I live in a posh area in the city of Lahore. It houses shopping malls, corporate offices, and multi-story plazas. Strangely, a few slums with no walls and doors exist among the concrete buildings. Most importantly, people live in these slums with their pet dogs, hens, and cats. Why do these slums exist in the community of elites?
Before answering that, let me explain the geography of the area. There are two roads passing in front of the building where I live: the main road and the service road. The former is under government control, and the latter is under the private ownership of the housing society. When moonsoon comes with heavy spillovers, the main road is cleared, and its water comes to the service road, blocking access to offices and houses.
Here slums come. Once there were green fields and mud houses; now there are concrete buildings. The rainwater used to flow in the fields now blocks the roads because we blocked the arities for the flow of water.
This is the story of Lahore. The city is sprawling outside. All the finest commercial activities are expanding in the non-dense areas of the city. According to the research by PIDE, dense areas of Lahore contain only 8% of the commercial activity. Simply, it means that people have to travel 30-40 kilometers for jobs, fun, and treatment. Therefore, they need more cars, bicycles, and motor vehicles. It occupies space for walkers and creates congestion and pollution.
All the world’s great cities encourage vertical expansion and discourage sprawls. City administrations put congestion taxes, parking fees, and penalties on large vehicles. Great cities make space for mobility and walkers. Our cities block by building signal-free roads for cars.
Climate Change doesn’t happen in isolation. It shows cruelty, submerging our homes and jamming our lives when we put concrete everywhere. We blocked the arteries of water flow. Now climate change is blocking our lives. Don’t blame climate. Utilize the ancient wisdom of the region, urban planning, and most importantly, science.
