Assessing Urban Mobility Challenges in Karachi, Pakistan, Using The CityStrength Diagnostic Tool
Fizza Fatima
A study conducted by: Abhijit Parashar, Fizza Fatima, Krishnanunni J., Shantanu Raut, Sreeparna Mitra
Karachi is the largest city of Pakistan with a population of over 15.7 Million. It is a port city that contributes about 12–15% to the national GDP. Several waves of migrations into the city have contributed to its cosmopolitan character, making it a microcosm of not only Pakistan, but the entire South Asian region. Due to its unprecedented growth rate, Karachi is predicted to be the 10th largest city in the world by 2020. It is quite alarming that in spite of such great socio-economic importance, Karachi is still devoid of a mass transit system. As a consequence, the public has to depend on private modes of transportation, the cost of which is estimated to have increased by over 100 percent since 2000. The last few decades have seen continued investment in flyovers, expressways and expanding road widths. This has led to a growing dependence on motorized forms of transport including private cab-hailing services, with no provisions for promoting non-motorized forms of transport such as walking or bicycling. According to a World Bank report, over 1,000 new vehicles are added to the streets of Karachi each day. This crisis has burdened the existing infrastructure and led to several challenges such as quotidian traffic congestions, a high number of road accidents, health issues, social inequality and environmental pollution. The absence of a centralized authority to overlook the BRT Projects has led to a state of confusion and incompatibility in terms of design, planning and implementation.
It becomes crucial for a city of such magnitude, grappling with chronic stress and prone to acute shocks, to see through the lens of a resilience framework to understand the performance of its urban systems. 100 Resilient Cities pioneered by the Rockefeller Foundation defines Resilience as “the capacity of individuals, communities, institutions, businesses, and systems within a city to survive, adapt, and grow no matter what kinds of chronic stress and acute shocks they experience”. The CityStrength diagnostic is a qualitative assessment tool used by the World Bank as a holistic approach to evaluate urban resilience and can be applied to any city regardless of size, institutional capacity, or phase of development.
The CityStrength diagnostic identifies five qualities of any resilient system, namely Robustness, Inclusive, Coordination, Redundant and Reflective. The passenger transport system of Karachi is assessed using this tool on the basis of these 5 qualities.
The current transportation system of Karachi is a combination of formal and informal modes; such as mini-buses, three-wheelers, cars, motorbikes and taxis, all of which depend on one single network i.e. the roads. As per the World Bank Report (2018), the cars and motorcycles, which account for 84 percent of the vehicular traffic on roads, carry only 40 percent of commuters. This is the reason why the number of passengers competing for a single bus seat in Karachi is 45, which is one of the highest in the world. In contrast, 12 people compete for a single bus seat in Mumbai, India and 8 in Hong Kong, China. This highlights the redundant quality of the modality and capacity of the city’s current passenger transport system
Women are the most adversely affected group by this transport crisis. There is a constant fear of harassment in public transportation. Many women prefer to not work due to long commutes. Lack of inclusivity of the system is evident in the World Bank analysis based on JICA 2010–11 Karachi Household Survey, which shows a highly disproportionate female employment rate in Karachi (Fig 2).
The lack of an institutional framework is a major factor responsible for the failure of the urban mobility system in the city. There are several authorities at the national, provincial and local levels with overlapping roles and responsibilities highlighting the lack of coordination as a resilience quality. The administration of roads is overlooked by several authorities such as the National Highway Authority, Government of Sindh, Karachi Municipal Corporation, Defence Housing Authority, and cantonments. The Karachi
Urban Transport Master Plan (KUTMP) 2030 was formed based on the findings of the Karachi Transportation Improvement Project (KTIP) undertaken by the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) from 2009–2012. It included the construction of six Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and two Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) corridors and a plan for the revival of Karachi Circular Railway.
It is noteworthy here that the Karachi Mass Transit Cell, which was the responsible authority for the development of the mass transit system, after not being given enough funds by the provincial government, has been converted into Sindh Mass Transit Authority at the provincial level. It is due to the aforementioned reasons that the process of development and implementation of the BRT Plans in the city has been incredibly slow and delayed.
