Population Growth and the Erosion of Public Space in Faisalabad: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Rapid growth in population is a major problem of urban sustainability for Pakistan as population is increasing putting more pressure on the public facilities and community spaces. Faisalabad, one of the fast-growing industrial cities in the country, provides an interesting context in which to think through the consequences of demographic growth on the availability and quality of public space. This research attempts to stimulate the phenomena of relationship population growth and public space erosion in Faisalabad by using qualitative research approach. Primary data was gathered in the form of both in-depth interviews of the residents and street vendors as well as other members of the local community and systematic field observations of the parks, streets and neighborhood communal spaces in the high-density areas. Thematic analysis has revealed that population growth is one of the reasons for overcrowding, informal encroachment and commercialization and declining accessibility to public spaces. These changes disproportionately affect women, old people and poor, demonstrating the forms of the socially unequal impacts of the pressure of demographic. The findings further suggest that weak urban governance and poor planning exist that make the consequences of the increased population of the public spaces more severe. The result the study concludes is that erosion of public space in the context of Faisalabad is not only the result of the demographic process but the interaction of population pressure and the institutional limitations and informal urban. By foregrounding the lived experiences of residents, this research contributes to the fields of population studies and urban sociology with interest in the need for population sensitive and inclusive urban planning for preserving public space as a common social resource.