SaffPindi- Differentiating cities from Slums. A case of Rawalpindi.

Rawalpindi is 4th largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad with an estimated 1.8 million population.  In 1950s, Rawalpindi was smaller than Hyderabad but the city’s economy received a boost with building of federal capital adjusant to its boundaries in late 1960s. This resulted in increase in its population almost 5 times. The city serves as an economic hub to the neighbouring town like Murree, Chakwal and Wah Cantt.

The increase in size and population doesn’t resulted in harmony with its infrastructure. The city does not provide a proper sewerage system to more than 70% of the population. 80% of the water is not safe for drinking. Open plots in residential areas are used for disposal of waste. The deteriorating situation forces us to think how can we differentiate living in this city from living in a slum?

UN-HABITAT defined slum, as a run-down area of a city characterized by substandard housing and squalor and lacking one or more of the following.

1. Durable housing of a permanent nature that protects against extreme climate conditions.
2. Sufficient living space which means not more than three people sharing the same room.
3. Easy access to safe water in sufficient amounts at an affordable price.
4. Access to adequate sanitation in the form of a private or public toilet shared by a reasonable number of people.
5. Security of tenure that prevents forced evictions

Whereas Cities offer all of the above and are central hub of economic activities. Cities generally have complex systems for sanitation, utilities, land usage, housing, and transportation. The concentration of development greatly facilitates interaction between people and businesses, benefiting both parties in the process. Cities are often categorized by the number of population, e.g. in Australia cities have minimum threshold of 10,000 people. In China, the number goes as high as 100,00 non-agriculture urbanized population.

As per above definition, we may easily categorize Rawalpindi as a developed slum.