INDICATOR BASED PLANNING OF A HOUSING SCHEME USING GEO-SPATIAL TECHNOLOGY: A CASE STUDY OF KAHNA STATION IN THE LAHORE METROPOLITAN AREA

Abstract

Inadequate housing supply has been a major problem in fast growing cities of developing countries like Lahore in Pakistan. To reduce the housing backlog, a plan for a sustainable housing scheme that can be feasibly implemented in Lahore has been proposed. A suitable site was selected near Kahna Station, Lahore. Base maps were developed and comprehensive field inventory exercise was done using geo-spatial technologies. During these surveys, the soil and water samples collected from the site were analyzed to determine the aptness of the site for the construction of a housing scheme. In order to achieve the objective of sustainability, seven variables, i.e. socio-ecology, water conservation, air quality, resource conservation, controlling heat island effect, walkability and livability. Most of the plots (38%) account for five marlas and second highest numbers of plots are accommodated (19%) 3 marlas dwellings. This study attempts to use standard urban design concepts and fuse them with state of-the-art techniques like GIS.