DYNAMICS OF SPRAWL
Case Studies of Secondary Cities of Sindh
South Asian Cities Conference
Pakistan Urban Forum 09-12 Jan. 2014
By:
Ar. Plnr. Tariq Ahmed Rind
INTEGRATING INDIGENOUS CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS FOR ENHANCING
RESILIENCE OF VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES IN DISASTER PRONE AREAS
Introduction
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Sindh is most urbanized province of Pakistan, where more than 60 % of the total
population live in cities.
Urban Sindh is continuously transforming due to growing pressures on urban Services
and haphazard land use.
There has been unsighted approach to inappropriate usage of land parcels, varying
urban densities and linear development along Highways, By-passes, particular in
secondary cities, resulting in Urban/Rural sprawl
Land disposal mechanism in these towns is governed by the provincial Hierarchy of
Board of Revenue trickling down to Deputy Commissioner, Tapedars, Patwarees
To quantify urban sprawl/fragmentation , patterns for 20 Towns cities
(secondary Cities) are evaluated through their growth direction, Urban
Density of buitup areas using satellite
DYNAMICS OF SPRAWL – CASE STUDIES OF SECONDARY CITIES OF SINDH
Sprawl in secondary cities of Sindh:
• Sprawl is generally defined as the increased development of land
in suburban and rural areas outside of their respective urban
centers.
• This increased development of real estate in the outskirts of
towns, villages and metropolitan areas is quite often
accompanied by a lack of development, redevelopment or
reuse of land within the urban centers themselves.
• This trend is often referred to as both urban sprawl and rural
sprawl. Although these two terms might sound contradictory, they
are ironically referring to the same phenomenon—that is, the
movement of development from urban areas, to rural areas.
DYNAMICS OF SPRAWL – CASE STUDIES OF SECONDARY CITIES OF SINDH
Population based parameter of land parcel division in
Secondary cities.
• In Pakistan, Urban Areas are defined as , “Places
with municipal corporation, town committee or
cantonment (Demographic Yearbook 2005, table 6.)
• The areas notified as Urban are based on a
population and physical feature based criterion.
(wards, Union Council, District Council)
DYNAMICS OF SPRAWL – CASE STUDIES OF SECONDARY CITIES OF SINDH
Jacobabad Town
Kashmore Town
Growth of sprawl along improved Roads.
Jamali Byepass (Jacobabad)
Indus Highway (Kashmore)
Kandhkot Town
Shikarpur Town
 Kandhkot Town Sprawl is evident towards East, South and
West.The Canal restricts the Sprawl towards the North
Shikarpur Town existing fragmentation on the external fringe has
the tendency to be merged in main body of Town
Kamber Town
Khairpur Town
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The Town of Kambhar is compact in form
The alarming level of Sprawl is observed in Khairpur
in all directions.
Nausheor Feroz Town
Nawabshah Town
The By Pass have become a core of development with commercial
and residential activities. Institutional Expansions on city fringes and
recently developed Nawabshah- Qazi Ahmed Road, NawabshahSakrand Road are hub of Low Density Sprawl.
Sanghar Town
Tando Allayar Town
Town Fringes are hub of Low Density Sprawl due to availability of
Affordable Private Land for catering for Increasing Housing Demand
Matiari Town
Dadu Town
Matiari Byepass is prone to commercial and resindential activity
hence resulting in sprawl. Dadu is compact in form and going
through leap-frog development filling the gaps/Open spaces in the
town, quite rare in Sindh
Thatta Town
Sujawal Town
Thatta Town/Makli (centuries old Necropolis) and Sujawal are twin cities
just bifurcated by river Indus. Makli is provided with a bye-pass along
sujawal road that has become of hub of Housing schemes on the hilly
plateau towards east. In Sujawal Town eastern barren land is prone to land
speculation, for being in close proximity with Zulfiquarabad, a proposed
Industrial city.
Badin Town
Tando Muhammad Khan Town
Badin Town is prone to Urban Sprawl in all directions but the pace is
relatively slow. Tando Muhammad Khan Town is observing
fragmentation and city is divided into large parcels bifurcated by
Highways and Water canals (phuleli) crossing through city.
Mirpur Khas Town
UmerKot Town
MirpurKhas town is extending towards ring road that encircles the town.
The low urban density development is evident, inclined to Low efficient
infrastructure as a result of Sprawl. In UmerKot, Desert restricts the sprawl
on the South, East and North, however the southern parcels along
MirpurKhas-Umerkot roads the residential and commercial activities are
sprawling.
DYNAMICS OF SPRAWL – CASE STUDIES OF SECONDARY CITIES OF SINDH
Conclusion:
• The sprawl of secondary cities of Sindh is expanding phenomena and
difficult to contain through land control regime, due to political
dynamics of Land and politics. (Khairpur, Nawabshah, Shikarpur, Tando
Allayar, Sanghar, Matiari)
• The infrastructure in secondary cities is continuously under pressure due
the sprawl. (Tando Muhammad Khan, Umerkot, Badin Thatta, Sujawal)
• The agriculture land in the Town fringes is prone to landuse change due
to enhanced demand for housing and institutional setups. (Khiarpur,
Nawabshah, Mirpurkhas, Jamshoro)
• In each city/Town of Sindh there are possibilities of urban Densification
by introducing vertical movement. The Sindh Building & Town Planning
Regulations (Building Control Regime) already provides this possibility and
may ease the sprawl along fringes. (All 20 Towns)
DYNAMICS OF SPRAWL – CASE STUDIES OF SECONDARY CITIES OF SINDH
Recommendations:
Following recommendations are suggested based on the study in this paper.
• Comprehensive planning guidelines for each town be developed based on
sustainable development parameters and understanding the Dynamics of Land at
local level. A permanent Planning Body must continue to function above political
prioritization of Projects.
• Planning Interventions be sought for Towns’ Growth rather than Engineering
Solutions.
• As cities expand, the necessary land for public streets, public infrastructure
networks, and public open spaces must be secured in advance of development.
• City densities must remain within a sustainable range. If density is too low, it must be
allowed to increase, and if it is too high, it must be allowed to decline.
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