MANAGING COMMERCIAL ZONES FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT; A STUDY ON JOHAR TOWN PHASE-II COMMERCIAL AREA, LAHORE-PAKISTAN

Abstract

Haphazard commercialization jeopardizes the aim of sustainable development of cities; the repercussions have been severe—restricted not to urban settlers but for the socioeconomic and physical environment of the country at large. Lahore city performs poorly in terms of planned commercial developments in the past and the situation has not improved yet. Working at the micro level, the study selects eight neighborhoods of Johar town phase-II and assesses commercial developments including Expo Centre in terms of planning standards using Global Positioning System (GPS), ArcGIS, and other planning techniques. Results reveal that the contemporary footloose commercialization approach fell short of enforcing parking/setback standards as well as locational standards in the area and impacts heavily in terms traffic congestion and environmental degradation. The paper suggests that the piecemeal planning to regularize commercial development should be revisited by development authorities to check the increased rate of commercialization in the city.