The Red Line is being funded by the Asian Development Bank and is a third generational design, whereas the Green Line is being funded by the Federal Government and is the first generational design. The Orange Line will be funded by the Provincial Government, whereas funding for the Yellow Line is being negotiated with the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, World Bank and Provincial Government. Due to several funding sources, the technical designs and environmental standards of each of the lines is incompatible with one another.
The proposed BRT network was analyzed by superimposing it over the existing road network. The study reveals that the BRT routes are planned over the existing arterial roads which would result in an additional burden on the already choking road network. The proposed BRT doesn’t offer multimodality. In the event of acute shocks such as flooding and heavy rainfall, the disruption of road networks could lead to a complete transport system failure. Hence, not only this discontinuity of mobility highlights a lack of robustness of the system, but also shows that the planning is not reflective in nature
In essence, a resilient mobility system would require 1) continuity in the event of disruptions, 2) access to transportation for all population groups and 3) ability/ flexibility to divert user traffic to different modes of transport based on changing conditions. The vulnerability of the transport system is explicit when we look at it as part of a larger urban network. Its failure may undermine the performance of many other networks such as energy, supply chain, healthcare, etc., disrupting the regional economy.
Lack of resilience of the transport system in Karachi is made evident by the CityStrength Diagnostic Tool. The existing road network is overburdened and the proposed BRT scheme relies on the same road network, and hence does not seem to help the cause building resilience of the passenger transport system. KCR (Karachi Circular Railway) holds high potential to ease the stress on mobility issues, although its realization remains uncertain. Owing to the fiscal deficit in the public sector, Public-Private Partnerships can be viewed as a possible strategy to address the case of Karachi. There is a pressing need for an autonomous organization to manage and administer the development of the public transport system. A multi-modal network is the most plausible way forward to address Karachi’s mobility woes.
In essence, a resilient mobility system would require 1) continuity in the event of disruptions, 2) access to transportation for all population groups and 3) ability/ flexibility to divert user traffic to different modes of transport based on changing conditions. The vulnerability of the transport system is explicit when we look at it as part of a larger urban network. Its failure may undermine the performance of many other networks such as energy, supply chain, healthcare, etc., disrupting the regional economy.
Lack of resilience of the transport system in Karachi is made evident by the CityStrength Diagnostic Tool. The existing road network is overburdened and the proposed BRT scheme relies on the same road network, and hence does not seem to help the cause building resilience of the passenger transport system. KCR (Karachi Circular Railway) holds high potential to ease the stress on mobility issues, although its realization remains uncertain. Owing to the fiscal deficit in the public sector, Public-Private Partnerships can be viewed as a possible strategy to address the case of Karachi. There is a pressing need for an autonomous organization to manage and administer the development of the public transport system. A multi-modal network is the most plausible way forward to address Karachi’s mobility woes.
About the Author:
Fizza Fatima is a Mundus Urbano student from Karachi, Pakistan. She graduated summa cum laude as an architect from NED University of Engineering & Technology. Before joining MU, she was involved in promoting sustainable urban mobility measures in Karachi on a project initiated by Friedrich Naumann Stiftung Pakistan. Having a strong passion for community upliftment, she has collaborated with various NGOs in Pakistan, alongside conducting research with her alma mater on street dwellers in Karachi.
References:
Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung für die Freiheit. (2019) Sustainable Urban Mobility for Karachi - A Strategic Framework. Karachi.
Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung für die Freiheit. (2019) Sustainable Urban Mobility for Karachi — A Strategic Framework. Karachi.
Hasan, A. & Raza, M. (2015). Responding to the transport crisis in Karachi. IIED Working Paper. IIED, London
Meyer, M.D. (2008) “Design Standards for U.S. Transportation Infrastructure: The Implications of Climate Change.” http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/sr/sr290Meyer.pdf.
World Bank. 2015. City strength diagnostic : methodological guidebook (English). Washington, D.C. : World Bank Group. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/557791467992483926/City-strength-diagnostic-methodologic al-guidebook
World Bank. 2015. City strength diagnostic : methodological guidebook (English). Washington, D.C. : World Bank Group. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/557791467992483926/City-strength-diagnostic-methodologic al-guidebook
World Bank. (2018). Transforming Karachi into a Livable and Competitive Megacity: A City Diagnostic and Transformation Strategy. Washington, DC: World Bank
