Solution-3675 Sustainable Communities 2nd Assignment

Department of Home & Health Sciences
Block No. 06, Sector H-8,

Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad.
Sustainable Communities (3675)

Assignment No. 02
Submitted to:
Prof. Dr. Noamana Anjum
(Chairperson)
Block No: 6
Dept. of Home & Health Sciences,
Allama Iqbal Open University, Sector H-8,
ISLAMABAD, (051-9250063 / 9057742)
Submitted by:
Muhammad Hammad Manzoor
2nd Semester, Roll No. BN-523998
M. Sc Sustainable Environmental Design
OGIL, # 514, 5th Floor, Continental Trade Centre (CTC)
Block – 08, Clifton, KARACHI
explorationist@gmail.com / (0332-527 2364)
Q. No. 1a: Community refers to that layer of society in which interaction takes
place between people who are neither close family and friends, nor yet total
strangers. Describe the community where you spent your early childhood .
(10 Marks)
Answer)
The following headings / bullets could be jotted down where spend my early childhood in
Rawalpindi & Islamabad.
Cycling:
I generally prefer to go out for cycling, where I found many of the new friends
Scout Training:
During scout training, interaction had been made with many of the other students fellow
who were not known to me.
Volunteer Program:
During Volunteer training program, had numerous interaction with the other students of the
different schools
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By: M. Hammad Manzoor, M.Sc Sus. Env. Design, 514, 5th Floor, Continental Trade Centre (CTC), Clifton – 08, Karachi. (Roll No. BN-523998)
Work of Welfare:
Welfare work was convened during the childhood with other fellows.
Madrassa:
In madrassa for recitation of holy Quran.
Festivals:
During different festivals (Eid etc) used to interact with different communities boys & girls.
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Meeting with other children parents:

My Parents walking with young Children and meeting other parents on the way or at the
school gates can be creating local networks of mutual support.
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Q. No. 1b: How built environment can shape the healthy connection among people
in the community? (10 Marks)
Answer)
The nature of the built environment has an important influence on how people interact
and communicate. Local shopping facilities are obvious meeting places. These can be
made attractive and accessible so that residents visit them frequently and on foot. Wide
pavements, traffic calming and pedestrian precincts mean that children need be less closely
supervised and allow people to stop and chat.
Public places can be designed to encourage people to linger in them, enjoying the
possibilities of happenstance encounters with fellow residents or visitors (Landry and
Bianchini, 1995). People do not generally have to negotiate or justify their presence in these
places, though young people gathered here are often unjustly regarded as a nuisance or a
threat. These places feel relatively safe, at least to locals or regular visitors. They are not
alienating in the way that a large windswept expanse between tower blocks or an out of
town hypermarket might be. They have local atmosphere, a sense of place
which reflects the lives and traditions of the people that use them. If that space feels
congenial, convenient and comfortable, people are more likely to spend time there,
increasing the probability and quality of social interchange.
Community represents the capacity, sometimes referred to as social capital (Putnam,

1995), which is created through personal investments of time and emotion in networks of
overlapping relationships. Being well-connected enables people to respond more
confidently to uncertainty, change and conflict. They are able to cope with scarcity and
crises on a more collective basis. Through their informal networks people receive advice
and guidance. They check out their knowledge and update information. Resources are
borrowed and shared. People exchange skills and favors. Informal networks and voluntary
associations enable people to learn from one another and to cooperate without the need for
formal contracts. Social ties can also create a confidence and solidarity which empower
people to challenge injustices and to organize collectively to promote and defend their
interests. Communities operate best when they are in a state of dynamic equilibrium,
capable of responding to changes in the environment and embracing ideas which challenge
out-mode traditions and prejudices. Studies of modern organizations indicate that flexible
networks provided he most appropriate and effective form of organizing in a fragmented
and tumultuous world (Hastings, 1993).
Society at the turn of the millennium offers just such an environment, and community
networks ensure a sustainable balance between individual autonomy and collective
responsibility. People may be connected, but they are not controlled. The resilience and
creativity of well-connected communities depends on both chance and choice, otherwise
the whole system freezes into rigidity and is incapable of adaptation or innovation.
CASE STUDY OF EASTON, INNER CITY NEIGHBOURHOOD

A few examples of recent community action may help to bring the theory to life. They are
drawn from the author’s experience of living and working in an urban neighborhood at the
heart of Bristol. Easton scores high on all indices of social deprivation and stress. Rates of
unemployment, poverty and crime are amongst the highest in the country and levels of
mental illness, disease and disability are significantly above the national average.
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Nevertheless Easton accommodates a rich diversity of cultures, originating from India,

Pakistan, Africa, e Caribbean, China and points closer to home. There is a good variety of
people from different class backgrounds, including university students and middle class
professionals. It is a typical, perhaps more than usually impoverished inner city community,
which enjoys reputation for getting things one whilst accommodating the different
experiences and traditions of the local population.
A major contribution to this process was the establishment, after a decade of lobbying and
fund-raising, of a purpose-built community centre, which is managed by the local
Community Association. The building was designed with an interior layout which allowed
maximum flexibility and encouraged interaction amongst people using the centre. It has
provided a base for a number of groups and voluntary organizations to meet and run
services, such as play schemes, youth clubs, adult education classes and social activities
for older people. It has also created a much needed focus for political campaigning and
community events, including an annual summer festival.
In areas like Easton, the development of community participation and common ownerships
not straightforward. Over the years public meetings and working parties have tackled local
issues, including problems thrown up by competing demands made on the centre itself.
These sometimes emerged as conflicts of interest or attempts to exclude certain sections of
the population who didn’t ‘fit in’ so neatly to the overall strategy. Despite a strong equal
opportunities policy and a firm commitment to ‘inclusivity’, there were tensions amongst the
different groups wanting to use the centre. These arose between the generations and
between different ethnic groups. One example will indicate how potential conflicts were
averted or resolved using public discussion and informal networking.
Managing a Shared Facility

Within a year of opening the Community Centre became a popular venue for late night
socials. There were problems around traffic and loud music, particularly in the early hours of
Sunday morning. These events were often hosted by African-Caribbean organizations.
Local white residents, understandably annoyed at this regular to their night’s sleep, laced
their complaints with veiled racial stereotypes. This wades spite the fact that many white
people attended the dances and contributed equally to the disturbance. The Community
Association organized a public meeting to consider their grievances, hoping to find a way
forward which was both feasible and diplomatic.
After much debate, it was agreed to introduce a number of measures to address the
problems of noise and parking. Years of working with residents from all sections of the
community meant that the Community Association was able to consult effectively with all
concerned and to develop a solution which satisfied most people. This was made easier
because of the tolerant and friendly relationships that had been developed between
individuals in the various groups using the centre. The Community Association as trusted to
deal with a difficult situation and had earned some respect over its years of campaigning
and arranging management committee had worked hard to be welcoming and responsive to
the needs of different cultures, age groups and abilities. Rather than imposing an artificial
‘unity’ on its residents, Easton Community Centre embraces many traditions. Diversity is
viewed as an asset, not a source of division. Local networks ensure that news, ideas and
shared concerns are able to cross the boundaries of faith, social identity and ethnic origin.
Consequently people with very different lifestyles are able to enjoy a fairly harmonious co-
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existence and have developed collective strategies for responding creatively and
constructively to opportunities and threats which appear in the environment.
Working in Partnership
Easton has been favored with substantial investment from government funding to
regenerate the local economy and improve the built environment. A ten-year programme of
neighborhood renewal schemes has included the upgrading of streetscapes and major
refurbishment of many houses. A team of City Council officers was based in the area and
regular consultation was organized (such as public forums, questionnaire surveys,
exhibitions) for residents to find out about the programme and contribute their ideas.
‘Planning for Real’ exercises were used to identify specific local problems and generate
suggestions as to how these might be solved. A local shopping area, St Marks Road, has
been transformed from a row of dilapidated shops to a lively thoroughfare well used by
residents and visitors from outside the area. Each shop front has been given a facelift with
distinctive signage, indicating the nature of their business (chemist, barbers, grocers, etc.)
and a section of the road itself has been made one-way, allowing pavements to be widened
and better parking arrangements introduced. Many of the improvements can be attributed
to the efforts of local traders, the imagination of community artists and funding from the
Council’s renewal programme. This partnership was embodied in the Easton Renewal
Forum which held open meetings in the Community Centre and published a regular
newsletter. By developing a shared commitment to the scheme, which incorporated
residents’ suggestions and concerns, the resulting improvements have generated a real
sense of local pride and promoted the multi-ethnic character of the area.
The Community in Action

