Pakistan: When Cities Eat The Land That Feeds Them
When urban expansion replaces fertile land, orchards and green belts, the nation is making a trade that is far more consequential than it looks: exchanging long-term food-producing capacity for low-density urban expansion
By Nisar Ali
Friday Times
Oct 25, 2026
Excerpt:
Pakistan is building cities over the very land that feeds them. Each new housing development on the outskirts of Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, or Peshawar narrates two stories simultaneously: one of urbanization and another of loss of farmland. The problem of crowded cities is no longer the only challenge for Pakistan; it is largely about what those cities are consuming as they grow.
A housing scheme on the outskirts of Lahore may appear to be just another solution to growing demand for housing. The appearance of new settlements outside Islamabad may appear to be development. Yet when such expansions and developments replace fertile land, orchards and green belts, the nation is making a trade that is far more consequential than it looks: exchanging long-term food-producing capacity for low-density urban expansion. That trade is hard to overlook.
Pakistan’s population increased from 132 million in 1998 to 241.5 million in 2023. In six years alone, from 2017 to 2023, the urban population increased from nearly 76 million to 94 million, an increase of more than 18 million people. The annual growth rate of the urban population is around 3.7 per cent, almost twice the rural population’s growth rate of 1.9 per cent.
The issue is not urbanisation itself. Cities can boost productivity, generate job opportunities and improve access to services. The issue is the form of urbanisation: low-density, outward expansion supported by weak land-use regulation and governance. As a consequence, some of the most productive parts of agriculture belt are becoming the most convenient ones for real estate development.
Read the complete article here.
Source: https://cityfarmer.info/pakistan-when-cities-eat-the-land-that-feeds-them/
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