I read at a zameen.com blog that this society offers 100% return in 2-3 years time. Due to limited information and huge interest of general public in the project, i copy-paste selected questions that were answered by DHA Multan , official Facebook page.
********** What is current development status? Development Status - March, 2017: Two Magnificent Entrances (1. Bosan Road, 2. Marital Road) has already been developed with 02 KM of main Boulevard. Latest Projects DHA EVENT COMPLEX, DHA NURSERY are in construction. Other major development projects tenders has already been given, their development will be started in this month. ********** What is the date of: A) Balloting and release of names of successful applicants for plots and houses B) Release of project maps which include total blocks and plots C) installment payment schedule and procesdure D) Balloting for plot allotment in respective blocks to successful applicants A. Balloting will tentatively be conducted in end of May 2017. B. Master Plan, Plots Location will be made public tentatively in end of this year, when location Balloting will be conducted. C. Installment payment schedule will start after down payment which has to be paid within 30 days after balloting. D. Same as B ************ When the first balloting is expected & how DHA Multan will allot corner plots to the willing buyers..... Answer: Location of plot will be determined through balloting. Balloting will tentatively be conducted tentatively in May 2017 ************ When DHA Multan send intimation letter to successful candidate and a person can sale his plot after intimation letter? Answer: Successful applicants will be able to sell plots only after down payment. ************ what the advantage of applying for 1kannal balloting vs buying the file currently available in the market? Answer: Buying the 1 Kanal file from Market is a good choice, As it is cost effective approach. You have to pay 6.8 millions in three years on instalments quarterly Whereas cash file available in market in almost 5.2 millions ************ I think at least detailed plan of the project should be shared. People are confused due to DHA city Islamabad & DHA City Lahore where DHA has done nothing. Answer: Dear Sir, As it is our first project. It will be delivered on priority basis. DHA MULTAN will be livable in 2019. ************ Why you people did not mention the total number if plots,and reserved quota for each category..i heard 70% of plots are reserved for retired military?is it true?if yes then so many people are going to lose their money. Answer: No it is wrong. Retired Defence Services have qouta less than 10% ************ how much is reserved for Govt. Employees?? form is just showing different categories but not carrying further details. Answer: Sufficient qouta has been kept. Better chances in this category ************ Please update us about quota for overseas Pakistanis. Answer: This information will be made available to general public on balloting date. ************ The term china cutting is very popular among real estate developers and agents who often refer to these lands as “china plots” with each other. ‘China cutting’ also drew large public attention in recent days after Rangers mentioned this term in its report on Karachi crimes. The report said, “Rs230 billion being is being generated annually from Karachi’s citizens through extortion, smuggling of Iranian diesel, water supply and land-grabbing (china cutting in particular).” According to ARY news, China cutting means illegal subdivision: China cutting is basically an illegal way of carving out big amenity plots, community centres, government plots, parks or even cemeteries into smaller plots up to 100 yards or below each and sale them. For instance, carving 100, 80 or 60 yards plots from a single plot of 500 yards is called ‘china cutting. Read more at https://arynews.tv/en/what-exactly-is-china-cutting/ China cutting no guarantee of land tenure According to a short piece by Dawn News, China cutting is about "Grabbing a massive piece of land, dividing it into small pieces and selling those pieces." It means they grab government land and cut it into plots for residential and commercial purposes and sell them to common people. Normally it has zero expenses and u gets huge amount of money. Read more at https://www.dawn.com/news/1271643 According to a debate on social media China cutting means haphazard plotting: As to the question why it is called ‘China cutting’, the reason, which also makes sense, is that if one closely takes a look at the map of China, it seems the demarcations and boundaries have been made in a haphazard, complex and, sometimes, improper way. Hence, China cutting. China cutting means allowing maximum number of plots There is one demarcation done by govt which includes schools, colleges, parks, play grouds etc. But in china cutting on capturing and making maximum plots happens. and the best one which i like the most: China cutting no guarantee of land tenure China cutting is a method in which a government land like parks, green belts etc are acquired and convert into residential or commercial plots and sold, as it's actually an illegal activity backed by corrupt government officials, so sooner or later the legality and authenticity of these plots can be questioned, that makes it china way or china cutting, as in Pakistan there is a general concept about Chinese products that they are not reliable (چل گئ تو چل گئ نا چلئ تو نا چلئ) So in short the non reliability of legal value of these plots generated the term of "China Cutting" Read more at: https://defence.pk/pdf/threads/whats-china-cutting.371138/ Who gave it the name? The above site claims t hat Altaf Hussain was the one to use this term for the first time in Real estate history, No confirmation from my side. A somewhat politically expressive discussion on China cutting is available on this Youtube video: Some interesting relevant news on Youtube are here Few years ago, i was disappointed at the quality of GIS mapping for our national and provincial elections boundary maps. It was told by a friend of mine that they were prepared as an optional feature in some other project.