The ability of a community to take action does not necessarily involve cooperation with the
relevant authorities. Indeed, the history of community action in the UK includes many
examples of campaigns which have alleged decisions by council committees or private
companies. On the fringes of Easton a former railway embankment had become
overgrown, creating a much appreciated area of greenery within an otherwise urban
landscape. Planning permission had been given for housing and the site sold to a private
building firm. On hearing this, the local wildlife trust alerted supporters living in the area and
opposition was swiftly mobilized against the proposed development. Initially the campaign
was based around a small group of activists who tried to persuade the council (which had
originally granted planning permission) that the area should become a protected habitat.
When this approach proved ineffective and the bulldozers were about to move in, more
confrontational direct action tactics were adopted. Informal networks were used to mobilize
sympathetic residents and at short notice a crowd of mainly local people assembled to
occupy the land, preventing clearance of the site. Eventually the plans to build houses were
abandoned and the embankment has since reverted to a wildlife corridor linking the inner
city to open countryside. It continues to provide a natural amenity for the whole community.
Local Links and Liaison

Over the years Easton, which actually consists of a number of overlapping and intersecting
communities, has developed a positive identity as a multi-ethnic and well-integrated
neighborhood. Despite continuing economic problems, it is seen as a strong and vibrant
community, attracting residents and visitors from many backgrounds and cultural traditions.
The ideas, imagination and initiative of local people constitute a major resource for urban
development, which is frequently overlooked by planners or environmental campaigners.
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Because community involvement is usually on a voluntary basis, considerable skills and

sensitivity are required to sustain and coordinate this complex mosaic of individual
motivation and collective effort. Professional community workers can help people to
develop the necessary abilities, awareness and confidence to collaborate in joint ventures.
In Easton community participation is underpinned by vigorous and imaginative networking,

which has enabled local people to manage divergent interests and tensions. There has
been an emphasis on diversity and social integration, using positive action strategies to
tackle inequalities and to support cooperation across traditional organizational and ‘identity’
boundaries. The aim was to break down some of the prejudices and animosities which can
occur within mixed communities, and enable people to learn from one another in a spirit of
mutual respect and growing trust. The Community Association organized activities which
would be attractive and accessible to a range of people. They were fun, but also functional
in providing ample opportunities for informal networking within a safe and inclusive
environment.
Networks as a Community Resource

In Easton residents organized themselves collectively in order to make changes which
would meet their own needs and benefit the wider community. For individuals voluntary
collaboration is a risky strategy, requiring a trade-off between the costs of participation (in
money, time and effort) and the anticipated gains. Many people are deterred or prevented
from contributing to community initiatives because they feel excluded, disempowered or
lacking in self-esteem. Before individuals will commit themselves to collective action, they
need to feel that they have a stake in the community such that their needs will be
recognized and their efforts rewarded. Informal networks help to build this sense of
belonging and foster loyalty and respect, the emotional building blocks of community.
Many successful community projects originate in informal conversations amongst people

who are in regular contact and who share a common predicament or vision. An initial idea is
shaped until it can be formulated as a firm proposal for consideration through local
meetings and wider discussion. In the first phase of development, the core group will often
be well acquainted with one another and new members tend to be recruited by word of
mouth. Once the project has gained commitment from a critical mass of supporters and
potential contributors, a formally constituted organization may need to be established in
order to attract funding and membership. In their formative stages, voluntary associations
are often sustained primarily through emotional attachments and a common understanding.
This ‘soft’ infrastructure of personal relationships enhances people’s sense of community
and helps people to cooperate without recourse to formal structures or bureaucratic
procedures(Thomas, 1995). There is a danger, however, that organizations which are over
reliant on informal networks become ‘cliquey’, excluding people who have a right to
participate or who may have useful experiences to offer.
Examples of the local area:
Meet Fatima Tendai:

In the village of Bijora, 19 kms from Thatta that is home to around 1,500 people who work
predominantly as daily wage farmers and earn around Rs. 5,000 (USD 50) a month, a
woman called Fatima Tendai was introduced to Shell Tameer. She applied to become a
entrepreneurship trainee. At the end of her training, she received seed capital in the form of
a single d.light solar lamp which she sold in a week to generate profit enough to procure
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additional lamp inventory. A month later, she sold enough lamps to generate a profit of Rs.
30,000 (USD 300).
Fatima’s distribution business sells lamps not only to members of her own community in
Bijora but people in a number of nearby villages and employs two people to help her market
and sell d.light solar lamp products.
In December of 2014, Fatima won a Shell Tameer award because of the social impact her
business is creating: providing students and artisans extended working hours across rural
Sindh
"When my husband left us eight years ago, we often went to bed hungry. I am grateful for
the opportunity I received to turn my determination and hard work into financial
independence and stability through Tameer."
Fatima Tendai
Rehabilitating Communities
Goth Noor Muhammad, a settlement 25 KMs from Karachi, where 25 percent of the city’s
trash is being dumped had residents settled there since the past 30 years lacked all basic
health, education and potable water until about 5 years ago. This housed a hundred
families of waste-pickers who sort through urban solid waste dumped near the village, and
sell plastic, glass and metal as a source of income. Following the intervention by Shell,
PPAF (Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund) & HANDS, in 5 years, changed Goth Noor
Muhammad into a different place.
The project has transformed homes made from rags and recycled waste, to permanent
housing with covered water storage tanks, and energy efficient stoves which reduce indoor
air pollution. All these changes have promoted visible and measurable impact in the lives of
this community. Shell’s focus in this project has been on housing made from indigenous
materials to accommodate climatic and environmental realities. Homes have high ceilings
and windows close to the roof for ventilation with screens to protect families from malaria-
carrying mosquitoes. Each group of homes has one communal kitchen building with an
energy efficient stove, which reduces the occurrence of indoor air pollution and confines
cooking activities to an area away from where families live.
As many as 133 housing and 34 sanitation units were constructed; solar lights were
installed as the area was completely off grid and a state of the art clean drinking water plant
was also installed.
"Picking up trash in any city is a dirty job, but on the outskirts of Karachi numerous
settlements of impoverished families make their livings (and homes) collecting and
recycling what the rest of us throw away."
Towards Sustainable Community Development: A Case Study of SPDC Community

Transformation and Development Index (SCOTDI)
Many business organizations face the challenge of determining the success or failure of
their corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, particularly with respect to the impacts
and effect on community development and corporate-community relations. Indeed, this can
be partly attributed to the fact that CSR as a discipline lacks a well-developed and elaborate
methodology to measure, capture and report its impact. Yet, a business case and
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justification for continued support for CSR initiatives requires at a minimum, some evidence
that demonstrates the return on corporate social Investment for both the company and its
external stakeholders. The limited nature of such available evidence has meant that the
debate over the relationship between CSR and development in the Niger Delta remains
contested, and the policy challenge confronting community relations managers, remains
poorly understood.
The gaps in knowledge by examining the SPDC Community Transformation and

Development Index (SCOTDI) launched in 2013. SCOTDI represents an innovative effort to
systematically integrate and adapt a number of international standards into a composite
index to assess, rank and recognized the performance and development outcomes of
SPDC's Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMoU) with its host communities. The
model provides a means for assessing the extent to which GMoUs are able to contribute to
community development, provides an incentive for positive inter-cluster competition, thus
ensuring their long–term sustainability, and facilitating the effective and efficient allocation of
scare resources for community development.
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Q. No. 1c: Interpret in the local context preferably related to your experience.
(10 Marks)
Answer)
Local Context related to experience:
There is the number of ways in which local people used to interact with each other; few are
highlighted and bulleted as;
Festivals:
Lahore, being the richest cultural city in Pakistan celebrates a number of festivals throughout the year. It
is most popular for the festivals of Basant and Mela Chiraghan, but many others are celebrated in the
metropolis as well. People used to interact with each other.
National Horse & Cattle Show:

