Town Planning ... Baldiati Mansoobabandi
It was only logical for me to post about "Town Planning" after discussing "Architecture" in my previous post.

As always I would love to hear your points of view about that I am writing. Whether you agree or disagree or you want to add something. I would love to hear alternate or additional things. So dont hesitate to comment.

I have lived a large portion of my adult life in Karachi, Islamabad and Quetta. Just as I like to observe how houses are built I like to observe how cities are built. How is the whole organism made to be efficient and pleasing to the eyes. We can see what a city is built like from maps and from our own perception of the city due to our travels through it. But nothing helps me more to visualize a city as seeing it from above through the eyes of a satellite. It shows you the exact structure of the city with all of its organs and their relations.

I have never liked cities completely on grid patterns. They seem very unreal and pretensious. They seem somehow cut off from human realities and steeped in geometry and science with no space for the humanities and the arts. A city should be a complete experience. Not just a ruler and a set square. I do admit that a grid pattern gives more functionality but it also makes the city completely uniform. That makes the city dull and lacks the vibrant touch that cities from this part of the world have always had. Cities should have rouded and curved roads and roads with bends not at right angles. They should be a canvas and not a graph.

I am a complete fan of boulevards. There is nothing more beautiful and efficient as a wide tree lined road. If there is regular and slightly heavy traffic then it gives the feel of a vibrance in the city and makes the road feels somehow important. It feels as if you are sitting next to a major artery. I also like if these boulevards have wide footpaths that have restaurant seating. It makes them feel more alive. In large cities such boulevards not only provide and aesthetic beauty but they also take care of the traffic pressure that large cities have to contend with.

One thing that I have always paid a lot of attention to is the width of roads in residential areas. The width of roads and residential areas make a very big difference between what we will call spacious and clean on the one hand and dingy and dark on the other. For example the roads here in my neighbourhood are very wide and there are extrenal lawns infront of every house. Over time trees have grown over the road and make a kind of a canopy. Giving it a very spacious yet forested look. Something that is very important for a 'green city' or what I would like to call a city of the future.

I think that a city should reflect somewhat upon its own antecedents. It should have a past and link with its past and its heritage. The city should give a feel of where it belongs to and where it has come from. Like a person and a nation a city should also be defined properly in its mind and in its being. I think that Karachi being in a - Sindh b - Pakistan and c - South Asia should be defined by all three of the regions. It should have more examples of Neo-Mughal (I dont think this style of architecture exists right now) architecture with a touch of Sindhi architecture. This will firmly root the city and give it a more cultural background. It will anchor the city to its moorings. This is why I think that all buildings that belong to the government should take this in consideration.

Finally after seeing so much of Karachi I think that the government shoudl demolish, dismantle and break down each and every little piece of illegal construction in the residential areas. The heights and dimensions of houses in residential areas are defined in the laws and should be strictly enforced. If these laws are not followed residential areas start resembling fish markets and loose their charm. Because most of the new (1950 onwards) residential areas in Pakistan are quite well planned if it weren't for the illegal constructions.
- posted by aalahazrat @ 13:45