After years passing bye, i am quite happy with the CURRENT progress made on this front by the Pakistan Statistic Bureau, during our ongoing population census exercise. It is our sixth national census to date, it would have been our 8th, had the census been held in 2008. CSB has uploaded some of its GIS map data on their website. It includes GIS MAPSCENSUS DISTRICT MAPSISLAMABAD DISTRICTLAHORE DISTRICT This data set also includes: Location of urban areas, according to CSB, There are total 624 urban areas. it includes 3 metropolitan areas, 25 Municipal corporations, 336 Municipal committees, 217 town committees, 43 cantonment areas , Census district boundary map of all six administrative provinces of Pakistan. A census district is generally a sub district administrative unit, either a Tehsil, or a combination of other administrative ares such as one more mroe cantonment board combined, make a census district. There are total 00 census districts in Pakistan. Census district fell short of sharing information on charges and circle boundaries, though. I copy below the statistics from "COMPENDIUM ON ENVIRONMENT STATISTICS OF PAKISTAN 2015" published by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics Government of Pakistan ISLAMABAD. It uses data from other publications. Source: http://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files//crops_and_climates/compendium_environment/compendium_environment_2015.pdf
LATEST LIST OF TEHSILS AND DISTRICT IN PAKISTAN (AS ON 04-01-2017) BY Pakistan Bureau of Statistics2/1/2017 Source: LIST OF TEHSILS/TALUKAS BY DISTRICT/DIVISION/PROVINCE (AS ON 04-01-2017) http://www.pbscensus.gov.pk/content/administrative-units
This will be an exciting public discussion in which Philipp will be talking with a prominent urban expert from Pakistan, Arif Hassan. Just sharing as I saw it on South Asia centre’s website.
Urbanisation Trends in South Asia: The Case of Karachi This is a South Asia Centre and LSE Cities public discussion Thursday 17th November 2016 6:30-8pm Room 2.04, NAB Speakers: Arif Hasan, Philipp Rode In the past twenty years major urban related changes have taken place in Karachi which are similar to those of other South Asian mega cities.These include the nature and scale of migration; the social and physical change in informal settlements and in the planning and location of new middle and high income ones; the increase in motorized transport; changes in academia, civil society and government thinking, structure and legislation; and the "burden" of past development. The presentation will touch on these issues, their causes, repercussions and what they mean for the future. Arif Hasan is a practicing Pakistani architect-planner, writer, teacher and activist working in Karachi on planning and informal settlement related issues for the last 42 years. He is the founder chair of the Karachi Urban Resource Centre, Chair of the Orangi Pilot Project Research and Training Centre and a founding member of The Asian Coalition of Housing Rights. He has been involved with planning, policy and academic issues and institutions both at the national and international level and is currently on the boards of a number of academic institutions. Philipp Rode is Executive Director of LSE Cities and Associate Professorial Research Fellow at LSE. Source: http://www.lse.ac.uk/southAsia/events/UpcomingEvents.aspx Reading a Huffingtonpost article of Kishor Mahbubani, i found that the function of 'right click on selection' was disabled. I wanted to search a phrase without retyping it in new browser window.