The show is held at Fortress Stadium in the third week of November for 5 days. Activities in
the event include cattle races, cattle dances, tent pegging, tattoo show, folk
music, dances, bands, cultural floats and folk games.
The show has been described as an eloquent expression of Pakistan's heritage and an
authentic account of its agricultural and industrial achievement's. The fortress stadium, the
venue of the show is thronged by active participants, foreign visitors and peoples who
watch the festival with great enthusiasm, verve and aplomb. A large number of them are
interested in watching and appreciating the best breeds of livestock.
Islamabad Literature Festival:
The Islamabad Literature Festival (ILF) is an international literary festival held annually
in Islamabad, Pakistan.
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Rabi ul Awal:
Rabīʿ al-ʾawwal is the third month in the Islamic calendar. During this month, many
Muslims celebrate Mawlid - the birthday of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad. Although the
exact date is unknown, Sunni Muslims believe the date of birth of Muhammad to have been
on the twelfth of this month, whereas Shi'a Muslims believe him to have been born on the
dawn of the seventeenth day. The Prophet himself never celebrated the mawlid, instead
encouraged Muslims to fast Monday’s of every week due to his birthday being “on a
Monday”. The name Rabī‘ al-awwal means the first [month] or beginning of spring, referring
to its position in the pre-Islamic Arabian calendar.
National Festivals:
Pakistan Day: (23 March)
Pakistan Day is a momentous milestone in the
history of Pakistan movement. This event is held
to mark the anniversary of Pakistan Resolution
passed by the Muslims of South Asia on March
23, 1940 at Minto Park (now Iqbal Park), Lahore.
The resolution was presented by A. K. Fazlul
Huq. The nation commemorates this day with
great zeal and enthusiasm, to honor the most
outstanding achievement of the Muslims of South
Asia who passed the historic Pakistan Resolution
resulting in the creation of Pakistan under the dynamic leadership of Quaid-e-Azam
Muhammad Ali Jinnah; a homeland where they could live in peace, harmony and in
accordance with the tenets of Islam
Dependence Day: (14 August)

This glorious day is a land mark in our history to
commemorate the independence of Pakistan.
Independence Day is celebrated with zeal and fervor in
all parts of the country on August 14 with special
programmes arranged in all big and small towns and
rural areas. On this day, meetings, processions and
rallies are held all over the country and the whole
country is decorated on this day. People from various
walks of life decorate their houses with national flags and the buildings, city shopping
centers, bazaars and all the main roads are also being adorned with flags and fancy lights.
Defense of Pakistan Day: (06 September)

The 6th of September is a golden chapter in the history
of Pakistan, when Pakistan, its military and people
stood united in 1965 in defense of Pakistan and resolve
to halt and beat back Indian multi-dimensional attacks
against Pakistan. This historic day is commemorated
through parades and exhibitions of military equipment at
Rawalpindi, Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta and Karachi.
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Air force Day: (07 September)

Air Force day is celebrated on 7th of September marking
the official beginning of the Indo-Pak war of 1965. That
day Air shows and other programs mark the PAF's role in
defending the nation. This day is celebrated by display of
latest aircrafts of Pakistan Airforce and air shows at
Rawalpindi, Sargodha, Lahore, Peshawar and Quetta.
Eid-ul-Fitr is a religious festival celebrated at the end of

fasting month, Ramadan on 1st of Shawwal. It is a three
days celebration during which time family and friends
gather together for long meals, the sharing of gifts, and
religious devotion.
Eid-ul-Azha:
Eid-ul-Azha is a three days celebration when Muslims from all over
the world offer a sacrifice by slaughtering a sheep, cow, or goat
following the traditional Islamic customs. It is also called the Festival
of Sacrifice. The meat from the sacrifice is shared by friends,
neighbors, relatives, and also distributed to the poor / needy.
Shab-e-Barat :
Shab-e-Barat is a religious festival celebrated on 14th of Shaaban.
The festival of Shab-e-Barat is celebrated with pomp and
enthusiasm by Muslims all over the world. Muslims believe that on
the night of Shab-e-Barat Allah writes the destinies of all people for
the coming year by taking into account the deeds committed by
them in the past. On this festival, prayers, fire works, exchange of sweet dishes and visits to
friends and families are held
Shandur Polo Festival

Traditional polo tournament between the teams of Chitral and
Gilgit is being held on the highest polo ground of the world - The
Shandur Pass (Chitral district). Allied activities include fold music,
folk dances and other competitions. A tent village along Shandur
Lake will be set up in cooperation with the local administration.
Marriage Ceremony:
Another cultural event, where people have interaction with each other. Given the diversity
of Muslims, some of the most common events that are held in a Pakistani marriage include variations of
the following. Marriage Proposal, Engagement, Dholki, Mehndi (Henna), Barat, Nikah, Registration,
Reception, Rukhsti (Farewell),Valima (Walima), and Honeymoon. The only Islamic requirement is the
Nikah and Valima.
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Q. No. 2: Why communities all over the world are under transformation? Give
three examples of community transformation in regard to sustainability in your own
area. (20Marks)
Answer)
What is the Transformation?
Transformation, according to the (Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary 2005) means a

complete change, from something into something different. It is a change of a form or
structure for instance a country‟s transformation from a dictatorship to a democracy
In short, a transformed community is;

 A neighborhood, city or nation whose values and institutions have been overrun by
the grace and presence of God
 A place where divine fire has not merely been summoned, it has fallen
 A society in which natural evolutionary change has been disrupted by invasive
supernatural power
 A culture that has been impacted comprehensively and undeniably by the Kingdom
of God
 A location where kingdom values are celebrated publicly and passed on to future
generations
In real estate, “location, location, location” is the catch phrase. For a long time, low-income,
inner-city and rural communities have been seen as the least desirable places to do
business. Many commercial and industrial businesses fled, leaving gaping holes in once
thriving communities. Housing abandonment and demolition have left behind a reduced
consumer base. Before the 1977 Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), many financial
institutions were loathed to invest and lend in these communities.
The Traditional Struggle Fighting Disinvestment with Reinvestment

The typical situation for a poor urban or rural community was disinvestment — taxes, bank
deposits, business profits, and sales flowed out of the community, but did not flow back in
the form of jobs, investments, infrastructure, or even basic public services. Communities
responded by fostering reinvestment. Strategies have included things like demanding
accountability from the institutions that draw on local support, trying to attract business to
the community, and developing alternative enterprises and services to recycle dollars within
the community. In places where disinvestment has happened, communities have pushed
for reinvestment in that place.
Changing Urban and Rural Challenges:

But the challenges facing communities are changing. In inner cities, for example, there is
new investment. New homes are being built and apartments rehabbed as financial
institutions have rediscovered the profitability of neighborhood lending. Commercial
businesses are looking at inner-city areas as significant untapped markets. Michael Porter’s
article, The Competitive Advantage of the Inner City, 1 has influenced institutional thinking
on this issue, as have the impressive sales figures of many existing inner-city stores and
services. Industrial development, too, has seen some renewal, with creative cleanup
strategies and increased understanding of brownfield development opportunities. At the
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same time, things are changing in rural communities. Rural population is increasing for the
first time since World War II. People are rediscovering the value and benefit of rural life and
small town quality. Even the Disney corporation recognized this, with the development of a
high-profile planned community modeled after traditional Main Street design and function.
Manufacturing, tourism, recreation, and retirement are now as much a part of rural life as
farming, fishing, mining, or ranching.
It’s not that disinvestment has gone away. Far from it. Nor has poverty and disadvantage
been replaced by economic opportunity. To the contrary, in some ways the changes in
urban and rural dynamics have made matters worse for many poor Americans. For
example, in rural areas, we know that agribusiness consolidation has put more business in
the hands of fewer owners, upsetting small community economics and leadership even in
times of economic prosperity. In urban neighborhoods, we know that what is called “urban
renewal” may be more truthfully described as “urban removal” when plans and priorities are
set by outside institutions.
But where place-based disinvestment was once the single dominant community challenge,
we now face many different kinds of challenges. Sometimes the struggle is with
gentrification, and the fight is to ensure that the people who have lived with community
poverty aren’t pushed out and away by the very investment that is supposed to benefit
them. Sometimes the struggle is not with the disinvestment of a place, but with the
economic restructuring of an entire industry, and the fight is to stay ahead of global
economic change. Other times the struggle is with community-specific challenges — a local
population changing faster than local institutions, critical land or major buildings abandoned
by outside institutions, or the political marginalization of local people by the powers-that-be.
One community might have to manage two or three or more of these dynamics all at once.
Our challenges are more complex than ever.
Building on Assets for Community Transformation:

