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URBAN SPRAWL, INFRASTRUCTURE DEFICIENCY AND ECONOMIC

INEQUALITIES IN KARACHI

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URBAN SPRAWL, INFRASTRUCTURE DEFICIENCY AND ECONOMIC
INEQUALITIES IN KARACHI
*Akhtar Hussain
Department of Social Sciences, SZABIST, Karachi, Pakistan.
*Email:meer82pk@gmail.com
Presented at Asia International conference–2015) held on 5th -6th December, 2015 at (UTM), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
ABSTRACT: Karachi is the most urbanized city in the Pakistan. The unplanned urbanization poses serious challenge because
of institutional inefficiency and governance failure. The main theme of this paper is to analyze the growing urban sprawl, its
trends, its effect on urban infrastructure and growing urban divide. The objective of this study is to identify the urban issues
and connect it with policy failures due to which service delivery of institutions has been badly compromised resulting economic
divide in the city. The study is an exploratory and causal comparative in nature with extended literature review and scholarly
investigations through secondary data. The paper provides essential guideline to policy makers for current and futuristic needs
of the citizens. The government must conceive the urban vision and work in tandem with all stakeholders for setting the goals
of sustainable urban development. The city’s development must ensure the participation of marginalized communities and
reduce the economic gap between urban rich and poor. The paper concludes that urban experience in Karachi is turning out
to be real farce because of crippling infrastructure, below par service delivery and unequal distribution of economic benefits.