After few seconds, I found a way to overcome it. Rather than repeating do right click, which repeatedly un-selected the text, i pressed the option button on the keyboard, the on between the 'Windows' and the 'Control' button, in the last row on Windows PC,,, yes that one with the space bar. It worked. pressing the option button actually presented the disabled right click options. and then i used the option of google search with the mouse click.! You can try it Mac as well.. According to the moon visibility map data, one of which is below, it is likely that Ramadan will be of 29 days only. New moon will be born on 4th July and its visibility with naked eye is likely in Most of the Pakistan on next evening,
New moon sighting will be possible in Baluchistan, Sindh and lower Punjab with naked eye, in perfect conditions. while the use of telescope needed in KPK. It may lead to question on the potential evidence of moon sighting or not sighting from KPK, if it may arise on 29th Ramazan. On 4th July, moon still might be visible in some places in southern South-America, eastern Australia. Intensity of nighttime lights in Pakistan shows which areas are more developed and which are lagging behind in urban and infrastructure development, particularly electricity. Most of the lights are in central Punjab, Islamabad region, and settlements along the Indus river till Karachi. Nearly two third of the country is in minimum light brightness category, showing no significant lights visible from the sky. Although it might not have taken into account the nighttime electricity supply breaks 'loadshedding' in the country. A research idea would be to spatially overall it with population, industrial and other demographic data to see which areas are more rich, how many people live there, and what is its relation with economic development of the area. the data is good enough for spatial analysis at tehsil and district levels in the country, This is taken from World Atlas of Night sky brightness -http://www.lightpollution.it/worldatlas/pages/fig1.htm Detailed data can be downloaded from the website: http://www.lightpollution.it/download/global_asia1_Vb.zip http://www.lightpollution.it/download/global_asia2_Vb.zip PhD scholarship - 'Funding on the Line' Study
Funding Body: ARC funded PhD studentship Title: ‘Funding on the Line’ is the ARC Linkage Project under which this PhD studentship is located. Title of the PhD topic is to be related to this project (ARC-Linkage Project -LP150100078) Research Areas: Humanities & Social Sciences; Sciences & Engineering Type Postgraduate Research Description: The University of Sydney Business School is offering a PhD scholarship to work on the ARC funded project ‘Funding on the Line’. This project is a collaboration between The University of Sydney, Griffith University, and the University of Queensland with partners Gold Coast City Council, Department of Transport and Main Roads (Queensland) Transport for NSW and Queensland Airports Limited. The PhD topic area will be related to the funded research which is investigating innovative funding for public transport infrastructure. This will include value capture or value sharing schemes and, in part providing industry and government with new methods to visualise the shape and timing of increases in land values surrounding new infrastructure deployment. The overall research will be looking at light rail, busway, ferry and commuter rail systems in Australian cities. This project has the potential to revolutionalise the way in which transport systems are financed in Australia, significantly reducing the burden on government and making our cities more productive, efficient and liveable. The candidate will be based in the Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies (ITLS) within the University of Sydney Business School. ITLS is a renowned international centre of thought leadership in the crucially linked areas of transport, infrastructure, logistics and supply chain management. ITLS focuses on providing impartial, evidence based research on these key facets of Australia’s economic competitiveness, environmental prosperity and social wellbeing, with a view to informing the management and policy directions of industry and government. Recognised as an Australian Key Centre of Excellence for Teaching and Research since 1995 (in collaboration with the Institute of Transport Studies at Monash University) and with a partner institute, ITLS Africa, at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa (established 2008), we hold the Australian government’s highest possible rating (ERA 5) for a research institute – well above world standards. Eligibility: The scholarship is for a research student interested in a public transport focused topic that addresses the key challenge of funding in the sector. The topic area will be developed in conjunction with Professor Corinne Mulley, Professor of Public Transport. The applicant should have a strong Honours 1 or 2A degree (or equivalent) or Masters-level degree. Although any disciplinary background is in principal acceptable for this scholarship, we encourage applications from graduates in economics, applied mathematics, civil engineering, quantitative geography, transport planning and engineering. The research work will require skills in quantitative and qualitative data analysis methods. Candidates will receive research training through the Business School’s research training program. The successful applicant will also need to meet the academic entry requirements and follow the procedures for enrolment in the University of Sydney Business School Higher degree by