In this context of change and complexity, community organizers, community developers,
and community builders have grown more capable and more creative. Community
organizers build constituency in creative ways, linking church and institutional bases with
workplace organizing and even block organizing. Organizing strategies range from
confrontation to negotiation, and everything in between. Community developers have
developed more expertise in commercial and industrial development; often exceeding what
any single business can do in learning and planning for economic futures. They also
employ a range of strategic roles, from developing projects independently or partnering with
private developers to catalyzing and mediating development by others.
By focusing on the capacities of community stakeholders to participate in and control

community change, in everything from quality-of-life to the creation of personal wealth, the
community-building movement has helped restore the heart and soul to community
activism. Community-building strategies range from storytelling and peer support to
leadership development and spiritual growth. Many community activists and community-
based organizations end up using a mix of community organizing, developing, and building
strategies, blurring the lines in order to maximize the synergies.
It is believed that “asset thinking” is central to much of the new community activism.
Whether organizing, developing, or building community, the work is most effective when we
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realize and appreciate community strengths and assets, and when the work widens the
circle of community to create new opportunities from within. Building on assets gives
community organizers insight into community power and stakeholder interests. Building on
assets gives community developers negotiating leverage and accountability for outcomes
that are appropriate and just. Building on assets give community builders a framework for
mapping relationships and finding new opportunities.
Community transformation goes along with a transformation of the mind. The

transformation in thinking occurs when we see the strategic opportunities hidden in the
context of community threats. The vision may be found as a result of mapping the five types
of assets found in every community;
 Individual talents and skills

 Local associations
 Local institutions
 Land and property
 Economic strengths
Connecting these assets is the core activity that allows a community to organize, develop,
and build itself from within. In changing times and in complex situations, asset thinking
provides a key to community transformation.
A Different Approach:
Meaningful Stories for Everyday Practitioners As they feel their way and develop new
approaches, community activists need all the help they can get. Volunteer community
leaders, the staff of community organizations, and everyday participants and involved
supporters who do community work need both inspiration and practical guidance. They
need to reaffirm their faith that their efforts can make a difference. And they need the “real
deal” on what might work, and what might not, so they can be effective.
There is a good deal of wonderful writing out there on community work. Still, a lot of it isn’t
really intended for community practitioners. It’s meant for everybody else: for funders,
professionals, policymakers, and uninvolved readers who could contribute to the cause.
Some of this writing takes the “miracle approach,” highlighting improbable successes to
communicate both the challenge of community work and its significance. At other times, it
takes a “technical approach,” breaking community work down into pieces — the parts of the
deal, the steps in the process, or the history of the project. All of this writing is important for
developing the broad support that communities need.
But practitioners need something more, because they know there is more to the story. They
know about the miraculous side of things, but we also know that behind every miracle,
there’s a lot of blood, sweat, and tears. They appreciate the technical side, but sense that
the pieces don’t tell the story of the whole. And because the work is of, by, and for ordinary
community folks, practitioner don’t see community work as a technical profession, as
something only experts can do. It’s hard, yes, but it’s work that ordinary people do everyday
Facing the Threats and Seeing Opportunities

The threats to community are always on the minds of community activists. “Sure, we’ve
heard about the miracles, but what about this major threat that’s facing my community right
17
now?” practitioners might say. Or, “The pieces of the process are fine, but the reality is that
there are things going on in my community that threaten to blow the whole process apart.”
The threats are real and present. The threats aren’t the exception to the rule. The threats
are the rule itself. It’s how communities deal with the threats that counts.
Turning threats into opportunities is not about exploitation. Everybody knows about the
players who exploit community threats for their own advantage. Predatory lenders take
advantage of disinvestment to make extraordinary profits off of credit-starved residents.
Speculators stockpile abandoned property without maintaining or developing it, in order to
sell at a huge profit when a community gentrifies. That’s not what community work is about.
Turning threats into opportunities is about transformation.
It’s about the way that communities break out of a vicious cycle of disadvantage and
despair, and break into a snowballing movement of hope and action. It’s about the way that
communities flip the dynamic of power, to take control of change, instead of being
controlled by change. Transformation starts with vision, with the ability to see opportunity in
the face of threats. Threats and crises illuminate our community values — they show us
what things we care the most about. In that light, assets previously taken for granted can
often be realized, and strengths can be viewed in new ways.
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18
Q. No. 3: Review case studies of three sustainable cities to report on models for
motorized and non-motorized modes of transportation (20Marks)
Answer)
Non-Motorized Transportation (NMT) includes all forms of travel that do not rely on an
engine or motor for movement. This includes walking and bicycle, and using small-wheeled
transport (skates, skateboards, push scooters and hand carts) and wheelchair. These
modes of transport can provide both recreation and transportation. For example, some
people will choose to walk or bicycle rather than drive because they enjoy the activity. The
importance of non-motorized transport can be summarized as follows: they provide door-to-
door transport; Non-motorized infrastructure usually has a very high spatial penetration;
Non-motorized do not lead to waiting, times compared with waiting at public transport stops;
Non-motorized have a favorable environmental performance; they are cheap transport
modes; Non motorized are essential elements in multimodal transport chains; Non-
motorized are healthy activities
The concept of sustainable transportation is vital to ensure environment clean, healthy and
high quality. The concept also emphasis on the human life and the environment, to meet
current and future needs. Today, the transportation systems in major cities have shown a
bad image because of have traffic congestion, accidents, lack of access to public transport
and carbon emissions to the atmosphere of space contributes to environmental pollution
and imbalance in terms of quality of life in general mobility. Along with the promising
concept of sustainable transport services to consumers and at the same time ensure the
safety of road users and also help towards the welfare and the environment. Transportation
facilities and activities have significant sustainability impacts, including those listed;
Transportation impacts on sustainability. Source: Litman and Burwell
Kota Bharu – Malaysia – Case Study for Non Motorized Mode of Transportation:
Kota Bharu was selected for the analysis. Kota Bharu is the state capital of Kelantan. Kota
Bharu were chosen as study area because it is one of the city with the existing facilities are
lacking, unlike in most other states.
In Malaysia, the concept of sustainable city has used its official start of the Third Malaysia
Plan (1976 - 1980) up to the Eighth Malaysia Plan (2001 - 2005). MURNInet (Malaysian
Urban Indicators Network) is an existence of a database application that can measure and
assess the sustainability of cities in Malaysia based on 56 indicators of a sustainable city.
The status of sustainable against it of major cities in Malaysia for 2009 is shown in Table 4.
Kota Bharu from 42 cities measured, that 69.84 percent reported moderate sustained
based on 56 indicators in 11 sectors of the demographic, housing, economic, utilities and
infrastructure, community facilities and recreation, environment, sociology and social
19
impact, land use, tourism and heritage , transport and aksessibiliti and management and
finance
Urban Sprawl is low density, automobile dependent development beyond the edge of
service and employment areas. It is ubiquitous and its effects are impacting the quality of
life in Kota Bharu, in our large cities and small towns. Prices of residential units is lower and
environmental comfort in the established suburbs are among the factors driving the
phenomenon of downstream the population in urban centers. If this trend continues the
population will create a distribution shaped „donut cake‟. Economic and social activities in
the city of Kota Bharu will be more limited at night due to reduction in the size of the
population to support it. The emigration rate of population by region in 2000- 2007.
The emigration rate of population by Region 2000-2007
Factors toward sustainable non-motorized transport in Malaysia

The application of non-motorized maintain such be maximize. In this one of the crucial
question arise is that why the use non-motorized at low level. Some of the key factors have
discussion below.
1. Understanding requirements and constraints by user group.

