This opinion piece was originally published in The Friday Times on 25 February 2023.
Urban gentrification — the revitalisation of semi-urban neighbourhoods into upscale residential developments that drive up property prices and attract wealthier residents — is an emerging and underexamined challenge in Pakistan’s rapidly urbanising cities. In Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad, the same forces that drive gentrification elsewhere — real estate investment, urban regeneration schemes, and demographic shifts — are displacing lower-income residents through rising rents and elevated property values.
Dr. Mohey-ud-din acknowledges that gentrification carries genuine benefits: it can revitalise neglected areas, attract investment, generate employment, and improve housing stock and public spaces. But it also concentrates those gains in the hands of the already affluent, erodes social capital and community cohesion, and deepens the wealth divide. The horizontal spread of low-rise, high-end housing compounds these problems — increasing the cost of service delivery, straining public utilities, and raising commute costs across the urban fabric.
The article argues that Pakistan’s urban planners and city administrations must move beyond passive tolerance of market-led gentrification toward a proactive, inclusive urban renewal framework. This means developing affordable housing programmes — inclusive zoning, rent stabilisation mechanisms, cooperatives, and community land trusts — that allow low- and moderate-income families to remain in their neighbourhoods while benefiting from urban improvement. It requires the active participation of all residents and stakeholders in planning processes, and the development of policies that simultaneously support affordable housing, generate economic opportunity, and strengthen community development. The conclusion is clear: Pakistan’s cities cannot afford to let renewal become a synonym for exclusion.
Read the full article on The Friday Times