Research: PIDE Policy Viewpoint

Abstract

RENEW CITIES TO BE THE ENGINES OF GROWTH

PIDE Cities Research Programme was initiated in Karachi with a conference titled Cities: the Engine of Growth on November 15-16, 2006. The conference was held in our largest city and was well-attended by economists, architects, town planners, Nazims, government officials, NGOs, journalists, and other citizens. The discussion was animated and about twenty-five speakers addressed the gathering. All points of view were represented and debated. The main points of the discussion that took place there may be summarised as follows: • All segments of our society are dissatisfied with the current state of our cities and with every aspect of our cities from their management to what they offer. None of their needs seem to be met by these cities. • The debate on cities has not happened nor has anybody developed any research orfresh thinking on the subject. • How cities are managed and who manages them is not clear and this seems to render the citizens powerless and voiceless. The continuing problems with the recent decentralization and the inability to define city administration in the presence of the army cantonments in cities compounds problems of city administration and citizen's participation in that administration. Several important themes were developed in the conference which will form the basis of future research and debate.