Non-motorized Transportation (NMT) includes all forms of travel that do not rely on an
engine or motor for movement. This includes walking and bicycling, and variants such as
small-wheeled transport (skates, skateboards, push scooters and hand carts) and
wheelchair travel. These modes provide both recreation (they are an end in themselves)
and commuting (they provide access to goods and activities), although users may consider
a particular trip to serve both objectives.
The breakdown of the user groups, their purpose and their requirements and constraints.
Every non-motorized transport pelan requires a careful consideration of the groups
important to the area. Travelers can be classified into two groups: choice riders and captive
riders. Choice riders have two travel modes to select : NMT or motorized service (bicycle
and motorcycle) whereas captive riders have only one travel mode option to select i.e. the
non-motorized transport. The requirements and constraints vary in each situation. Malaysia
is currently a town dominated by motorized vehicles, particularly private cars, with priority
afforded to vehicles, often at the expense of other road users. Even within the CBD area,
20
where pedestrian levels are high, the attempts to redress the balance through the inclusion
of pedestrian facilities have only group in most areas. The main means of transport in this
area is cars followed by motorcycles.
2. Understand Local physical environment
Understanding the relationship between travel mode choice and attributes of the local
environment such as topography, spatial, residential density, weather condition, distance,
origins and destinations and the presence of non motorized paths, is of paramount
importance. The study area distinguishes the challenges and obstacles while developing a
NMT network. By identifying these characteristics, optimizing the area for NMT purposes
will be easier. Based on the users group and maps of the area the following characteristics
can be identified: Topography layout – hills, flats, river, ocean, etc; Demographics – age
groups, residential density, etc; Spatial layout – origin and destinations, residential areas,
schools, hospital, industrial areas, etc; Weather condition – temperature, humidity, rain, etc
21
Conclusion
The use of sustainable non - motorized transport in Malaysia may elevate the
environmental awareness in the country. How ever is not easy to implement due to the
clogging up of central business districts with cars, and the recent economic crises.
Sustainable transportation seems to mean that it is the right time now to implement non-
motorized transportation as an integral part of the transportation system. The decision will
also be an opportunity for the design and development of as well as motorized
nonmotorized facilities including the layout of buildings and infrastructure. Most European
cities give priority on non-motorized vehicles on certain streets and intersections when
designing green phases at traffic lights.
Some one-way streets have been transferred into two-way streets for non-motorized
moreover non-motorized vehicles are exempted from many turn restrictions for cars. Some
European cities have dedicated car parking space to non-motorized lanes or non-motorized
parking.
In case of Malaysia the same move can be done by upgrading the non-motorized facilities.
Malaysia needs to focus on designing networks in neighborhood areas and focuses on
linking with existing road infrastructure to improve non-motorized quality. These can be
achieved by implementing European model the of non-motorized transportation.
Bucharest – Romania – Case Study for Non Motorized Mode of Transportation:
Bucharest, in southern Romania, is the country's capital and commercial center. Its iconic
landmark is the massive, communist-era Palatul Parlamentului government building, which
has 1,100 rooms. Nearby, the historic Lipscani district is home to an energetic nightlife
scene as well as tiny Eastern Orthodox Stavropoleos Church and 15th-century Curtea
Veche Palace, where Prince Vlad III (“The Impaler”) once ruled.
Bucharest city joined the metropolitan areas club implementing non-motorized dedicated
infrastructure (Popa et al., 2006). The specific network is developed along the main
boulevards in the center of the city and in some residential areas.
22
BUCHAREST BICYCLE NETWORK
In 80s, the first bicycle lane (3.6 km length) was created along the Kiseleff Avenue in N-E
zone of the city, but due to its poor utilization it was turned into parking lots. Nowadays, the
municipality funds projects for extending the bicycle network up to 70 km along 12 of the
greatest boulevards in the city.
In accordance with the corporate social responsibility, some of the biggest corporate firms
in Romania support municipality actions towards sustainable urban transportation and are
involved in the construction of new bicycle lanes especially in the green areas. Additional
services have been developed (bike rental, parking, vulcanization, information etc.) and
dedicated traffic signs and lights are working now. Thus, many of the resource, institutional
and legal barriers are surpassed.
The main physical barrier to extend the bicycle network resides in the narrowing of the
pedestrian area. Due to its historical evolution, the street and pedestrian infrastructure does
not provide adequate space for additional non-motorized transport lanes, so that mostly
pedestrians compete with cyclists or small wheeled transport users for motion space (Popa
and Chonkova, 2008).
Fighting the peak-hours car traffic congestion, the non-motorized transportation can reduce
the travel time on different origin-destinations (OD) in Bucharest
During 2009 - 2010, surveys conducted by different NGOs in Bucharest revealed the
following results (www.velorutia.ro):
 66.2% of the population choose to use personal cars for daily transport, 32.2% use
urban transport, 1.1% are walking and 0.5% prefer the bicycle;
 The parents of the young generation do not have bicycle. Even that they do, they do
not use it for daily activities;
23
 Parents do not encourage children to use bicycle. They usually buy it for small
children and less for teenagers. 72.5% of the male parents can ride a bicycle and
only 48.5% of the women parents can;
 75% of the children know to ride a bike, but as they grow up they do not use it
anymore;
 Teachers are not good examples for young generation in using non-motorized
transportation. The average trip time to primary and secondary school is around 15
min, that could be an incentive for using bike to travel to school;
 The main reasons that parents do not encourage children in using bicycle are: traffic
safety, personal security, urban pollution, lack of parking and depository space, the
price of good quality bicycles and of the additional equipment.
TRAVEL TIME [MIN] BETWEEN OD PAIRS IN BUCHAREST

In 2009, Transport, Traffic and Logistics Department from University Politehnica of
Bucharest conducted a survey concerning the availability of young generation to use the
non-motorized transportation. The study was realized among 780 scholars enrolled at
secondary and high-school level, in the 6th district of Bucharest city. The relative
frequencies of non-motorized transportation use for school trips and the distribution
according to the year of study are depicted in Figure;
24
As the surveys brought out, the social-cultural barriers remain the most persistent. Neither
the traffic participants (pedestrians, car drivers), nor employees of public services are still
prepared to fully observe the bicycle lanes delimitation and destination
Due to the new trends in sustainable urban development (incentive for public authorities
and corporate also), to the different European funding schemes and grants and to the lobby
supported by NGOs one can conclude that the political acceptability of non-motorized
transportation in Bucharest is quite raised and an ongoing policy in the field is shaped up.
More efforts should be made for public acceptability and individual awareness, both for
using the non-motorized transportation and for tolerating other people‟s option in using it.
South East Asia – Case Study for Motorized Mode of Transportation:
In South-Eastern Asia, the main informal motorized modes of transport are three-wheelers
or tuk-tuks, jeepneys, tricycles, and other para-transit options. Notwithstanding the lack of
information on the actual number of such vehicles, these modes can significantly affect the
urban traffic condition.
In Laos, informal transport is dominated by the tuk-tuk – a three wheeled motorized vehicle
used for short distance travel. The same mode is used in Thailand although the version in
Cambodia is in the form of a motorcycle-drawn carriage.90 Because of their relative
convenience, tuk-tuks seem to be preferred over taxis. They also frequently serve areas not
well-covered by the bus system.
In the Philippines, jeepneys (converted trucks to carry passengers) are widely used in
urban transport.
Manila’s ornately coloured and decorated jeepneys are the mainstay of the city’s
transportation system and they carry around 40 per cent of all passenger trips in 2000.93
Jeepneys operate on fixed routes, stopping just about anywhere for customers who board
at the rear of the vehicle and sit sideways on benches. They seat between 14 and 26
passengers reaching 30 or more on busy routes.
In Manila, around 65 per cent of bus trips are over 7.5 kilometres in length and a similar
percentage of jeepney trips are shorter than 5 kilometres.94 A hybrid between the buses
and taxis are the mini buses and micro buses. These normally operate on fixed routes of
25
Manila but some may be demand responsive. In Metro Manila, there were an estimated
34,000 tricycles (motorcycles with sidecars) in 2000. Tuk-tuks and jeepneys are often
considered as the cheaper forms of taxis. They are strong competitors to the bus services
and are popular in a number of cities like Manila (the Philippines) and Bangkok (Thailand).
In some of cities, e.g. Vientiane (Laos)97 and Mandalay (Myanmar), these informal services
are the primary public transport modes. Most of these are privately owned and they are
popular because they are cheap and more flexible as they can navigate narrower streets
which buses cannot. Some of these may operate without licence, as in Metro Manila.
Jakarta’s ‘ojeks’ (Indonesia)), or motorcycle taxis, offer services over slightly longer
distances. The hybrid three-wheeled motor-taxis, locally called ‘bajajs’, provide comfort
more akin to a private car, while the larger three-wheeled ‘bemos’ and ‘toyokos’ carry as
many as 8 passengers in more crowded conditions, and the larger microlets and minibuses
carry 10 to 25 passengers. The bemos are registered in the district they serve and are
confined to operate only within the restricted territory.
Bangkok (Thailand) also has a good mix of informal motorized transport. There are
minibuses with 14 to 18 seating capacity, pick-up trucks, and vans that often carrying
passengers; micro-buses (called silok lek) that can carry up to 11 passengers, three-
wheelers
Tuk-tuk in Savannakhet
(tuk-tuk or samlor) and hire motorcycles carrying pillions. In 2007 the number of informal
vehicles operating in metropolitan Bangkok on any weekday is around 50,000102 while the
total number of buses was 120,000
In some South-Eastern Asia countries, many of the privately owned motorcycles are used
for informal public purposes. For example, it is common in Viet Nam and Thailand for
motorcycles to be converted to tuk-tuks and serve as informal public transport vehicles.
In Papua New Guinea, a popular informal motorized mode of passenger transport in