Research program (http://sydney.edu.au/business/study/research/entry_requirements). The award cannot be deferred once offered. Amount awarded: The scholarship is valued at $26,288 per annum (tax exempt; adjusted for inflation) and may be renewed for up to three years, subject to satisfactory progress. The scholarship is paid as a stipend on a fortnightly basis. This scholarship does not cover any tuition fees payable by candidates although exceptional candidates may be eligible for supplementary scholarships (seehttp://sydney.edu.au/business/study/research/research_scholarships ). There are also funding opportunities to attend one conference per year and other expenses linked to the PhD program. ITLS offers opportunities to engage in research with academics in ITLS. Application guide: For further information, contact Professor Corinne Mulley on +61 2 9114 1842 or e-mail[email protected]. Applications should be emailed direct to Professor Corinne Mulley and must include: 1) Academic transcripts, 2) Curriculum Vitae, 3) Details of two academic referees familiar with your studies, and 4) A cover letter indicating your interests in this research area and why you consider yourself suitable for the scholarship. Closing date: 25th July 2016 Karachi's urban expansion map was seen at a special project of the 15th International Architecture Exhibition realised by La Biennale di Venezia. Curated by LSE Cities, it is part of the Urban Age programme (jointly organised by the London School of Economics and Political Science and Deutsche Bank’s Alfred Herrhausen Gesellschaft), The presentation is named as, 'Conflicts of an urban age' and showcases some of the spectacular work of leading urban reserachers on urban growth, inequality and socioeconomic transformation in some of the mega cities of the world. The exhibition has been developed in the context of Habitat III, the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development that will be held in Quito, Ecuador on 17-20 October 2016. a zoom in picture is shown below: —A central display provided a comparison between the growth paths of eight big cities between 1990 and 2015: Bangkok, Cairo, Chicago, Guangzhou, Ho Chi Minh City, Karachi, Kinshasa, and Lagos.
Project and exhibition Information: Dates: May 28th - November 27th 2016 Location: Sala d’Armi, Arsenale Curator: Ricky Burdett, Professor of Urban Studies and Director, LSE Cities and Urban Age, London School of Economics and Political Science Assistant curator: Aron Bohmann, Researcher, LSE Cities, London School of Economics and Political Science Assistant curator: Peter Griffiths, Managing Editor, LSE Cities, London School of Economics and Political Science Project Manager: Emily Cruz, Outreach Manager, LSE Cities, London School of Economics and Political Science Encouraging things are happening in Pakistan, but an enabling environment for extremism and other problems within society threaten this very real progress.
I like the work of Micheal, he writes closely on development, security, social policy and growth in Pakistan. Here, his recent article published in Foreign Policy, is copy-pasted below: which i think every development practitioners of the country should read: Several years ago, a Pakistani economist Development is a useful barometer of a country’s trajectory. The presence of young people is another measure. This is because their fates, both good and bad, will collectively impact Pakistan’s direction over many decades, particularly in such a youthful country. The U.N. estimates that the median age is 22 and nearly 60 percent of the population is 24 or younger. As a percentage of total population, only Yemen has more people in this age group. I spent time at the Lahore School of Economics and Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) — two of Pakistan’s most prestigious universities. At a time when many of the country’s best and brightest go abroad for education, the presence of the students — undergraduate and graduate alike, and many of them female — is encouraging. So is Pakistan making progress? Yes. However, encouraging though it may be, this progress is also precarious. A variety of problems, especially violent extremism, could threaten Pakistan’s impressive progress. The horrifying March 27 attack on a public park in Lahore, just several weeks after my visit there, accentuates this risk. Pakistan seems unable or unwilling to confront the extremist ideologies that drive militancy. As long as extremism persists across society, the likelihood of radicalization remains strong, even as today the country enjoys a relative respite from the relentless attacks of recent years. Many Pakistanis with young children are constantly worried. One woman, speaking to me in Islamabad several weeks ago, explained that parents are terrified to send their kids to school — a fear stoked after the December 2014 Peshawar school massacre, rekindled after the Bacha Khan University attackin January 2016, and further fueled by recent Taliban threats to attack more schools. These fears were sadly prophetic. The Lahore park bomb detonated near a swing set, and at least 17 of the 74 people killed were children. Terrorist violence may be declining in Pakistan (the number of civilian deaths from terrorism was about 50 percent less in 2015 than in 2014), but for many people, and particularly those with children, fear of terrorism is increasing. Additionally, Pakistan’s social sector is suffering. Indeed, in Lahore, a prominent economist admitted that education and health crises have failed to ease, even amid reductions in poverty and unemployment. When I asked him to