Urban Sprawl and Haphazard Growth in Karachi: A Reflection of Poor Urban Planning

Nisar Ali
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Nisar Ali: Pakistan Institute of Development Economics

No 2026:151, PIDE Knowledge Brief from Pakistan Institute of Development Economics

Abstract: Urban sprawl in Karachi is one of the alarming issues that poses both environmental and social challenges. Over the past several decades, the city has gone through a massive spatial growth in the core areas as well as in the suburbs and peripheries. The increase in built-up areas has happened at the cost of loss of agricultural land and green spaces. In 1947, the land cover of metropolitan Karachi was 349 km2; since then, it has increased to 3780 km2, a spatial increase of 74.6 km2per year. The urban primary core has increased from 145.9 km2in 1990 to 363.5 km2in 2020. Unregulated expansion of housing societies and commercial buildings in the periphery of Karachi, rapid increase in population, informal settlements, increase in katchi abadies, implementation failures of master plans, and lack of enforcement of a stringent policy for urban management are the primary causes of urban sprawl in Karachi. The impacts of sprawl can be seen in the form of loss of green spaces and natural streams, urban flooding and long commuting distances. To manage the sprawl, it is recommended that vertical growth should be encouraged, a policy on the city's growth boundary should be formulated and implemented, illegal housing societies should be regulated properly, and urban planning should integrate modern and smart technologies for sustainable development. Introduction Karachi is the most populous city of Pakistan with a population of 20.3 million. The population is increasing at the rate of 4.8% per annum (Aslam et al., 2023). This increasingly growing population has not only put pressure on the resources but also pushed the boundary of the city outwards. The city is growing rapidly in a haphazard manner and has experienced urban sprawl. In order to understand the problem, defining it is an important step. In literature, urban sprawl has been defined using various approaches by different scholars. Mujahid and Begum (2023) define urban sprawl as an unplanned or uncontrolled growth o...

Pages: 9
Date: 2026
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