Goroka is the public motor vehicles which are basically open-top pick-up trucks. Most of
these operate as unscheduled buses.
The informal motorized modes in urban areas of the Pacific islands are limited in number.
However, as passenger demand is usually low these informal transport modes are more
26
viable than large capacity scheduled buses. The number of informal vehicles in Fiji was
13,800 in 2009 forming about 8.4 per cent of all vehicles.
nformal motorized modes are frequently used for tourism purposes in the smaller islands.
In American Samoa, where there is no organized public transport system, travellers rely on
the unique ‘aiga’ or extended-family buses which are constructed from recycled trucks.
Similarly in New Caledonia, ‘campervan’ are common tourist vehicles for exploration to
places not easy to reach by bus.
In Solomon Islands, the only public transport modes are open-backed trucks or tractor-
drawn trailers.109 Similarly in French Polynesia, without public transport options, people
use ‘le trucks’ or trucks fitted with bench seats in the back for passengers. Le trucks operate
on fixed routes with well-designated bus stops and are generally adhering to a schedule.
Impacts and challenges
It is generally difficult to determine the total number of tuk-tuks, jeepneys, pick-up trucks
and a whole range of other informal transport vehicles in any urban area, let alone account
for them. There is no formal registration and any estimates based on roadside observations
do not give a true picture of the situation.
Some of these, like the motorcycle taxis, are registered as private vehicles but are
converted for hire.118 The lack of data makes it difficult to compute the overall impact of
these modes, for example on the environment. The operation of informal motorized
transport in a shared road network with other transport challenges the sustainability of the
economy, the environment and society.
These informal modes affect the smooth flow of traffic and hence the efficiency of the road
network. They can cause safety problems to other road users and they contribute to air and
noise pollution in the urban areas. There are several challenges to make informal transport
a more sustainable mode. First is the problem of accountability. Related to this is the issue
of regulation and control. Finally as they are generally operated by and for the lower-
income groups, the issue of social equity needs to be addressed.
Jeepneys used as cheaper form of taxi in Bangkok, Thailand
27
Given their design and capability, tuk-tuks, jeepneys and the like, occupy as much road
space as regular vehicles but travel at a lower speed.
The result of which is that they often retard the traffic flow, especially when they weave in
and out of traffic. This leads to inefficiency in the road network, although it may be said that
in many cases, they fill up all the unused spaces. Nevertheless Vientiane (Laos) has
considered banning tuk-tuk in the city and Phnom Penh (Cambodia) has banned tuk-tuks
on the highways.
To enforce this ban on Phnom Penh’s Norodom Boulevard, tuk-tuks were required to
register and display a number plate and a penalty for violations was legislated. The
implementation was not smooth as drivers complained about the scheme.
The informal transport also creates environmental problems as they are powered with low-
grade fuels. Making these modes more environmentally sustainable can be a challenge.
For example, the tuk-tuks in Laos use the more polluting two-stroke engines. Converting
them to cleaner four-stroke engines is a great task ahead for major cities.
Thailand is experimenting with a solar tuk-tuk to address this problem. Improving safety in
operating informal transport is another challenge as there is no regulation on safe operation
of such vehicles, especially when they are used for public service. There are few formal
institutions to govern their operation and to provide support for service improvements.
Some informal associations exist but they serve as informal union to represent the views
and needs of the members, e.g. the tuk-tuk association in Vientiane (Laos) has negotiated
on legislation125 and a similar association in Phuket (Thailand) has negotiated on fares.
**************************************************************
28
Q. No. 4: Review the concept of Open and Closed Neighborhoods and explain in
the local context with examples. (20Marks)
Answer)
Concept of Open & Closed Neighborhoods
The master plans created by the British new town designers worked from the premise that
neighborhoods are stable and furred. This assumption sits uncomfortably with
contemporary life-styles and economic restructuring. It also, arguably, contradicts what can
be observed in the evolution of older towns. Its persistence may be part of the reason why
neighborhood planning has lost credibility, Where new neighborhoods are bounded and
discrete this may assist the sense of an identifiable community, but too often the range of
shops developed in the initial flush of incoming families subsequently falls off, leaving
empty units and declining turnovers as those families grow up and spread their wings. This
pattern is particularly visible in suburban council estates suffering from ebb of fortune and
estate ‘labeling’. The isolation of the estate contributes to a downward spiral as residents
experience exclusion.
The fured, delimited, neighborhood also is ill-adapted to the variation between facilities.
Table showed typical catchment populations for a range of local facilities, derived front
traditional standards and empirical observation of service levels on new suburban estates.
There are no clear thresholds to equate with a specific neighborhood size (Figure 8.2).
Indeed it is likely that forcing catchment conformity on the range of services will increase
operating costs for some, and threaten their local viability.
The Variability of Local Catchment Populations for Different Facilities
29
Furthermore neighborhoods and local services are not static. The spatial patterns give a
misleading impression of being forever unchanging. On the contrary, populations evolve
with household size and status; operational needs of businesses react to wider economic
and social change; social preference and behavior alters.
Taking each of these factors in turn: the population capacity of an area alters as one and wo
person households occupy dwellings previously lived in by families. Rising incomes allow
people to buy more space. Unless more units are constructed to compensate, the
population falls and local businesses find their market shrinking. The economic unit size
and the service requirements of enterprises also changes: for example, educational policy
has led to bigger schools; doctors are often grouped in threes and fours rather than ones
and twos; the breweries demand bigger pubs and close small pubs; local butchers and
bakers have lost out to the supermarkets. Consumers have also become more
discriminating: in some spheres (such as in relation to dental treatment or church-going)
they are less than likely to choose local even when local is available. In this situation of flux
it is unrealistic to expect preconceived residential catchments to remain valid indefinitely.
The physical form of neighborhoods needs to be able to respond to social and economic
change, not prejudice it or be prejudiced by it.
Run corn provides an example of an inflexible design. The neighborhoods protectively

cocoon their local facilities, hiding them away from view, resisting sharing. It would be
interesting to investigate the quality and quantity of local facilities vis-a-vis, say, Harlow,
which has a more open and varied approach
The design for Milton Keynes, and the TODs of Peter Calthorpe, demonstrate a particular
strategy for avoiding inward-looking, close neighborhoods that strategy is simply one of
visibility, inviting people from other locations to make use of local facilitates and thus
reinforce their viability. In the case of Milton Keynes local centers are located at the edges
of the neighborhood block as defined by the grid roads. Shops and pubs are visible from
the main road (and the bus stop) and vehicle access is encouraged. In the Milton Keynes
context this encourages car-based trips and contributes to emissions; and the local centers
still have rather from a local hinterland, and varying success. The TODs, also, align their
commercial zone in highly visible sites alongside the highway and adjacent to transit stops.
The urban TODs are expressly designed to cater for commercial services in excess of
those justified locally, satisfying a more general market demand for decentralized
employment and services. Much of that demand relates, however, to car-based clients,
unless an effective public transport orientated land use strategy (such as the ABCD
strategy) is enforced.
The general lesson from the closed versus open neighborhood question, as from the review
of social identity, is that planners cannot ‘buck the market, but they can help shape it. The
‘market’ in these cases is ‘the community’ - people individually and in social and economic
groupings. The closed neighborhoods have a limited life before they become out of joint
with social and economic needs. The open forms are more robust, though involve (on the
examples above) environmental costs, and may still have restrictions on catchment
flexibility.
30
Run corn and Harlow Neighborhood Structures Contrasted
The market in the sense of the housing developers needs effective public guidance if it is to
deliver distinctive home-zones within the neighborhood in a way that achieves social
inclusion for all sectors of the housing market, and avoids the physical and identify
fracturing of the neighborhood observed in conventional estates.
THEU RBANC ONTINUUM