Keywords: Urbanization, Infrastructure, Economic Inequalities, Karachi, Pakistan

INTRODUCTION
The cities across the world have been major attractions for city’s poor infrastructure and dwindling municipal resources
the people seeking better opportunities, education, trade, may simply lead towards catastrophic situation. The urban
commerce and healthcare. Urbanization has always posed planning is the hotbed of modern policy making and it needs
serious challenge to the policy makers. The compounding an institutional framework for effective management of the
growth of inward migration compels policymakers to plan affairs.
properly and ensure the proper service delivery. The city’s weak and ineffective institutions lack vision,
Karachi is the big metropolitan city and is undergoing dynamism, leadership and enforcement. The political
massive urbanization. The growing urbanization on one hand, intervention has further weakened the capacity of the
provides enormous opportunities and can pose serious threats institutions. The worsening socio-economic discourse, law
on the other hand if not tackled with proper planning. The and order, poor living standards in rural suburbs of the
major drivers of urbanization in Karachi are a proximity of country will result into messy urbanization coupled with
location due to seaport, seeking employment opportunities inadequate infrastructure will produce economic inequalities.
because city is hub of major industries, natural disasters in The pattern of urbanization is directly linked to the available
rest of the country and adequate educational and health economic opportunities in the cities. The Asian Pacific cities,
facilities. particularly Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, manila grew
There is no denying to the fact that urbanization is strongly enormously during the 70s and 80s turning into hub of
linked to economic growth. But, at the same time, rapid transshipment, services and aviation.
urbanization poses severe challenges to developing countries, The developing countries in the Asian and African countries
as cities in these countries are ill equipped to deal with this will witness a sharp rise in the urbanization as compared to
increase in population. Without adequate planning and European, North American countries which are already
control, rapid urbanization may lead to the development of highly urbanized as more than two-third of their population
informal and unauthorized settlements; shortages of housing; live in urban areas. In case of developing countries the
poorly serviced and designed residential areas; excessive dependence on rural economy because of agriculture has
pressures on the available services; and the resultant slowed the pace of urban migration but with changing
problems of sanitation, air pollution, inadequate access to climatic conditions, desertification of agriculture lands, and
safe drinking water, over-crowding and social problems. lack of employment opportunities will fasten the process of
Pakistan being a developing country facing the wrath of urban migration.
urbanization since many decades, but the country’s policy However, the urban centers in developed countries are far
makers and institutions clearly lack vision and articulation to more organized, well facilitated with the presence of sound
counter the challenges of urbanization due to which country’s infrastructure, digitalized, and presence of strong institutional
urban centers and particularly Karachi are crippled with framework in form of decentralized local governments, rank
urban related chaos. higher as compared to the developing countries where
The Karachi with more than 20 million population has been urbanization is mostly city centric, lagging behind in basic
consistently growing with people from all over the country amenities, and comprised of weaker regulatory environment.
for better lives. The policymakers never countered the needs Karachi, being the most populous and hugely expanded city
of the huge influx of people, whether inward migrants or in short span of time considering it had merely 0.3 million at
refugees from neighbouring countries. the time of independence is a city of around 20 million
The ever growing urbanization and diverse needs of the urban residents to date. The sharp rise in population confirms that
population need to be properly analyzed and catered. The city is hotbed of urban trends in the country.
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According to the Hussain [1] no country has grown to middle live? How can services for them best be financed and
income status without industrializing and urbanizing. None supplied.
has grown to high income without vibrant cities. The urban The successful urban centers need to have provision of jobs,
growth rates significantly have a positive impact on quality education and health care, safe and clean
economies of scale, but neither automatic nor guaranteed as neighborhoods, effective transportation, and welcoming
urban management is pre-requisite for such progress to space for all residents [9]. The poor cities of the developing
materialize. world are the showpiece of economic and cultural activities,
RELATED LITERATURE but are ecologically unsustainable and at times unlivable [10].
Pakistan along with Bangladesh and Sri-Lanka apply ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
administrative criteria to assess whether the settlement is Urbanization Trends in Karachi
urban or not. The areas are declared urban if they come under The urban population in Pakistan is around 35% of the total
the jurisdiction of metropolitan corporation, municipal population and it grew at the rate of 3.4% as compared to
corporation, municipality, town committee, urban council and average of 2.8 in the south Asian countries from (1990-2005)
cantonment. However, in global urban environment the according to the report of world population by world Bank
factors of population size, density and non-agriculture [13].
workforce is also given consideration beside administrative The Karachi population was around 10 million as mentioned
assessment [2]. in census report of (1998). But according to the latest
The urbanization is the vertical and horizontal growth of estimates as well as the UN’s calculations that estimate the
urban areas due to modernization, industrialization and current figures to have exceeded the 18-million mark in a
rationalization. The urban development is being seen as space of just 15 years.
geographical consequences of the evolution of capitalism [3]. The speed of the urban population growth in Karachi is so
The process of urbanization at initial stage forces agriculture exponential that from being 12th on the list of fast-growing
workers to move from agricultural jobs to manufacturing and cities [population-wise] in 2000 that it’s on the fifth place
services jobs. As it goes along it causes deficiency in the according to the UN latest statistics. The major drivers of
delivery of basic services [11-12]. growth in urban population are reduced mortality rates, rapid
The one branch of international growth theory maintains that rural migration and tendency of rural population to have large
institutions determine growth in the long-term. The families for economic benefit. The economic population of
institutions are governed by set of rules and regulations. The urban population and their contribution towards GDP is far
ability of institutions to deliver depends on their jurisdiction, ahead than rural counterparts [14].
authority, independence and autonomy. The institutions Pakistan is urbanizing at the rate of 3% annually arguably the
flourish once if freed from political biases and connected fastest in the South Asia. The city of Karachi grew
with all stakeholders. The growing urban population needs to alarmingly around 80% from 2000 to 2010 [15]. It is
be supported by strong institutional governance to redress the projected that by 2025 almost half of the country’s population
compounding issues through innovative means [4-5-6]. will reside in the urban centers overburdening the Karachi as
The migration from rural to urban areas initiates in the well. On the one hand it provides immense opportunity to the
surrounding suburbs of the cities, but grows and multiplies state to turn around this human resource, asset by investing
with every passing day. This is a transitional phase for them, which will bear fruitful results in near future or it could
migrants to bring meaningful changes in their lives and status turn out to be another lost era.
[7]. The mushroom growth in the city’s population has never
The ever expanding cities in the modern era have compelled been natural in the case of Karachi but it has always been
urban social scientists to find out the answers of some driven on the behest of external and internal wars largely
fundamental questions [8]. They have posed the important supplemented by Afghan crisis since 1979 and internal
questions: Who are these new dwellers? Where will they insurgency led by Taliban in the frontier province for
prolonged periods.
The statistics of population growth in Karachi are as under;

