LAHORE – As the green comes to the fashion front, cricket fans all over Pakistan flash out their patriotism through the colour that is so much the buzz word in the international environmental consciousness. How green are we? Besides cricket, our attitude towards going green is questionable. More news take front page position, as the environmental protection agencies raise their voice against another flyover venture. However, debates about transportation and cities almost always generate more heat than light.
The dominance of cars and flyovers in our thinking leaves no room for a move towards a more environment friendly, mass transit-oriented transport system. Planning agencies, on one hand, tacitly promote the appeal of detached single-family homes in suburbs (far from the city center); offering good schools and entrenching bourgeois lifestyles and habits. On the contrary, the various urban planning and architecture bodies across the country continue to hold consortiums on the topic of sustainable cities – and a sustainable Pakistan.
Of subsidizing flyovers and automobiles: Today’s vehicle clutter reflects decades of government intervention in the planning and subsidization of flyovers, underpasses and cars. The future of transport and utilities is found articulated within the city government’s structural plan for a city. The proposed “masterplan” for Lahore needs to be questions from the perspective of sustainability. A lack of funds, inconsistent governance, markets with vested interests, may all come in the way of carrying out of these proposals. More so, one may primarily question the divorced planning bodies and lack of co-ordination between the masterminds of these plans. The question to ask is: why can’t the government agencies appointed to collaborate and plan for the city -get together and plan for the city?
The past sixty years have seen our cities grow without proper urban design exercises. Wherever possible the seclusion of departments has never let the best of the available infrastructure come together to generate the best ideas. A marriage between land-use and transit: It is time that we understand the natural marriage of land-use and transit – starting from top-down, at the node where urban planners draw the first line. Much has already been written on the transit need for urban residents.
Without delving into the politics of projects (both built and shelved) we must accept one thing: we need to stop the transit urban sprawl and encourage mass transit systems within, to and from the city center, without further ado.
Many Asian cities have already dealt with the chaotic sprawl by incentivising commuter-friendly, mass transit projects. The absence of which has led to Lahore’s run-down and deteriorating bus system. Mass transits high infrastructure costs (e.g. light rail transit in Lahore) have meant a number of cities have moved to segregated bus ways – or rapid bus transit – which are similar to light rail systems but cheaper and with higher outreach.
The future of urban transit lies in bus or rail transit. However, transit and transit oriented developments (TODs) have their limitations. These are to be combined with highways and suburbs. TOD can realize their full potential only if it is seen as a new paradigm of development rather than a series of marginal improvements. It must not be utopian – rather it must operate within market constraints and realistic expectations of behavior and lifestyle patterns. However, with the recognition that both the market and lifestyle patterns can and do change due to policy choices.
It must be remembered the automobile was not always the preferred form of transform and an alternate form is still possible. The existing changes in the Lahori lifestyle have already been fostered by the set of government policies chosen that favoured road infrastructure over alternative forms of transportation.
Imagining an alternative transit system: What is the alternate, then?
Imagine a region made up of a network of neighbourhoods – networks which have existed in the recent past. A place where a walk to shops, parks and schools is possible for residents of diverse incomes, ages, and backgrounds. A place where public spaces are inviting and frequented.
A place where people can choose to take a train or bus as easily and conveniently as on car. Imagine a place where job centers are convenient for employees around the clock, where they can easily take care of errands during lunch, catch a movie after work, – and even…let the imagination run a bit wild…bike to the office. This new vision can deliver choice and freedom for city dwellers. Families who want or need to save money can choose to live with one less car – and not sacrifice mobility and access.
Individuals who seek out environments with active street lives and cultural scenes have a variety of options instead of having to choose the one or two great, but over-priced, neighbourhoods that fit that description in most regions today. Employers who recognize that their labor pool is dependent on attracting the “creative class”, or who see an economic value in investing in around-the-clock districts, can locate their facilities close to transit facilities. Further, transit agencies can begin to grow a sizable ridership base built on customers rather than parking spaces, and cities can create places that generate lasting public and private values.
Achieving this vision will require new thinking about the way we plan our communities and transportation systems. In particular we need to pay more attention to the pattern of development and the ways this pattern supports people and investors who want transportation options. This vision shall require us to reconsider how transit is integrated into our communities and the quality of service provided and focus on the function and performance of entire neighbourhoods and systems rather than individual elements. Finally, it will require us to define TOD to the extent that it is easily replicable but contextually sensitive.
This is the vision for a new transit future: one based on plurality of transit choice. – Ayesha Batool is a practising architect and urbanist and a graduate at the National College of Arts. The article is part of research conducted for her undergrad thesis, ‘Live, work and play at Lahore Central Staion – A case for transit-oriented development.’
