Citizens' committees should supervise all projects and their financial reports should be published quarterly. Experts have insisted that there should be one civic agency to manage and control entire Karachi and the laws passed by that agency should be applicable to the whole territory and entire population of the city equally and without any discrimination.

These views were expressed at the workshop 'Karachi 2025: a city of dreams - visioning for a better tomorrow', organized by 'Shehri - citizens for better environment', and Friedrich Naumann Foundation.

Architect and social activist Arif Hassan, Arch. Aqeel Bilgrami, President Institute of Architects Pakistan and Engr. Roland D'Souza of Shehri were the main speakers.

Arch. Arif Hassan, Chairman Urban Resource Centre, was the principal speaker. He had some very interesting points to share with the audience which were a batch of citizens concerned about the deteriorating life quality in Karachi .

He appeared hell bent on making Karachi a dream city not just for himself but for everyone of the 15-16 million that live here and more that are bound to come in future.

Arch. Arif believed that Karachi needs a revamping of its town planning for healthy, clean and safe environment. And for this our high-ups should re-address governance issues seriously. He said Karachi can become a dream city, if all its planning is governed by the following four principles.

iRespect ecology and natural environment.

iLand use not be based on potential land value, but on social and environmental factors.

iNeeds of the majority (low and lower middle income classes) should get priority.

iPlan for tangible, intangible cultural heritage of communities living here.

He had a whole lot of suggestions to offer. We list some of them below.

1. Operation and management organizations should be based at union council level and have support of residents.

2. Building bye laws should be pro-pedestrian, pro-street to promote mixed land use and rational and environment friendly densification of older residential and commercial areas of the city.

3. Zoning bye laws should facilitate conservation of historical sites and promote adaptive reuse and rehabilitation.

4. A 150 meter strip (from the high water mark) should be left 'undeveloped' along all beaches.

5. The city should be surrounded by a 20 km forest buffer zone. New (satellite) towns should be established beyond this strip.

6. Nazims and naib nazims at union council, town and district level should be elected directly and citizens' committees should see their performance.

7. All development projects should be advertised and be subjected to public hearings before actual planning. A committee of interest groups should oversee them and their quarterly accounts published.

8. A government officer should head them from start to finish.

9. Every agency should annually publish a list of its land assets, their current use, value and future proposals.

Arch. Arif said there is a close link between transport and culture and added that transport related physical degradation has made cultural activity difficult. He suggested the following:

iElevated mass transit should not be built through historical areas.

iCircular Railway should be made functional and extended.

iOffices of utility agencies, banks, passport and identity card and courts etc should be located in each town near major rail/ road intersections/ arteries.

iWholesale markets be shifted from old town to Northern Bypass and National Highway . This will prevent almost 50,000 goods trucks from entering the city daily.

iOil lines be extended and storages too built away from the city, will keep 25,000 tankers away from the city.

iHistorical area of the old town could then be converted into a place of culture and populist entertainment for old town and Lyari residents.

iSaddar should be recreated as a multi class entertainment and shopping area with hawkers on pedestrian streets.

iA metropolitan museum should be set up in the old city and school students should be taken to it regularly.

iChristmas, Devali, Easter and urs of Abdullah Shah Ghazi, Yousuf Shah, Misri Shah, Moro and 11 other saints be celebrated as official functions besides donkey cart races, fishermen's cultural activities and folk musical events of coastal villages.

iEvery town should have a cultural center and auditorium for performing arts. Walls should be available at various public locations for artists to put up their work.

iAll public transport and heavy vehicles should run on CNG.

iAll goods to and from the port should be transported by rail to container terminal at Pipri and there should be no container traffic within the city.

iKatchi abadis should be upgraded to avoid evictions.

iHigh density, low cost housing (ground plus 3) for low income groups and high rise flats for white collar people should be arranged under a housing foundation.

iHousing schemes should be multi class and with mixed land use.

iSmall loans should be provided to low income groups for land purchase, house building and utilities.

Arch. Arif's suggestions for sanitation and water supply included:

1. Sewage and drainage proposals from Orangi Pilot Project should be implemented.

2. Proposals on solid waste developed for Governor's Task Force should be implemented.

3. Recycling industry should be shifted to landfill sites.

4. All parks should have small sewage treatment plants and use neighbourhood sewage for their maintenance.

5. Upper class localities should get water from centrally operated RO plants and municipal water supply should be for low and middle income areas.

For developing our youth, we should:

iEnsure 100 % literacy (both boys and girls) for 15-24 year age groups.

iState, community, private sector and the young themselves should manage their entertainment, recreation and cultural requirements.

iSince majority of young people will live as nuclear families, day care centers for children should be raised by NGOs, coop societies, trade unions and private sector.

iHousing needs should be met through collective saving, bank loans and social housing foundation.

iEducation that teaches the child to observe and express what he sees, respect diversity and think in terms of cause and effect is also needed.

iFunds for all projects should be generated locally and not by way of foreign loans.

iLocal consultants and contractors should be hired for all development work.

iAll forms of bhatta should be abolished. We should instead pay taxes. Foreign investment should be encouraged but subject to rules, regulations and procedures.