Table: 1 Population Growth in Karachi

Year Population Increase No. of years in Increase Average annual
or decrease % survey or decrease% growth rate
1941 435,887 135,108 10 44.90 3.70
1951 1,137,667 701,780 10 161.00 11.50
1961 2,044,044 906,377 10 79.70 6.05
1972 3,606,746 1,562,702 11 76.50 5.00
1981 5,437,984 1,831,238 9 50.8 4.96
1998 9,802,134 4,540,422 7 86.29 3.52
Source: Census Reports, Government of Pakistan various issues

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Table: 2 Population of Slum Areas
1974 1986 2000
Population 709000 1036000 1064400
No. of households 109077 164000 148000

Source: Sindh Katchi Abadis Authority (2002)

Table: 3 District Wise Slums Distribution
District No. of slum areas
Central 119
West 191
East 105
Malir 63
South 61
Total 539
Source: Sindh Katchi Abadis Authority (1998)
Table: 4 Urban Transport in South Asian Cities
Cities Private transport% Public transport% Motorized transport%
Lahore 24 16 60
Karachi 27 23 50
Delhi 18 40 42
Mumbai 18 60 22
Kolkata 5 78 17
Sources: Japan International Cooperation Agency (2012)
Table: 5 Access to water and Sanitation in Pakistan in 2010
Urban (36% of population Rural (64% of population) Total

Water 96% 89% 92%

Sanitation 72% 34% 48%
Source: World Health Organization (2011)
Table: 6 Trends in Gini Coefficient
Years Pakistan Rural urban
1983-85 0.38 0.35 0.38
1985-86 0.36 0.34 0.35
1986-87 0.35 0.32 0.36
1987-88 0.36 0.32 0.37
1990-91 0.40 0.42 0.37
1992-93 0.39 0.36 0.39
1993-94 0.38 0.36 0.36
1996-97 0.35 0.35 0.36
1998-99 0.41 0.37 0.45
2001-02 0.41 0.37 0.46
Source: Anwar (2005)
Table: 7 Urban Income Share Accruing to different groups
Year Poorest 20% Middle 60% Richest 20%
1990-91 6.76 48.20 45.05
1992-93 6.59 46.71 46.70
1993-94 7.04 48.67 44.29
1996-97 7.52 47.82 44.66
1998-99 6.62 41.73 51.65
2001-02 6.77 40.42 52.81
Source: Various Issues of Economic Surveys, Government of Pakistan

