B2. Agro farming, institutions, IT parks and public sector housing are permissible in Subzone C. Agro-farming, conservation and recreation projects are allowed in Subzone D.
Subzones C and D comprise 60% or 45,000 acres of the total area of Zone IV which spans 70,000 acres. This was to ensure the original plan to keep the area predominantly green. Commercial activity astride defined major roads is permissible at selected locations.
All the various elements of the city are knitted together in a way that any change will deform its structure.
The writer is a retired CDA project director and a town and environmental planner.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 13th, 2014.