Public Space and Mobility Improvements in Selected Neighborhoods
This Component aims to enhance the usability, safety and attractiveness of Public Spaces, improve mobility and pedestrian access and improve traffic safety. Adequate public spaces are fundamental to the quality of life of Karachi’s residents. These would directly support the livelihoods of many residents such as vendors, provide areas for recreation and facilitate positive social interactions within communities. The project will meet International technical standards and best practice in terms of public space and mobility improvement within existing ROW and has been formulated after taking into account comments and suggestions collected during consultations with relevant stakeholders. The investment under component 1 will be located in three neighborhoods: Sadder Downtown Area, Malir and Korangi and the entire area would be monitored via closed circuit cameras. These neighborhoods have been selected by the Government in consultation with the stakeholders on the basis of the following criteria’s:
- Areas with High Potential to demonstrate the project’s impact on livability
- Complimentarily with ongoing or future investments in Public Spaces (including BRTS and the redevelopment of cultural sites by outside groups)
- Low anticipated negative social and environmental impacts
- Ethnicity and Political balance
- Potential for engagement with low income and marginalized groups
Successful public space investment is seen as an important catalyst for urban transformation. Bottom up planning approach would ensure that the project meets the needs of the communities and helps build local ownership of the project, which is essential for long term sustainability. The creation of quality public spaces and streets will ensure the need for better asset management and maintenance. Within each neighborhood (sub component), specific interventions sub projects will be selected and designed via a framework approach. The screening criteria for sub-projects include:
- Focusing on enhancing public space assets for use by pedestrians, women, youths and vulnerable groups.
- Alignment with the overall project development objectives and stated needs of the citizens.
- Readiness to be implemented within project time periods with visible positive
- impacts in the area.
- Economic viability with no major or irreversible environmental and social impacts.
Expected Benefits
The project is expected to upgrade the livability status of the neighborhood – through environmental improvement, infrastructure rehabilitation and by creating spaces for social integration. It will also optimize the still existent cultural, social and recreational potential provided by the relevant structures and spaces through utilizing them as catalysts for public space design interventions that are characterized by their inclusive, accessible, safe and comfort based designs – that rely on creating places rather than structures. It will knit the destinations of public visitation in a manner that promotes improved public access and through facilitating patterns of circulation that are pedestrian in nature rather than motorized – facilitated both by route identification and associated street furniture that assists walkability. It will tap into the defining historical legacies of the area – multicultural, learning, public service – through public space design interventions that render these attributes as contributors to pleasing experiences that the citizens of the city can enjoy through improved access, comfort and environmental suitability. And more importantly, will include components which will improve street furniture to facilitate pedestrian movement, shaded trees, rerouting of motorized traffic and provision of parking spaces in a way that the neighborhoods environmental sensitivities are not degraded and elements of public conveniences are not obstructed.