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Table: 8 Average Monthly Household Income by Quintiles & Areas (In Rupees)
2010-11 2011-12
Quintiles Urban Rural Urban Rural
1st 11970 11265 13845 13221
2nd 16482 13613 17674 16578
3rd 17383 16618 21307 19342
4th 22996 19922 26755 23204
5th 40876 33933 51484 33978
Source: Household Integrated Economic Survey 2013
Table: 9 Average Monthly Household Expenditure per Household (In Rupees)
2010-11 2011-2012
Quintiles Urban Rural Urban Rural
1st 12102 11379 13778 13123
2nd 15182 13994 17413 16412
3rd 16803 16427 20421 18901
4th 20422 18211 23084 21741
5th 33509 25554 40509 34774
Source: Household Integrated Economic Survey 2013
The mushroom growth in the katchi abadis generally in the
The statistics in table 1 reveal that the city has a stiff country and particularly in the urban areas isn’t positive sign
challenge to meet the needs of the growing population due to for overall equitable development across the societies. The
unplanned urbanization. The experts state that since the last statistics presented by All-Pakistan katchi abadis association
population census, the city population is almost doubled and present a bleak picture as it reports of year 2003 state that
now Karachi is the home of almost 20 million people. These around 36 million people are inhabitants of katchi abadis
figures have been projected at the growth rate of 6% per making it roughly one fourth of the overall population of the
annum, which isn’t a positive sign for the dynamics of the country. The majority of these settlements are in urban
city. vicinities. The katchi abadis are mostly considered as safe
Urban Infrastructure and Challenges havens for criminals and gangs as they are squatter
Urbanization is the hottest trend of the 21st century. The main settlements and are proper hide out from law enforcement
reason behind that is increasing number of people are making agencies.
urban centers as their permanent livelihood. The modern The land of Karachi is distributed unevenly as 62% of the
cities require innovative procedures and processes to address population live in 8% of the residential area, thus ballooning
the urban sprawl. The needs of urban population as compared the rate of densification in the city and whereas 38% of the
to rural population are different and diverse [17]. population are settled in 92% of the area mostly residence of
It is being projected that by 2030, Pakistan urban population urban middle, elite class, bureaucrats and politicians.
will grow massively by 140%, which will add another 80 Table 2 shows increasing residents of shanty towns and
million into the urban population and the total urban slums will aggravate the gap between rich and poor classes
population will become 130 million. The Karachi is home of and its cost will be borne by society in the long run. The
21% of urbanites in the country and any further rise in figures following table gives detailed overview of slums spread
will explode the already worsening situation. across the Karachi.
The city dwellers demand infrastructure development, Table 3 shows the urban housing in the city has turned into
innovative solutions for water and sanitation, affordable different shapes depending upon income groups, net worth
housing, standard education and health facilities, improved and purchasing power parity. The residences are classified as:
law and order, and the sustainable green environment. The Slums, Goths, katchi abadis, Apartments, Houses, Schemes,
alarming growth in the population should be compensated Cantonment areas.
with an efficiency of infrastructure, delivery of municipal Urban Transportation
services, but it needs a lot to be desired from decision The urban transportation plays very leading role for the
makers. economic development and environmental sustainability of
Urban Housing the urban centers. The city of Karachi has been deprived of
The growth in urbanization will significantly raise the efficient and modern public transportation system at par with
demand of housing and residence. It is estimated that the other urban centers across the globe, indicating a failure of
country has backlog of six million housing units and two- the authorities responsible for the provision of this utility.
third of this deficiency belongs from urban areas. Karachi The studies indicate that city’s private transport is growing at
division is spread over 3400 square kilometers area and of the whopping rate of 9% per annum. This growth is tehe main
which 1300 square kilometers falls into urban mass [18]. contributory factor for the heavy trafficking and prevailing
The city land is managed and governed by 13 different congestion in the city’s roads.
institutions at the same time. This leaves little room for The city district government Karachi and other relevant
comprehensive urban housing framework based on a modern authorities at the times have partially offset the traffic woes
housing framework followed across the globe in the by constructing signal free corridors, underpasses, overhead
metropolitan regions. bridges and widening the roads but these efforts lack value in
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long term because these facilities not necessarily resolve the and flexibility . In case of Pakistan the water utility
problems of those who travel on public buses and two organizations have been operating under the umbrella of
wheelers. The personalization of vehicles in the cities publically owned enterprises with greater inefficiency,
compounds the miseries of the traffic system [19]. outdated policies and under political clout.
The two cities of South America Bogota Columbia and The staggering 40% of the water is estimated as non-revenue
