Changing demographics: Arif Hasan wants Karachi to be pedestrian friendly
Architect and urban planner talks about city's traffic problems.
KARACHI:
Arif Hasan doesn't want Karachi to turn into a world class city. He wants it to be a pedestrian and commuter-friendly city.
The architect and urban planner was talking about his vision for Karachi at a seminar on the city's changing demographics and planning-related issues at Habib University on Thursday evening. He claimed that his vision was often criticised by people who think that no one will invest in Karachi if he is given a free-hand.
Hasan was discussing the definition of a 'world class city', as explained by Mahbubur Rehman in his paper, Global City - Asian Aspiration. According to the definition, a city should have iconic architecture by which it is recognised. This could be the tallest building or fountain in the world. The Karachi Port Trust tried to build the highest water fountain in the world - it was their contribution to turn Karachi into a world class city, he pointed out. They were, however, unsuccessful as the fountain was only the second largest in the world, he added.
During this discussion, Hasan, who has worked extensively on developing Karachi, asked how the image of a world class city dealt with the larger reality of a city. The reality, he claimed, included hawkers, immigrants and low-income families. The people who support high-rise buildings, he said, think that these skyscrapers will promote a softer image of Pakistan. He added that they often forget the reality.
According to Hasan, a builder did not think about how the city's transport is going to be affected or accommodate a 20-storey building. He claimed that Karachi was the only city in the world where public transportation had decreased because of an increase in private cars and motorcycles.
A survey taken by arifhasan.org shows that 56 per cent of the women in the city want to start using motorcycles themselves - at the moment only 11 women in Karachi ride motorcycles.
While talking about immigrant settlements in the city, Hasan said that it was derogatory to term those localities as 'slums' and should use the term informal localities instead. "All low-income settlements have extremely high densities," he said. "It's not a Karachi problem. It is a problem with all of the big cities in South Asia." He added that Karachi, Dhaka and Mumbai were three of the most dense cities in South Asia and they all had the same problems.
The density of the city, he said, had a profound effect on the shape and politics of Karachi. If Karachi continued to grow on the same scale that it was right now, then people's dependence on their religious and ethnic minorities or political organisations will increase, he predicted. He added that the city can absorb migration only if the government built the necessary infrastructure.
Developers and boards
Hasan also talked about the Sindh High Density Board which has 25 members out of which only two are professional architects while others are politicians.
Its objective is to turn katchi abadis into apartments.
The board also has the powers to decide where, when and how high-rises will be built.
"This is the antithesis of planning," said Hasan. "Karachi needs a planning department which can research and give proposals."
Published in The Express Tribune, November 29th, 2014.
Arif Hasan doesn't want Karachi to turn into a world class city. He wants it to be a pedestrian and commuter-friendly city.
The architect and urban planner was talking about his vision for Karachi at a seminar on the city's changing demographics and planning-related issues at Habib University on Thursday evening. He claimed that his vision was often criticised by people who think that no one will invest in Karachi if he is given a free-hand.
Hasan was discussing the definition of a 'world class city', as explained by Mahbubur Rehman in his paper, Global City - Asian Aspiration. According to the definition, a city should have iconic architecture by which it is recognised. This could be the tallest building or fountain in the world. The Karachi Port Trust tried to build the highest water fountain in the world - it was their contribution to turn Karachi into a world class city, he pointed out. They were, however, unsuccessful as the fountain was only the second largest in the world, he added.
During this discussion, Hasan, who has worked extensively on developing Karachi, asked how the image of a world class city dealt with the larger reality of a city. The reality, he claimed, included hawkers, immigrants and low-income families. The people who support high-rise buildings, he said, think that these skyscrapers will promote a softer image of Pakistan. He added that they often forget the reality.
According to Hasan, a builder did not think about how the city's transport is going to be affected or accommodate a 20-storey building. He claimed that Karachi was the only city in the world where public transportation had decreased because of an increase in private cars and motorcycles.
A survey taken by arifhasan.org shows that 56 per cent of the women in the city want to start using motorcycles themselves - at the moment only 11 women in Karachi ride motorcycles.
While talking about immigrant settlements in the city, Hasan said that it was derogatory to term those localities as 'slums' and should use the term informal localities instead. "All low-income settlements have extremely high densities," he said. "It's not a Karachi problem. It is a problem with all of the big cities in South Asia." He added that Karachi, Dhaka and Mumbai were three of the most dense cities in South Asia and they all had the same problems.
The density of the city, he said, had a profound effect on the shape and politics of Karachi. If Karachi continued to grow on the same scale that it was right now, then people's dependence on their religious and ethnic minorities or political organisations will increase, he predicted. He added that the city can absorb migration only if the government built the necessary infrastructure.
Developers and boards
Hasan also talked about the Sindh High Density Board which has 25 members out of which only two are professional architects while others are politicians.
Its objective is to turn katchi abadis into apartments.
The board also has the powers to decide where, when and how high-rises will be built.
"This is the antithesis of planning," said Hasan. "Karachi needs a planning department which can research and give proposals."
Published in The Express Tribune, November 29th, 2014.