The traditional pattern of neighborhoods in older settlements is not normally one of discreet
enclaves out of interconnected districts - more an urban continuum than a series of cells
(Bremen et al, 1993). The urban continuum has the major but unsung advantage of allowing
the very flexibility of catchment size over time and space that the neat, stylized
neighborhoods of planning convention inhibit.
31
The structure of service provision, reflecting market conditions before universal car
ownership, has lessons for us now, trying to recover the pedestriadtram- based city. The
trams and buses provided the connections between localities and the natural foci for
pedestrian movement. The shops and services grew up along the tramways, often creating
a pattern of radial high streets out from the heart of the city Densities were highest close to
the high street and graded down away from them, reflecting both the sequence of urban
development and the relative market values. Identifiable, named neighborhoods are
bounded by the high street or centered on it (depending partly on the degree to which the
road is heavily trafficked and impedes free pedestrian movement).
These ‘fuzzy’ neighborhoods often merge into each other with no clear edge but high
permeability. This is particularly so in the 18th and 19th century environments. Lynch (1981)
advocates neighborhoods bounded by main streets, which he called ‘uniting seams’, on the
basis that people walk to the services provided and mingle with people from nearby areas,
but rarely carry on beyond the main street unless for some specific purpose, so their
familiar territory is all to one side. The neighborhoods in the Peterborough townships follow
this pattern.
So local high streets typically provide the social meeting places between residential
neighborhoods, the place for exchange of goods an services but also where the locality
meets the town and connects with the city. Instead of neighborhoods being conceived as
inward-looking villages - a kind of nostalgic image of rural community falsely transferred to
the town – the neighborhood becomes a more fluid medium for local and city-wide contact,
facilitating diverse forms place and interest communities
Transit Oriented Developments PODS)
32
EXPLANATION WITH LOCAL EXAMPLES:
KARACHI NEIGHBORHOOD IMPROVEMENT PROJECT: (BY WORLDBANK)

(Source: http://projects.worldbank.org/P161980/?lang=en&tab=overview)
The development objective of Karachi Neighborhood Improvement Project for Pakistan is to

enhance public spaces in targeted neighborhoods of Karachi, and improve the city’s
capacity to provide selected administrative services.
This project comprises three components.
1) The first component, Public Space and Mobility Improvements in Selected

Neighborhoods, aims to enhance the usability, safety, and attractiveness of public spaces;
improve mobility and pedestrian access to key destinations; and improve traffic safety in
public spaces in three targeted neighborhoods of Saddar downtown area, Malir, and
Korangi.
This component is divided into three sub-components as follows:
(i) Saddar Downtown Area Revitalization;

(ii) Malir Area Road and Public Spaces Enhancement; and
(iii) Korangi Neighborhood Mobility Improvements.
2) The second component, Support to Improved Administrative Services and City Capacity
Development, aims to improve selected administrative services to ease doing business in
Karachi, lay the foundations for better city management, and support the sustainability of
Component 1 investments.
This component is divided into two sub-components as follows:

(i) Automation of construction permits and business registration in Karachi; and
(ii) Laying the foundation for better city management.
3) The third component, Support to Implementation and Technical Assistance, will finance
technical assistance and advisory services to the project implementation unit (PIU) and
the Karachi Transformation Steering Committee (KTSC), including project management
and coordination costs associated with project implementation; consultancy services for
feasibility, conceptual, and detailed designs, safeguards instruments for subprojects, and
the preparation of follow‐on operations; and consultancy services for the preparation of a
study on parking management in Saddar downtown
33
Project Details:
34
35
DEFENCE HOUSING AUTHORITY, (DHA), KARACHI
36
37
38
39
Q. No.5: How would you promote the concept of Eco-Neighborhood in Pakistan?

