The Lahore Division’s master plan-2050 is in its final stages. This is a mega-plan relating to crafting policies for the restructuring of the city, which has a history of thousands of years.
A new plan and a rethinking of the city were highly necessary. In the past few years, the Punjab capital has seen an alarmingly high rise in its population. The policies planned to be adopted for the preparation of the master plan have been drafted with the aim to accommodate more than twelve million people within the administrative boundaries of the Lahore district. The landscape of the city has seen a drastic change just in the past few years, requiring a restructuring of the plan for housing, accommodation, industrialisation, and most importantly, the environment of the city. One of the most pressing concerns pertaining to Lahore, one which has received international attention as well, in the past few years, has been that of smog enveloping the city and the air quality level falling to one of the unhealthiest levels in the world, and the negative attention received likely had a part to play in expediting the release of the master-plan.
Among a varied and large number of issues, the most prominent issues needing immediate attention that have been the focus of the draft report released so far are land management and housing, traffic and transportation, a sustainable living environment, urban governance and finance. These factors are all connected as in an overarching way, the deterioration of one has an impact on all others. For example, a haphazard and unplanned system of housing and land management has an exponentially high likelihood of spreading pollution, which impacts the environment. The key issues have multiple and ripple effects on the spatial and socio-economic spheres of the metropolis and are a major cause of other problems being faced by the city. If the above issues are resolved effectively, there are reasons to believe that other issues would themselves be taken care of in due course.
A new plan and a rethinking of the city were highly necessary. In the past few years, the Punjab capital has seen an alarmingly high rise in its population. The policies planned to be adopted for the preparation of the master plan have been drafted with the aim to accommodate more than twelve million people within the administrative boundaries of the Lahore district. The landscape of the city has seen a drastic change just in the past few years, requiring a restructuring of the plan for housing, accommodation, industrialisation, and most importantly, the environment of the city. One of the most pressing concerns pertaining to Lahore, one which has received international attention as well, in the past few years, has been that of smog enveloping the city and the air quality level falling to one of the unhealthiest levels in the world, and the negative attention received likely had a part to play in expediting the release of the master-plan.
Among a varied and large number of issues, the most prominent issues needing immediate attention that have been the focus of the draft report released so far are land management and housing, traffic and transportation, a sustainable living environment, urban governance and finance. These factors are all connected as in an overarching way, the deterioration of one has an impact on all others. For example, a haphazard and unplanned system of housing and land management has an exponentially high likelihood of spreading pollution, which impacts the environment. The key issues have multiple and ripple effects on the spatial and socio-economic spheres of the metropolis and are a major cause of other problems being faced by the city. If the above issues are resolved effectively, there are reasons to believe that other issues would themselves be taken care of in due course.
