Impact Assessment of Urban Pull-factors to cause Uncontrolled Urbanization: Evidence from Pakistan

Abstract

Uncontrolled urbanization is a global phenomenon, currently sweeping through developing countries like Pakistan. Being the 6th most populous country, its strategic urban locations receive a humongous migrant influx. A prime victim is Hyderabad, Pakistan, the Sindh’s second-largest urban settlement after Karachi that experiences enormous urban problems due to immense urbanization. Hence, the study aims to propose policy implications to curtail Hyderabad’s urbanization. The objective of this study is to measure the impacts of pull-factors in perception of migrants so that the policy implications could be proposed on most responsible factors. For this study, 3 urban Talukas (a district’s subdivision) of district Hyderabad were selected. While a sample of 400 migrants was procured using purposive and snowball sampling techniques for the questionnaire survey. Utilizing a large survey data, the results were obtained using descriptive statistics and multiple regression. Results showed a significant impact of economic and socio-cultural pull-factors like better employment opportunities, higher income probability, job security, easy access to facilities, better outlook and hope for the future, and comfortable and diverse lifestyle in causing immense urbanization. Nevertheless, desire for independence and access to basic social services appeared to have a negative impact. The proposed policy implications on significant pull-factors could be considered as a first step to handle uncontrolled urbanization. Moreover, the study is significant as it particularly contributes to apprehend Hyderabad’s various interrelated urban issues. In general terms, this research can be considered as a role model for high-density third world cities suffering from relatable urban malaise.