Curitiba Brazil are successful models for bus rapid transit. water in South Asian cities, according to the reports of World
The road conditions in Bogota were similar like in Karachi. Sanitation [24]. This indicates an institutional incapacity as a
Private transport was the preferred mode of commuting over large chunk of potential revenues are lost along with non-
public transport. The roads were heavily congested and long provision of essential utility for the consumers. The WSP
delays were routine at any given day. puts emphasis on the usa of benchmarking tools to evaluate
The elected mayor from 1998-2000 Enrique Penalosa took and analyze the performance of water service providers in
the bold initiative to launch bus service on elevated tracks order to address the service gaps and ensure broader reforms
totaling 41 kilometers with estimated 660000 passengers whenever needed.
travelling per day and supported by fleet of 470 buses. The Table 5 shows that the economic impact of inadequate
mayor had a strong political and public support to make this sanitation is estimated as $5.7 b which is nearly 5% of the
project a true success story. Many cities are working on country’s GDP. The productivity losses, increase in mortality
creative strategies and are continuously adding public rates, high rise cost of bottled and canned water and
transportation to get people out of their cars [20]. environmental degradation are some immediate effects of
The Ex-mayor of Bogota clearly states that congestion and non-availability of proper sanitation.
traffic problems can’t be resolved without an integrated There are numerous innovative approaches piloted by private
system of the Bus Rapid transit system. The World health sector and NGOS for the fulfillment of water and sanitation
organization [21] report states that road accidents are directly facilities in their respective communities. The Orangi Pilot
linked to the volume of traffic and weak implementation of Project initiated by Akhtar Hameed Khan and Lodhran pilot
traffic laws. The policy makers at the helm of affairs have project are great contemporary examples in this regard. These
preferred construction of road network over public transport innovative projects were funded by the communities
showing complete waste of public money. The study of themselves and are based on component sharing model.
Tiwari [22] concluded that privatization of public transport Solid Waste Management
increases the operational efficiency, improves service The growth in city’s population has significantly enhanced
delivery and reduces the government subsidies. the production of solid waste with estimates of around 10000
The CDGK [23] document stresses the revival of Karachi tonnes of waste generated per day. The Karachi Metropolitan
Circular Railway, Bus Rapid Transit and Light Rail Transit Corporation is responsible for the disposal of solid waste. The
for the provision of modern transportation to its citizens by figures suggest that KMC is only able to cater half of the
2020. waste and is dumping into its two landfill sites located in
Table 4 shows fast rise in the private transport will be a Gond Pass and Deh Jam Chakro. The rest is being dumped
major cause of delays reaching into the destination, wastage into streets, open plots, public amenities turning city into full
of precious time besides lowering the economic productivity, of garbage, filth and litter.
polluting the environment, overcrowding the roads, causing The solid waste treatment in the city of Karachi isn’t efficient
accidents, injuries and stress among the citizens. and isn’t being collected, transported and disposed of,
Water and Sanitation according to international standards of at least 75% waste
The proper supplying of water to urban population is another disposal by municipal institution. The scavengers, kabbaris,
major challenge of urban institutions in the Karachi. The middlemen and sweepers are considerable involved in the
provision of water is a basic responsibility of Karachi water waste disposal, recycling business which has quite turned out
& Sewerage Board. It is formal institution vertically to be lucrative in recent times. The city being the commercial
integrated to supply, transmit and distribute water. It is and industrial hub, comprises of all types of solid waste.
responsible for waste water collection, treatment, drainage The KMC has been operating in the environment of financial
and sewerage. The entity is separate from KMC and its constraints. It is imperative that novel solutions be sought for
annual budget is approved by government of Sindh. discharging basic duty of waste removal giving some sort of
The continuous demand of the utility has brought in the sanctity to the urban residents. The KMC has to make new
tanker mafias to intervene and provide it to the citizens with infrastructure investments and has to add landfill sites at
inflated costs. The mafias provide these services through regular intervals to encounter the growing waste of the city.
illegal water hydrants by involving concerned officials Urban Policing
through kickbacks. The water service provided by mafias is The rapid urbanization has created the serious law and order
unhygienic and prone to diseases because of sub-soil water situation in the metropolitan city. The city is hotbed of target
mixing. killings, kidnappings, murders, vandalism, theft, extortions,
The recent studies of the World Bank on urban centers of vandalism and robberies. The increasing crime rates being
Latin America and Africa indicate that presence of informal witnessed in the city is closely linked with inward migration
sector entrepreneurs have significantly improved the services of the people. The city is commercial and economic hub
of water and sanitation to the poor masses with affordability

