Degree

BS (Social Sciences & Liberal Arts)

Faculty / School

School of Economics and Social Sciences (SESS)

Department

Department of Social Sciences & Liberal Arts

Date of Award

Spring 2026

Date of Submission

2026-06-27

Advisor

Ms. Soha Macktoom

Project Type

SSLA Culminating Experience

Access Type

Restricted Access

Keywords

Urban Political Ecology, Political Ecology, Riverfront Deelopement

Abstract

Urban riverfront development projects are increasingly presented as solutions to environmental degradation, infrastructure deficits, and urban growth challenges. In Pakistan, however, such projects have emerged within complex political, legal, and ecological contexts, raising questions about who benefits from urban transformation and at what cost. This study examines how riverfront development projects in Lahore and Karachi reflect the political economy of urban transformation in Pakistan through a comparative analysis of the Ravi Riverfront Urban Development Project (RUDA) and the Malir Expressway. Drawing on the theoretical frameworks of Urban Political Ecology, Speculative Urbanism, and the Right to the City, the research investigates how ecological narratives, governance structures, legal frameworks, and capital accumulation shape contemporary urban development. Methodologically, the study employs a qualitative research design, combining semi-structured interviews with urban planners, environmental lawyers, and political economists, alongside discourse analysis of planning documents, legal judgments, policy material, and public narratives. The findings demonstrate that both projects frame rivers as ecological crises requiring technocratic intervention, while simultaneously facilitating processes of speculative urban expansion and land commodification. Ecological restoration and modernisation narratives are used to legitimise large-scale spatial restructuring, despite significant social and environmental consequences. The research identifies patterns of displacement, exclusion, and uneven development, revealing how agricultural land, local communities, and existing socio-ecological relationships are subordinated to investment-oriented urban futures. Furthermore, the study highlights the role of fragmented governance systems, flexible legal frameworks, and development discourse in enabling and normalising these transformations. Planning institutions and legal mechanisms are shown to function not merely as regulatory structures but as active instruments in the production of speculative urban space. By comparing Lahore and Karachi, this research contributes to the growing literature on urban political economy and environmental governance in Pakistan. It argues that riverfront development projects are not simply infrastructural or environmental interventions but are manifestations of broader processes of accumulation, dispossession, and contested urban citizenship.

 

 

Pages

60

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