urban development
in recent years Pakistan's major cities have witnessed major changes and transformations.lots of commercial development has taken place.as im in Lahore, i just wanted to discuss trhe development in Lahore.main boulevard used to be totally resedential a decade ago.now its the hotest piece of real estate in town.plazasa are being erected left right and center.i have no problem with such development as long as its planned.by planning i mean that if we are tachnically going to be having a downtown area extending down from mall road into gulberg it should be planned meticulously. while plazas are being constructed, no parking structures are availanble for the increasing number of cars.underground parking has simply not taken off.2ndly unlike karachi it seems that lahoris really dont buy into the apartment living culture which is sad cos i would love to live in an apartment in a few yrs which is located in the heart of the city.instead of ugly looking concrete blocks there should be road side cafes,shops,restaurants and cineplexes planned as well.who will do this planning.God knows.but if someone doesnt act now itll be too late.in the next five to ten yrs gulberg will have become totally commercialised.it can be made into a gorgeous city centre where there are shops,boutiques, entertainment centers,theatres,parks etc.so far it seems the only shops worth opening are cloth and fabric shops.there is no concept of walking as such.cos there is no concept of footpaths.anyway wats wrong with dreaming.all i see is unplanned development and unlimited urban sprawl as defence tries to reach the indian border while private developers seek to build housing society upon housing society towards raiwind,okara,sheikhupura.
also a word about the old city.just by beutifying one little street,the one where cukoos is, the local area's economy has received a great boost.just imagine if more and more mohallas were beuitifed.it would become a tourist haven.touristss would flock to shalmi,the traditional eastern bazaar where everything from spices to electronics will be available.right now shalmi is a mess.and its home to the citys richest traders.indifference,apathy corruption is just too great.
posted by Jerry shah at 12:29 PM
3 Comments:
i agree...and u know what, no matter how nice the plaza or mall is, we're never going to have the kind of recreational point of view towards shopping that they have abroad.you know how there u just go to the mall to hang out, sit around and window shop.i dont see it here.
we have a few really nice malls here in khi, but the only ones randomly hanging out are the 'cool dudes' who come to check out 'bachis'.ugh!
so we dont really need all these plazas and complexes.
and about the lack of apartment culture, thats sad because, its a great lifestyle.we're ok with living in apartments abroad but here we think it reflects on our social status.at least thats what ive deduced about lahore.in khi, i have friends living in beautiful apartments, and no it doesnt mean their poor.in fact, many of these flats are more expensive than bungalows.
ok now i have no idea how to conclude so just make sense out of this.lol.
6:06 PM
I hate to break it to ya but guys "abroad" go to malls specifically "to check out bachi's" as well. They might be a bit more civilised about it, but that doesn't make it a whole lot different than the whistling and hooting idiots in different bazaar's in pakistan. Boys will be boys wherever they are n there isn't a whole lot wrong with that. It is really hard to have successfull malls without a decent public transportation system, an educated general populace and a vast gap between the rich and the poor.
As for Apartments and condominums, they're ussually not a very popular choice amongst people in warmer climates. There are alot fewer high-rise condo's in california and florida. Cheaper labour also provides a huge incentive for people to buy houses as opposed to condo's (you guys don't have to mow the lawn, or clean snow off the driveway). The incentive to live in apartments or condominums is significantly marginalized by the semi-slavery (driver) culture that is so prevalent in Pakistani society.
You've got a pretty decent blog here. Keep up the good work.
3:23 PM
Lahore has traditionally not been populated by high rise buildings. It hasn't been the commericial hub that karachi is either and hence migrant labor is comparatively less which obviously mitigates the scale of housing problems. App. in Khi range from ramshackle to splendid condos but again the whole race and hurry means infrastructure is questionable. Also planning. Over here 16-B is the neighbor of 44-Y instead of 17-B. As long as the population pressure is less, I guess comemrical development can still be regulated. Concrete comes at the expense of greenery.I hope that doesn't happen to Lahore.I love Cantt roads and the canopy of trees that arch over it and form a that jade colored tunnel. Specially on that road that has those rolling speed bumps that give such an airplane sort of ride.
9:59 PM
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