Monsoon returns to Lahore, the city which is still reeling from the impact of the heaviest downpour recorded in 38 years, earlier this month. Whereas in the past a robust monsoon was the only respite for a beleaguered environment as it washed out pollutants, the recent pattern of rains has set the alarm bells ringing for urban planners and city managers for the future development model of the city, lest they care less.

July being Lahore’s wettest month which previously had an average of 191mm of rainfall recorded 280mm in just 48 hours. The downpour turned roads into virtual rivers and resulted in spate of sinkholes on busy city centre roads were an indication of the changing weather patterns which the city has to endure in times to come.

The rains, apart from wreaking havoc, have also demystified and deconstructed the current ‘Smart City’ craze that has captivated the minds and attention of many urbanites in Lahore. Flared with frenzied ideas, the city planners embarked on a journey based on an unrealistic "Master Plan" for the city in the context of climate change. In the absence of a resilient strategy the citizens of Lahore were asked to adapt to the new development mantra while little was being done to conceptualise and ensure the elegance of infrastructure and lifelines according to the parametres set for sustainable cities of the future.

In reality, the monsoon exposed the failure of urban planning in the city, which is often a repeated subject of discussion round drawing rooms and public places alike. The everyday experience of wading through pools of water, failing infrastructure, and inaccessible governance institutions makes urban planners a natural scapegoat to blame. The solution then lies in better ‘future proofing’ or ‘sustainable development’ that will cater to real projections of growth and with an equitable and fair planning for all.

The term ‘Sustainable Development’ has been in currency for some time -- at least since the early 1980s. However, it gained popular attention in 1987 with the publication of ‘Our Common Future,’ the report of the United Nations’ World Commission on Environment and Development. Sustainable development is defined by the report as "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."

Seen in this light, the smart city concept appears less as a novel idea floated to guide the sustainable development of the future of Lahore, and more as an ideological cover for the ongoing processes of neo-liberal urbanisation which fails in addressing how the public infrastructures should conjoin the triple bottom line (TBL) that is social, environmental, and financial aspects of the city.

In the backdrop of a healthy monsoon, and the growing need for water in the city, the spectre of water crisis, akin to the one faced by Cape Town, South Africa, seems where Lahore is headed to as well. While both the provincial and local governments are busy in cementing every possible street within Lahore, water -- a basic requireme          nt that is exceedingly becoming a scarce resource -- is now all set to pose a greater challenge to the city. According to estimates from the Water and Sanitation Authority (WASA), the groundwater levels of Lahore have dropped by 600 feet to 1,000 feet, and the amount of water being pumped out on a daily basis risks the city of running dry by 2025. The city needs to learn its lesson from global water debacles. The crisis at Cape Town has shown what unplanned urbanisation can do to water availability in the urban centres. Not only is the metropolis headed to a dry future, the scarcity shall increase as people continue to migrate to the city at an unprecedented rate.

Ali Hassnain Syed, a water expert who has worked on multiple water stewardship projects in the city, is of the opinion that the government’s priority should have been to rejuvenate existing groundwater recharge than investing in heavy projects that pose a threat to the natural rejuvenation of the aquifer. "These trying circumstances, coupled with haphazard urbanisation, hindering the natural ground water recharge process through large expanse of paved streets, roads, and buildings will not only result in the city getting locked in an irrevocable path towards self-destruction, as water becomes a precious commodity, but will also impact the surrounding aquifers as the city will have to look for alternatives to meet its demand," he says.

Experts propose the newly ‘rediscovered’ technology of urban rainwater harvesting which promises to allow the positive use of rain which falls on impermeable urban surfaces, thereby, reducing the pressure on the aquifer.

Similarly, a harvesting system can also aid in attenuating rainwater run-off from urban areas.

It is understood that in big metropolis like Lahore, not all water used in urban areas needs to be of high quality, potable standard. Urban water harvesting can provide a significant supply source for a wide range of industrial and domestic purposes in a sustainable way.

Among the 17 goals set by the United Nations for sustainable development, the 11th goal aims to "make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable." Similarly, the 6th and 13th goal of "Agenda 2030" depicts clean water and sanitation and climate action respectively. It is important to note here is that all the 17 SDGs incorporate the measures against climate change.

When compared, a sustainable city’s longevity is incomparable to a smart one. The most prominent aspect is that sustainability leads to resilience against both natural as well as man-made hazard scales. The concept of city recyclability, climate responsive, and climate change responsive urban and rural settlement is the dire need of the hour.

As the world enters the United Nations’ Decade (2018-2028) of action for the implementation of the SDGs, will it be possible for our cities to live up to their vast potential? The city planners need to rethink their vision for a "well-planned urbanisation model" that accounts for how the built and natural environments work in tandem, not in opposition, to make the city more livable as it will be key to its survival in the future as it swells to adapt to growing human populations.

Indeed, a tall order for planners considering the challenges facing them.