(10Marks)
Answer)
What is the Eco-Neighborhood?
“Like a healthy organism with healthy organs made up of healthy cells, sustainability needs
to operate at all levels: the individual, the household, the neighborhood, the village, and the
city. A flourishing, sustainable “eco-city,” by definition, would include many flourishing,
connected ecovillages and neighborhoods.”
1- The “smart villages” of northern Pakistan – CASE STUDY
Life is tough in the remote villages of the Hindu Kush Himalayas of northern Pakistan, far
from the reach of power grids and at the mercy of floods and extreme weather. But by
harnessing the glacier fed rivers that tumble down the steep mountains, communities are
transforming their lives and future prospects.
“Before the energy from hydropower plants when clothes needed washing we had to go to
the river all day. Now it just takes two hours”, says Gulasim, a women from Bumboret in
Chitral, one of the most picturesque Kalasha valleys of northern Pakistan.
Nawab Ali, from Chaketal village in the nearby Swat valley, says electricity has improved
the life of children, who now have enough time to play and to help in the fields during the
day because they can do school homework with electric lights at night.
Local communities contribute to the construction of micro hydropower projects in northern Pakistan
40
Pakistan has four decades of experience building micro hydropower plants with the
cooperation of local communities to bring electricity to these isolated regions. Since 2014,
Pakistan’s Rural Support Programmes Network has worked with the “Smart Village
Initiative” started by a team based at Cambridge and Oxford universities in the United
Kingdom, to further expand energy.
About 70 million people in Pakistan have no access to electricity – the majority of them in
rural areas. There are about 3 million households where grid connectivity is not feasible,
according to Alternative Energy Development Board of Pakistan.
Small hydropower projects and micro grids that generate their own electricity can plug this
gap. Yet Pakistan is only producing 128 out of a potential of 3,100 MW of electricity from
small hydropower projects.
“Smart villages”
The “Smart Village Initiative” covers six regions in Africa, South and Southeast Asia, and
Central and South America and aims to provide energy access for remote off-grid villages,
where local solutions are both more realistic and cheaper than national grid extension. It
brings together scientists and engineers, entrepreneurs, villagers and civil society
organizations, policy makers and regulators through country level workshops.
Just like a “smart city”, a “smart village” means providing access to affordable, reliable
and clean energy for households and businesses. This energy access particularly
benefits women who suffer from the drudgery of collecting fuel wood and the health
consequences of breathing in cooking smoke from traditional biofuels, such as
animal waste.
2- Beyond the Storm, Eco-Friendly Dream Homes (Badin Pakistan) – CASE STUDY
"I don’t think I will ever miss the old home; it never protected us from floods and storms!"
said Dadi Ibrahim, a widow. Her only association, she said, with her dilapidated hut is the
"fond memories" of living there with her late husband.
The 65-year-old resident of Village Haji Jaffar Jamari, in Thatta district in Sindh province, is
now the proud owner of a brand new two-room energy-efficient house, which will soon be
awarded to her as one of the beneficiaries of a government housing project.
Ibrahim’s thatched house has been her home for as long as she can remember. Hers was
one of 25 poorest households in her village chosen as beneficiaries for the People’s
Housing Programme, dubbed ‘Benazir Model’, named after the late Prime Minister Benazir
Bhutto. It was launched on May 1, 2009 to provide energy-efficient, low-cost and disaster-
proof housing for the poor in Sindh province.
Like Ibrahim, Kazbano Fateh, also from Thatta, feels only a sense of relief now that she and
her family will soon be abandoning their old house.
"There is nothing to reminisce or miss (about it)," said the 45-year-old mother of five.
Certainly not the constant plastering of mud on the walls to close the fissures and cracks;
getting soaked when rains pour or drying out the entire house after a storm. "We lived in
much hardship," she said. Now her children finally have a place they can truly call home,
she enthused.
41
Ibrahim, Fateh and all other poor beneficiaries of the project were identified based on two
main criteria — they belonged to the poorest of the poor and were most prone to disaster.
Based on the 2004 ‘State of the Environment and Development’ report of the non-
government International Union for Conservation of Nature, over two-thirds of the
households in rural Sindh are extremely "vulnerable" to natural disasters despite the
province having the highest per capita income in Pakistan. Ibrahim remembers Thatta as a
once prosperous district in the Indus Delta, located 98 kilometres from the southern port city
of Karachi. But being prone to storms and cyclones and at constant risk of the worst form of
sea intrusion, it has been plunged deeper into poverty.
Gone are the days when the historic Thatta — famous for its necropolis — enjoyed the
bounties of farming, which many of the residents have been forced to abandon, having
either migrated to urban centres, where they live in abject poverty, or turned to hard labour
by working as daily wage earners.
According to the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum, an NGO working for the rights of small-scale
indigenous fisher communities in this country of about 180 million population, some 2.2
million acres of fertile land of the delta, of which Thatta is a part, have been submerged in
sea water in the last two decades.
The housing programme that will see the construction of 500 units for the poor is being
jointly undertaken by the provincial government and the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP), which was the first to use the innovative technology inherent to the
project when it embarked on a similar undertaking, albeit on a much smaller scale, in Badin
and Thatta between 2003 and 2004.
The project boasts the use of indigenous and eco-friendly technology and materials that
can withstand the ravages of nature, the frequency and intensity of which is widely believed
to be the results of climate change, the bane of modern society. The choice of both
technology and building materials is also intended to provide sustainable energy solutions.
"The material used for the houses is indigenous and locally available, and the technology is
also developed locally," said Jawed Shah, chief technical advisor to the project. He added
that this is the first time that ‘compressed earth blocks’ (CEB) are being used to build
houses in Pakistan.
In January 2009 the government signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the U.N.
agency, which is supporting the project under the Small Grants Programme (SGP).
The SGP was set up in 1992 — as part of the Global Environment Facility, a funding
scheme involving the UNDP, the U.N. Environment Programme and the World Bank — to
support activities intended to conserve and restore the environment while enhancing the
people’s well-being.
The UNDP has committed to provide 200,000 U.S. dollars for the construction of the
houses while the government has already pumped in 50 percent of the total project cost of
2.3 million U.S. dollars.
The project’s other cost-effective innovations, said Shah, include arched foundation to
address the seepage, dampness and salinity — made worse by rising sea levels. "The
pyramidal roof is thermally efficient, leakage-proof, lightweight and economical, compared
to conventional roofing. The wire-reinforced hollow block masonry is not only a simple
42
construction technique but provides safety against earthquake, high wind and lateral
pressure," he added.
These and other innovative features have given 37-year-old Mir Muhammad the confidence
that "this home of mine won’t collapse the way our old hutment did in every storm." He
added, "we were at the mercy of the rains and the winds." Pointing to the new conical roof,
he said the interior is much cooler than their huts when it would be "stifling in the summer."
For Sat Bai, 43, moving to her new abode "will be like living in a mansion with a kitchen,
verandah, bedrooms and even a latrine!" Used to defecating and bathing in the open, Bai
said she found the idea of having a personal latrine the height of luxury.
She is equally excited about the fact that "when you go inside the house, the green light
coming from the conical roof makes me feel at peace. In the evening even the moonlight
comes shining through the room."
Like Bai and all other beneficiaries of the People’s Housing Programme, Ibrahim is eagerly
awaiting the formal turnover of the key to her new house by the end of the month, when 100
of the 500 houses covered by the project shall have been completed. Already, it has
inspired her to dream of a brighter future for her family, which certainly goes beyond having
only a truly livable dwelling.
"Our life has already changed," Ibrahim said ecstatically.
*This story is part of a series of features on sustainable development by IPS – Inter Press
Service and IFEJ – International Federation of Environmental Journalists, for the Alliance of
Communicators for Sustainable Development (www.complusalliance.org).
Conclusion:
From the above two case studies, people of Pakistan should think about Eco
neighborhood by considering the following points;
Natural Capital
• Land – open space protection; erosion prevention
• Air – boiler pollution emission retrofits; truck idling reductions
• Water – wetlands restoration; onsite storm/flood water treatment
• Climate – electric vehicle-sharing; heat island reduction
Built Capital
• Businesses – incubator start-up facility; mentoring program
• Transportation- pedestrian/bicycle facility investments; transit service expansion
• Energy – onsite renewable power generation; building efficiency retrofits
• Wastes - central composting stations; hazardous waste collection
Social Capital
• Governance – exemplary inclusion/participation in civic organizations
• Social services – tool-sharing program; emergency preparedness training
• Cultural institutions – social/commemorative events; historic/cultural exhibitions
• Equity – first-time homebuyer assistance; nutrition information access
43
Human Capital
• Health – low-allergen landscaping; seniors active living program
• Education – adult literacy program; youth internships
• Employment – job training program; local hiring preferences
• Recreation – youth athletic league; park improvements
Earth Advantage hopes to hear from neighborhood and homeowner associations, public
housing tenant associations, business improvement districts, transportation management
organizations, community development corporations, and owners or managers of resorts,
shopping centers, office and industrial parks, institutional campuses, and military installation
housing areas.
********************************************************************************************************
44
References & Researches Cited:
o http://www.eco-business.com/news/the-smart-villages-of-northern-pakistan/
o https://resources.depaul.edu/abcd
institute/publications/Documents/Workbooks/CommunityTransformation.pdf
o https://www.shell.com.pk/sustainability/communities.html
o https://www.onepetro.org/conference-paper/SPE-178485-MS
o http://www.um.ase.ro/no17/1.pdf
o https://unhabitat.org/wp
content/uploads/2013/06/GRHS.2013.Regional.South_.Eastern.Asia_.and_.Pacific.p
df
45

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Department of Home & Health Sciences

Block No. 06, Sector H-8,

Sustainable Communities (3675)

Meeting with other children parents:

Community represents the capacity, sometimes referred to as social capital (Putnam,

CASE STUDY OF EASTON, INNER CITY NEIGHBOURHOOD

Nevertheless Easton accommodates a rich diversity of cultures, originating from India,

Managing a Shared Facility

The Community in Action

Local Links and Liaison

Because community involvement is usually on a voluntary basis, considerable skills and

In Easton community participation is underpinned by vigorous and imaginative networking,

Networks as a Community Resource

Many successful community projects originate in informal conversations amongst people

Examples of the local area:

Meet Fatima Tendai:

Towards Sustainable Community Development: A Case Study of SPDC Community

The gaps in knowledge by examining the SPDC Community Transformation and

Local Context related to experience:

National Horse & Cattle Show:

Dependence Day: (14 August)

Defense of Pakistan Day: (06 September)

Air force Day: (07 September)

Eid-ul-Fitr is a religious festival celebrated at the end of

Shandur Polo Festival

What is the Transformation?

Transformation, according to the (Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary 2005) means a

In short, a transformed community is;

The Traditional Struggle Fighting Disinvestment with Reinvestment

Changing Urban and Rural Challenges:

Building on Assets for Community Transformation:

By focusing on the capacities of community stakeholders to participate in and control

Community transformation goes along with a transformation of the mind. The

 Individual talents and skills

Facing the Threats and Seeing Opportunities

Transportation impacts on sustainability. Source: Litman and Burwell

The emigration rate of population by Region 2000-2007

Factors toward sustainable non-motorized transport in Malaysia

1. Understanding requirements and constraints by user group.

2. Understand Local physical environment

Bucharest – Romania – Case Study for Non Motorized Mode of Transportation:

BUCHAREST BICYCLE NETWORK

TRAVEL TIME [MIN] BETWEEN OD PAIRS IN BUCHAREST

South East Asia – Case Study for Motorized Mode of Transportation:

In Papua New Guinea, a popular informal motorized mode of passenger transport in

Impacts and challenges

Jeepneys used as cheaper form of taxi in Bangkok, Thailand

Concept of Open & Closed Neighborhoods

The Variability of Local Catchment Populations for Different Facilities

Run corn provides an example of an inflexible design. The neighborhoods protectively

Run corn and Harlow Neighborhood Structures Contrasted

THEU RBANC ONTINUUM

Transit Oriented Developments PODS)

EXPLANATION WITH LOCAL EXAMPLES:

KARACHI NEIGHBORHOOD IMPROVEMENT PROJECT: (BY WORLDBANK)

The development objective of Karachi Neighborhood Improvement Project for Pakistan is to

This project comprises three components.

1) The first component, Public Space and Mobility Improvements in Selected

This component is divided into three sub-components as follows:

(i) Saddar Downtown Area Revitalization;

This component is divided into two sub-components as follows:

DEFENCE HOUSING AUTHORITY, (DHA), KARACHI

Q. No.5: How would you promote the concept of Eco-Neighborhood in Pakistan?

What is the Eco-Neighborhood?