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provides ample opportunity to the criminals to strive for their political interference, reward system linked with
dirty ambitions. performance, modern equipment, and scientific intelligence
The hierarchy of the police in the city falls under the domain and monitoring, effective investigation and prosecution could
of capital city police officer (CCPO) and final authority is be initiated to revolutionize the rotten structure of urban
vested on provincial interior ministry. The police has basic policing. The training on modern lines must be imparted in
and prime responsibility to restore and maintain the law and police officers to counter the terrorists who conduct their
order situation in the city. The law and order situation over activities with the help of cutting edge technology.
the past decade has been gruesome and needs punitive actions The urban policing model can be replicated from London
for any drastic improvement. metropolitan policing system. The system works on unified
The urbanization in the city is linked with emancipation of code, command and structure and is equipped of
better economic opportunities as figures demonstrate that city encountering multiple challenges of investigation, quick
contributes nearly 20% of the country’s overall GDP. The response and technical tasks.
rogue elements, criminal elements, professional gangs for the Economic Inequalities
pursuance of their evil goals have moved in large numbers The wrath of urbanization in developing countries has
and made the city hotbed for their criminal activities. widened the economic inequalities because of unequal
The UN studies of 13 largest cities reveal that city has patterns of income levels and consumption. The urban divide
staggering homicide rate of 12.3 per 100000 making it the in the developed countries is comparatively low because of
highest among the largest studies. This confirms slackness improved governance and strengthened institutions. The
from law enforcement agencies attributed as politically urban rich is well equipped to benefit from private sources,
patronized, wrecked and incapacitated. whereas poor classes with limited resources, no access to
The authorities have miserably failed to stop the blood bath in basic amenities dig deeper into poverty trap and are socially
the city in forms of target killings, gang wars, sectarian isolated causing social unrest in the urban life.
killings, multiple crimes in shape of kidnappings, extortions, Pakistan, ranked 141 of 182 in the United Nation’s Human
bhattas, bank robberies, street crimes, cyber-crimes simply Poverty Index, faces complex development challenges and is
endless list of crimes perpetrated on the streets of innocent characterized by major inequalities in income and access to
citizens of metropolis. basic services. The fruits of urban migration in Karachi have
According to Inskeep [25-32] despite ongoing violence it is not been realized because of institutional decay, rampant
worthwhile to observe the city’s tolerance, vitality and corruption, policy failures and multifold growth in the
thriving civil society and culture of charity. He appreciates informal economy on behest of domestic and foreign vested
the resilience of people and their spirit to live in harmonious interests.
culture and denounce the violence in any manner whatsoever. The persistence of economic inequalities has serious
The Karachi city has undergone into major demographic shift consequences on the economy as it hampers the economic
in last two decades, which has produced a catastrophic effect growth by decreasing the demand for goods and services. The
on the ethnic and communal harmony of the city. The income inequalities pave the way for prolong social tension
terrorism in the KP, economic deprivation in rural Sindh and and imbalances the social cohesion. . Inequality causes envy
insurgency in neighboring Baluchistan has contributed and unhappiness and thus affects the overall wellbeing of the
significantly for this metamorphosis. people. The growing complexities in urban Pakistan are a
The all major ethnic groups are engaged in the political direct consequence of economic disparities.
rivalry to gain maximum control of city’s scarce resources. According to economists Hirschman and Rothschild,
These political manifestations and ambitions have exploded inequality in the development process is like a traffic jam in a
and created the continuous strife and infighting. tunnel. It can create turmoil if vehicles in one lane are
The research studies demonstrate that socio-economic allowed to move freely and are stalled in another lane.
disparities lead towards crime and chaos in cities, leaving a Drivers in stalled lane will get frustrated and can get
big question mark on urban policy makers. The rational dangerous. Inequality is itself costly because there may be a
development and economic empowerment could be handy direct and significant economic cost of maintaining unequal
tools to curb the growing nurseries in disadvantaged and structures. Inequality also leads to lower growth and higher
backward areas of the city. poverty.
The criminal outfits in the cities are thriving on the back of Income inequality has increased sharply during the last 30
illegal economy, corrupt elite and mafias thus making years and the trend continues unabated despite tall claims of
mockery of city’s institutions responsible for observance of poverty reduction from official quarters. The distribution of
law and order. The credible studies pinpoint that city’s black assets is the main determinant of income and wealth
economy is worth $8 million per day makes it all difficult to inequalities in Pakistan. The access to state resources and
contain because of high stakes and people behind illicit creation of wealth by elite has significantly contributed for
economic activities are backed and patronized by political widening the gaps between haves and haves not. The wealth
elite. of the nation is confined to a few families.
The police reforms are badly needed in these testing times as The rich class of the society is greatly exploiting the system
zero tolerance towards crime may provide meaningful in their favor because of their ability to manipulate the system
solitude. The police reforms in form of autonomy, zero politically, seek tax exemptions, get access to banking sector

