urrently, more than a third of Pakistan’s population is urban. Much of this urbanisation is driven by migration.

The seventh Population and Housing Census of Pakistan in 2023 demonstrated the exponential historical growth in population. The population in the sixth Census of 2017 was 207.7 million. It has now risen to 241.5 million, with an annual growth rate of 2.51 per cent. This growth rate is higher even than that between 1998 and 2017, which was 2.37 per cent.

In the past, the partition and wars led to refugees crossing the borders into Pakistan. Most of them settled in urban areas, particularly in the eastern provinces, the Punjab and Sindh.

Today, urbanisation is fuelled by insecurity, climatic challenges and economic necessities.

Cities in Pakistan are not just urban areas; they are also beacons of hope, attracting rural Pakistanis who seek new livelihoods and essential services. This pull factor, combined with the increase in the country’s total population, has led to a significant rise in the urban population.

Urbanisation has several economic advantages in Pakistan. It has the potential to help resuscitate Pakistan’s struggling economy. However, the implications for Pakistani society are both encouraging and troubling. The issue of horizontal urban growth, exacerbated by a density-averse urban planning model, adds to the chaos within cities trying to accommodate thousands of newly added migrant residents.

The incessant rural-urban migration shaping the cityscape is intensifying the urban population explosion. Millions of young people flocking out of their rural abodes for a brighter future are unaware that the glimmering metropolis does not have enough jobs for them.

Better-educated people with some economic capital can look to business ventures for growth in the urban space. “I work for a start-up and hope to set up my own business in the next couple of years,” says Ali, 24. Ali moved to Lahore six years earlier from a village near Wazirabad. Now he cannot imagine returning to the village permanently. The city has much to offer, at a cost. I live in a shared apartment in Johar Town.” Many young people like Ali find it easier to divide the housing costs with others and prefer shared housing.

“I plan to shift my family to Lahore, too, but for that, I will first have to save up and start something of my own. Housing costs have skyrocketed,” he says.

For those with less resources, options are limited. Daily wage work in construction and the domestic help sector is where many find meagre opportunities for survival.

The cities are expanding and their populations are diversifying. A lack of planning and preparedness for the daily influx of people is putting a major dent in the urban dream.

Low-density development in cities has contributed to the excessive conversion of agricultural land to low-density residential land uses. In other cases, pressure to house unexpected population increases has led to the springing of slums. These underserved areas are common in Lahore, Karachi and several other large cities in the country. Approximately 11.9 million people reside in slums, according to UNICEF estimates. The residents of city slums are often settlers looking for work to earn a day’s meals.

“People will keep looking to the cities for opportunities if nothing is done to support their areas. Once here, they are the city’s burden, and our urban areas are ill-prepared” – Moazma Ashraf.

“We moved to Lahore to find better work. You see, there is no work in our village, especially for women. Our community frowns upon the idea of women working. Men are responsible for the finances, often not enough to feed a large family like ours,” says Shamma, 59.

Shamma moved to Lahore with her husband, son and four daughters in the mid-2000s. Her village, Uggi, near Mansehra, lacks basic infrastructure and proper schools. Cultural norms only add to the burden of a family, where uneducated men work in their fields and try to provide for their families by selling produce to nearby markets. Women, Shamma says, are not supposed to work as this would bring shame to the family.

In Lahore, Shamma now works as domestic help. Her husband and son are daily wagers. Her daughters embroider clothes to supplement the household income.

Shamma lives in a tiny house shared with several relatives in a cranny on Walton Road. “My brother’s family joined us here once they saw that we could rebuild our house in Uggi with the savings from working here in the city. Two of my nephews, my sister’s sons, are living with us, as well.” The housemates contribute to the rent of Rs 18,000 and other living costs.

Family units are rapidly multiplying in the urban areas. This is leading to cities expanding in all directions, unchecked.

“Lahore has expanded in all directions, and it is not just Lahore. Most cities in Pakistan no longer have distinguishable boundaries,” says Moazma Ashraf, an urban planning expert working in urban enforcement in Sheffield, UK.

The ever-increasing population within the urban sprawl is clogging the limited resources available. “The paucity of urban research in Pakistan is lamentable,” says Ashraf. “We are not the only ones struggling. Rural-urban migration is a challenge worldwide, but with proper legislation and enforcement these issues can be preempted, even mitigated,” she adds.

The urban planner suggests investing in rural development to reduce the burden on cities. “If we can provide opportunities and economic prospects to our rural youth, that can reduce the number of people seeking work in cities,” she suggests.

Expanding cities and increasing population need administrative and legislative management. “Urban legislation has existed for many years. However, its implementation remains another story,” she says.

Lack of urban planning policy enforcement and awareness of existing policy framework is a problem that needs to be addressed if cities are to manage the population expansion as a result of rural-urban migration.

“People will keep looking to the cities for opportunities if nothing is done to support their areas. Once here, they are the city’s burden. Our urban areas are ill-prepared to receive them,” adds the urban planner.

Expanding populations have equally expansive needs. Population growth mitigation in cities depends on rural development. Since policymakers have been unable to manage either so far, we need to revisit our planning systems and age-old policies as cities and their new residents require space and prospects to survive.

The writer is a staff member