Daily Times

Major cities across Pakistan are witnessing a messy transformation of urban landscape driven by the rapid pace of urbanization. These cities, slowly losing their distinctive identities, are becoming the victims of the so-called “development” projects that aim to stuff them with a high infrastructural density of multi-lane road, signal-free corridors, enormous boulevards and roundabouts, bridges and underpasses garnished with sparse, ornamental and short-lived plantation with attractive lighting displays. These distinctive features of urban spaces, enforced on at least one locale of every city, not only authenticates a desperate attempt to compete in the race of meeting the global outlook and demands of a cosmopolitan city but also indicate a more deep-rooted transformation of policies, institutions, and spaces. The proponent of such development strategies argues in favour of encouraging the city to flourish visually and economically, connecting more people with its market places with projects like BTRS, and accommodating more vehicular users with projects like road expansions and flyovers.

In Lahore, the growing practices of such discourses, while in continuity with the demands, are reshaping the landscape of cities as they continue to evolve through a diverse blend of failure and crisis in regulatory and policy experimentation. Such aggressive reconstructions of terrains of urban development have not only resulted in a tremendous loss of green public space but also have demolished the ecological assets of the city and accelerated the marginalization of an already wrecked urban fabric.

Whether it’s the burning sensation in the eyes and intense coughing episodes from Hazardous Smog in Winters, or dizziness and excessive sweating due to Fatal Heat Waves in Summers. Every time, the changing season brings in a new challenge to the city’s atmosphere and there seems to be no stop to this madness. There also seems to be a tremendous loss of public spaces becoming victim to the development projects that have little to no sensitivity to the people of the city. In such circumstances, the city’s authorities seem to take a different turn in addressing this socio-ecological crisis. In fact, no turn at all. The previous approach of the another-lane-would-solve-the problem is still at large. And authorities seem to be also fixated on the notion of enhancing the aesthetics with the means of beautification and ornamental landscaping.

On major routes like Jail Road, Gulberg Main Boulevard, sections of Ferozepur Road, and Raiwind Road, rows of delicate seasonal flowers are stationed alongside the lanes, where the AQI in winters regularly touches the peak of the chart. Not only stripped away from a considerable portion of public space from the city but also destroyed the city’s ecological asset, the sacrificing of 1300 trees on canal bank road, attributed once as the longest linear park in Pakistan, unwilling became part of the history. Liberty Roundabout portrayed as an ideal public space, decorated with ornamental and exotic plants and trees, happens to be one of the least accessible spaces. Its sheer presence in the middle of a signal-free corridor with heavy traffic makes it unapproachable for almost everyone.

Such practices of beautification by ornamental, exotic, and high maintenance flora are not only innately unsustainable but also accelerate the deterioration of the environment. The design of these public places is on the ambitions of outrageous political fantasies with no aspect of respect or sensitivity towards the history and cultural and environmental significance or the needs of the people. These practices have resulted in the creation of disastrous unrecognizable unusable spaces, wasting precious resources such as land, materials, labour, money, and time. They create momentary symbolism but are often quickly neglected and become redundant.

It is becoming more and more fundamental to develop new integrated approaches to immediately halt the rapid environmental degradation and restore the lost green cover while also reclaiming the derelict public spaces. Miyawaki urban forest can very much be a solution to mitigating these problems with its innate potential to grow excessively fast and densely while demanding low maintenance, proving beneficial not just environmentally but also economically. With the capability to plant more trees in less area, this model could work best for a congested city like Lahore where land is scarce and open spaces are limited.

A prototype of a Miyawaki urban forest, funded by IMD and created by RESTORE in Liberty Market has been proven successful within a year’s time. 50 more forests based on Miyawaki Method have been announced with the one being planted in Jilani Park. This has arisen some for the improvement of the city’s environment. However, in the past, the announcement of such projects have seen a gradual decline in their practicality and some are only implemented on papers. With the looming ecological crisis on the horizon, errors and blunders in the execution of such projects should be kept to a minimum.

Moreover, exotic trees introduced on main boulevards should be immediately replaced by indigenous trees and the practices of potting sessional plants should be restricted to only parks. Permaculture farms and food forests should be established in public parks and neighbourhoods.  In public spaces, well-maintained lawns or ornamental plantations demanding maintenance for their active usages should be replaced by Miyawaki forests.

The idea behind adopting such practices should also be integrated into the principles of urban design for Pakistani cities that dissent from the very ethos of “development” and the imagery associated with it. These approaches in public space should part ways with the developer’s aspirations of creating a spectacle and towards the amalgamation of a forest, no matter how informal it may appear to be, with an inclusive public space to bring back the lost ecological assets of the city and diminishing open green areas. Only then we would be able to create a nurturing relationship with the people and their environment.

Formally trained as an architect, Nabeel Imtiaz works with Restore Green, in designing Miyawaki forests as public spaces.  He has also designed Liberty Market’s, Urban Forest.