FROM COMMUTE TO COMMUNITY: PLANNING A SELF-SUFFICIENT NEW TOWN OUTSIDE LAHORE

Abstract

Lahore has become the new hub of employment, higher learning, health and specialized services in Punjab, Pakistan due to rapid urbanization and urban primacy. Such a density has created extreme daily commuting streams between the peripheral settlements and secondary cities in the metropolitan centre leading to road congestion, environmental destruction, social strain, and deteriorating urban living conditions. This paper is in reaction to this and explains plans and design of Sahulat Nagar, an envisaged self-sufficient new town at the outside of the Lahore Metropolitan Boundary close to Muridke. The primary goal of the project is to transform urban development into a system where people no longer commute to the city but rather community through the formation of an entire city in which the people can live, work, learn, and receive healthcare without having to travel to Lahore on a daily basis. The study is based on a planning approach that utilizes a studio-based approach with assistance of secondary data, national planning standards, and an overview of urban literature on Pakistan to create an integrated master plan that focuses on mixed land use, employment creation, walkable neighbourhoods, and a robust town centre. The results indicate that the new towns that are planned in an appropriate manner may be crucial in alleviating the commuting stress on Lahore and enhancing the lives of people and facilitating balanced development of the region. The paper ends with recommendations on the policies to implement to use self-sufficient new town strategies as a model of urban growth in Pakistan.