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and use corruption as a tool to broaden their wealth and governed, or when distributional policies are lacking or
eventually become rent seekers. The elite class is a classified dysfunctional.
tax evaders due to which country’s tax to GDP is The study pinpoints that accounting for urban infrastructure is
significantly lower as compared to regional averages and essential for accurately estimating the demands of the urban
hovering around mere 10% of GDP. population and make the city livable. The continuous influx
The country’s dependence on indirect taxes form of of the people will create the demand and supply gap on
regressive taxation is alarming as 60% of national tax is provision of basic services which could only be bridged with
collected through indirect means. The weakening of the state smarter solutions coupled with technological advances and
and power of elite in urban areas is a major bottleneck for holistic approach required from the authorities.
upward social mobility. The shrinking middle class and The study finds that urban institutions are politically
increasing poverty levels will make the way for militancy and patronized and badly compromised, offering no hope to down
instability in the city. The city’s worsening law and order trodden classes of the urban society. The institutional
along with the. expansion of mafias doesn’t augur well for slackness and non-conformance with continuous migration
stable, peaceful and prosperous Karachi. has cost the city dearly. The city of Karachi once known as
According to Anwar [26] the inequality has increased in “city of lights” has turned into cluster of crimes, litter,
Pakistan during the period of 1998 to 2001-02. The study pollution and illicit activities. The governance failure and
utilized Pakistan Integrated Household Survey (PHIS) data abdication of state services in the city has not only dented the
for analysis and the wise Gini coefficient are given in the availability of basic amenities, but facilitated the mushroom
table 6. growth of the informal sector as well.
Table 6 shows the increasing trend in Gini coefficient We find evidence that economic inequalities are stark
confirms the urban divide and it has continuously moved in realities of urban phenomenon in Karachi. The city needs to
upward trajectory since 1993. The latest projections of bridge the urban divide otherwise destruction of urban society
experts reinstate the argument that urban rich is growing with would be inevitable. Inequality is neither predetermined nor
every passing day whereas poverty levels are turning out to destined but it is a result of policies, preferences, choices and
be chronic in the city. power interplay within a society. It must be tackled by
Table 7 shows the richest 20% in the urban areas are making structural adjustments and reshaping socio economic
encroaching the income of middle and lower middle classes, policies by investing on impoverished people and making
which in turn would badly hurt the consumption patterns of them part of an egalitarian society.
the majority population as statistics confirm that the income It is found that city’s crippling infrastructure, lack of
levels of the urban poor has stand still for a considerable investment, dearth of internal resource mobilization has made
period of time and current estimates are neither encouraging the city vulnerable to economic shocks and could turn into a
as well. nightmare if left unaddressed. The growing urban poverty
The statistics in table 8 indicate that 1st quintile the poorest may have significant implications on various social aspects.
urban dwellers have a nominal increase in income levels as The poor is very weak and is always exposed to the
compared to the previous year, whereas the richest urban unforeseen circumstances. It is wise to devise policies for
population, which is 5th quintile has an increase of 21% in urban poor and improve their lives as it is essential from the
their income as compared with the previous year. aspect of social security.
Table 9 shows the consumption pattern of the poor class It is mentioned that in the context of urbanization, the
needs a lot to be desired as even with modest inflation the decentralization and empowered local governments are better
two-third of their income is financed to meet the food and placed to address the compounding miseries of the urban
rental expenses leaving little income to be invested on social dwellers. The local governments prioritize the demands of the
welfare of their children. The richest class with continuous local population, formulate the strategies and come up with
rising income can easily afford luxurious life and can practical solutions.
continue to exploit the system. The leapfrog urban development in the Karachi throws a
The empirical data and the latest projections confirm that serious challenge to the policy makers as rural areas are under
Pakistan is dangerously exposed to poverty risks as developed, prone to frequent natural disasters, unabated
monopolization of assets, regressive taxation and inequitable terrorism and lack of industrial activities. Accordingly,
distribution of resources are contributing for social, cultural government needs to revisit its policies 1) need to work on
and political exclusion of the disadvantaged urban poors. The urban growth strategy 2) address the financial constraints of
increasing poverty has created a new class of urban beggars the metropolitan city 3) need to work with all stakeholders for
badly tarnishing the ambience of the city, but at the same prosperous and inclusive city 4) must frame the policies for
time leaving a lot of questions for policy makers. urban poor in order to make a difference in their lives.

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