- Improving liveability and economic activity
Pakistan has gone through a strong phenomenon of rural-urban migration over the years. Having said that, the public spaces of its hundred-plus cities have not seen much improvement. This has led to an increase in the mental and physical stress of its inhabitants, and has also deprived them of many economic activities or opportunities associated with well-developed public spaces. The World Bank Group recently came out with a report ‘The hidden wealth of cities: creating, financing, and managing public spaces’, which explores ways in which better development of public spaces, even in the most dense cities, could be achieved. It would make sense, therefore, that urban planners in Pakistan draw lessons from this Report.
Here, the Report points out that the importance of public spaces is highlighted by the United Nations (UN) as well through its Sustainable Development Goal 11, by calling for ‘universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces, in particular, for women and children, older persons and persons with disabilities.’
Moreover, the Report indicates that UN defines ‘public spaces’ as ‘the spaces between buildings and facilities that are open to the public, consisting broadly of three types of urban spaces: streets and pedestrian access; open and green spaces, including parks, plazas, waterbodies, and waterfronts; and public facilities like libraries, community centers, and municipal markets (UN-Habitat 2015).’
Massive urbanization has taken place throughout the world during the last half-a-century or so, where the Report highlights ‘Between 1960 and 2017, the world’s urban population quadrupled from about 1 billion to more than 4 billion people. Today, some 55 percent of the world’s population live in cities, and this figure is slated to increase to about two-thirds with the expected addition of another 2.5 billion people to urban areas by 2050. Close to 90 percent of this urbanization process will take place in Asia and Africa (UN DESA 2019).’ This situation requires that a strong emphasis is placed on improving the public spaces, especially in developing countries that have lagged behind in this regard.
Moreover, the Report highlights that ‘With effective management, public spaces can be financially sustainable without dependence on public budgets.’ The Report also presents a case study on the quality of public spaces in a number of cities, including Karachi
Hence, while urbanization has led to achieving many economic advantages– like agglomeration economies, greater innovation, increase in employment levels and services– but at the same time, this has come at the cost of primarily greater pressure being placed on natural resources and land, which has produced many adverse consequences ‘from housing shortages and unaffordability to poor basic services, increased pollution, and traffic congestion.’ Reaching sustainable cities, therefore, requires managing ‘the trade-offs between the benefits of urban agglomeration and the costs that an unplanned urbanization process creates.’
Research in urban economics has amply highlighted that better management of public spaces has a direct positive impact on both the mental wellbeing of residents, and also on the economy, whereby the Report highlights ‘Poor-quality, uncomfortable, and unhealthy urban environments and public spaces have thus taken a toll on liveability, resilience, and competitiveness in many of the world’s densest cities. As a result, citizens who rely on public spaces to access jobs and services, enjoy open spaces and greenery, or earn their livelihoods– such as the street markets and vendors that form a sizable part of the informal economy (Skinner, Orleans Reed, and Harvey 2018)– are affected disproportionately. Meanwhile, cities that have managed to deliver well-designed and maintained public-space assets fare better. Increasingly, the presence of high-quality public spaces and greenery has become a barometer of a city’s quality of life, economic vibrancy, and innovation.’
The Report recommends, firstly enhancing the usability of streets in urban areas for increasing earning livelihood opportunities, and enhancing the environment-friendliness of the cities. For instance ‘Copenhagen, for example, aspires to combat climate change by becoming carbon-neutral by 2025— a core strategy being the targeting of 75 percent of all trips to be on foot, by bike, or public transport (City of Copenhagen 2012).
The second areas of focus should be on ‘open and green spaces’ in an overall effort to improve the quality of urban public spaces. The Report cites two pieces of research, whereby ‘[a] The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that physical inactivity, linked to poor walkability and lack of access to recreational areas, accounts for 3.3 percent of global deaths (WHO 2016)… [b] A recent study of US cities suggests that tree cover reduces heat-related mortality, morbidity, electricity consumption, and the need for cooling. Tree cover in urban areas in the United States saves $5.3 billion to $12.1 billion annually (McDonald et al. 2019).’
The third area indicated in the Report pertains to ‘public facilities’. In this regard, the Report highlights that ‘Public facilities and amenities such as libraries, community centres, and sports facilities not only serve as amenities for communities but also help create a sense of place and build social cohesion. Studies have indicated that people who live close to high-quality public spaces and amenities are more trusting of others, feel less socially isolated, and have more faith in the government (Cox and Streeter 2019).’
The Report presents many examples of cities where use of public spaces was improved, and in turn documents some of the positive consequences of these on local inhabitants in terms of liveability and opportunities for earning livelihood, whereby some examples indicated include ‘[a] In Seoul, the creative reuse of abandoned railway infrastructure land to create the Gyeongui Line Forest Park connecting several neighbourhoods saw a doubling of adjacent local businesses, between 2015 and 2017, with average monthly sales per shop increasing by more than 150 percent… [b] In Beijing, the restoration and adaptive reuse of historic buildings and a regeneration initiative on Yangmeizhu Lane led to a significant growth of new culture- and design-driven businesses and commercial enterprises in the area. Reportedly, the total sales revenues grew from less than RMB 1 million ($151,000) in 2012 to RMB 85 million ($12.9 million) in 2018. Property values in the area more than doubled between 2012 and 2018 after the completion of the project… [c] In Tbilisi, Georgia, the rental prices and property values along the rehabilitated and pedestrianized Aghmashenebeli Avenue doubled between 2015 and 2017, and consequently property tax revenues from commercial establishments adjacent to the rehabilitated street drastically increased.’
Moreover, the Report highlights that ‘With effective management, public spaces can be financially sustainable without dependence on public budgets.’ The Report also presents a case study on the quality of public spaces in a number of cities, including Karachi, which could provide a good learning curve to urban planners in Pakistan. With regard to Karachi, the Report indicates ‘Although Karachi has long been the economic and cultural center of Pakistan, public spaces in the city have lost their vibrancy and support less social activity than in the past because of deprivation and safety issues. The three case studies in Karachi illustrate how declining social trust can be repaired by reclaiming public spaces through citizen mobilization.’
