Land Use and Environmental Planning in Rawalpindi, Pakistan

Abstract

Over the last two decades, Pakistan has made considerable progress in reducing absolute poverty and improving shared prosperity, but most of the population remains poor or vulnerable. A key dimension of social vulnerability in South Asia is exposure to hydrological and meteorological hazards including storms, floods, and droughts. In this review, a questionnaire from the inhabitants to assess the adequacy of existing urban plans regarding reasonable improvement in Rawalpindi has been organized. In addition, by gathering the important secondary information from the concerned divisions, the planning specialists from Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA), Capital Development Authority (CDA), Tehsil Municipal Administration (TMA) Rawalpindi and the engineers of the plans were likewise met and their opinions discussed. Furthermore, utilizing SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) to break down the essential information and to draw deductions. Similarly, the urban sustainability index, a set of indicators based on environmental, social and economic parameters was selected for development. As the result, planning issues and problems in Rawalpindi were analyzed in five separate subjects: (1) Land use planning and policy, laws and regulations, (2) Urbanization and transport system, (3) Landuse Change and Its Impact on Watershed Hydrology, (4) Site planning techniques and (5) Social and environmental impact assessment. The mitigation measures and recommendations were suggested accordingly.