EMERGING CHALLENGES IN LAND USE REGULATION SYSTEM: A CASE STUDY OF MURREE, PAKISTAN

Abstract

Most of the cities of Pakistan have expanded arbitrarily. Among these cities several had some sort of development plans, to guide the city’s future growth. Due to one reason or the other, the city development have not taken shape as per plans. However, development projects as per these plans were randomly taken up by Authorities, which can be termed as partial implementation of Plans. Consequently, these projects provide temporary relief regarding some specific problems of that city, but at the same time triggered numerous interrelated issues for which local authorities were not pre-prepared. A need is being felt for plan oriented development rather than project oriented development, for which lot is needed in policy and strategy formulation, institutional strengthening and implementation. This paper aims at appraising of the land use regulation system of Murree city that has expanded in the absence of any preconceived plan. The success it has achieved with prevailing system, with respect to existing land use pattern and its implications for stakeholders, especially tourists and local residents, all relate to the research query. Findings of the research reveal that growth of Murree has been without any specific pattern or pre-conceived plan for over three decades. Murree lacks basic amenities of life in qualitative and quantitative terms. In this regard, the most crucial aspect relates to lack of balance in distribution of neighborhood and sub neighborhood level facilities. Due to this centralization of amenities, parking is becoming one of the major problem for local residents and the floating population as well. Building byelaws and zoning regulations of Murree also need to be adapted as per local conditions. Key Words Land Use Regulation, Land Use Challenges, Development Planning, Murree City.