account for this discrepancy, he struggled to come up with an answer. Not surprisingly, very few Pakistanis — barely 5 percent — receive proper technical or vocational training to make them competitive in the job market. Many, particularly those from the lower and middle classes, routinely lose out on jobs that go to more well-connected and affluent applicants. Overall, the labor market has struggled to absorb young graduates into the workforce. Demographers talk of Pakistan’s potential to reap a demographic dividend whereby its young people help engineer widespread economic growth. Unfortunately, due to crises in education, public health, and the labor market, Pakistan’s youth bulge is likely to be a burden for Pakistan’s economy. These challenges — and the grievances they engender among the youth — create an environment ripe for radicalization. While many of the Taliban’s suicide bombers come from impoverished backgrounds, youth from across the socioeconomic spectrum are also drawn to extremism. Saad Aziz, the well-educated confessed killer of human rights activist Sabeen Mahmood, is an example of the spectrum. Nearly every terror attack committed in Pakistan since September 11, 2011, has been staged by someone under the age of 30. The destabilizing consequences of youth radicalization could affect Pakistan for a long time — in great part, because its youth populations will dominate demographically for decades. The under-24 population will still be in the majority by 2030, and the median age is expected to be just 34 as late as 2050. Today’s Pakistan presents a paradox of soaring progress and serious problems. Lahore exemplifies this paradox. One Lahore pulsates with economic activity and intellectual fervor: A vibrant and tolerant city where crowds pack into stores and restaurants. The other Lahore hosts Lashkar-e-Taiba leader Hafiz Saeed and is the gateway to militant strongholds in southern Punjab. These two worlds too often collide. When I was in town, the city buzzed with rumors that the beloved Lahore Literary Festival would be cancelled due to security threats (in the end it took place, though it was cut short from three to two days). More broadly, there are two Pakistans. One is resilient and entrepreneurial, fueled by patriotism, civic activism, and a surge of growth industries from construction to information technology. The other is suspicious and conspiratorial, powered by ultra-nationalism, riven by sectarian and ethnic divides, and constrained by shortages of natural resources, governance, and leadership — not to mention militancy-friendly state policies. These two Pakistans lead a shaky coexistence that could well grow unsustainable. In Islamabad, a senior Pakistani official told me that there is only one “force for order” in the world that has ever succeeded in defeating the “forces for disorder.” Pakistan, he proclaimed, is that victorious force. For Pakistan to truly vanquish the “forces for disorder,” it will need to eliminate its enabling environment for extremism. Unfortunately, Pakistan is unlikely to make major inroads against its radicalized society anytime soon. The extent of the challenge has become crystal clear in recent weeks. On Feb. 29, Pakistan hanged Mumtaz Qadri, a religious extremist who killed Punjab province governor Salman Taseer in 2011 because of Taseer’s support for religious minorities. Qadri’s funeral on March 1 attracted thousands — maybe even 100,000, according to one estimate. The state’s decision to render the ultimate punishment to a prisoner revered by radicalized elements of society was an encouraging sign. But the large turnout for his funeral was a sobering reminder of the continued challenges ahead. When it comes to expunging extremism, Pakistan seems to be experiencing a demoralizing one-step-forward, one-step-back dynamic. Meanwhile, in Islamabad, residents wanted to talk about Abdul Aziz, a hard-line cleric who infamously refused to condemn the perpetrators of the Peshawar school massacre. Despite a rigorous civil society pressure campaign, the state has done little to sanction Aziz, and people I spoke to suggested this was driven by fear more than calculated strategy. If he were arrested for an extended period, officials said, the thousands of students in the religious seminaries he runs in Islamabad could rampage across the city, just as they did in 2007, resulting in a bloody state crackdown on Aziz’s Red Mosque that helped spawn the official creation of the Pakistani Taliban. In effect, for Pakistan to capitalize on its recent progress — from urban growth and counterterrorism victories to the growing achievements of its young people — then the state must undertake a flurry of ambitious policy interventions. These necessary correctives range from tackling the country’s education and health crises and creating more jobs, to developing counter-narratives that combat extremist ideologies pervading society, not to mention ending state support for any and all militant groups. Even if, as some suggest, the state is finally mustering the will to act, meaningful results will take much time to materialize. Published: April 06, 2016 http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/04/06/squandered-progress-in-pakistan/ Pakistan is the most urbanized country in South Asia. It is expected that nearly half of its current population resides in cities. Urban areas are considered engine of economic growth in the country. They present opportunities for social mobility, access to education, and exhibit the rising democratic and political power in the country. At the same time, it has been said that urban areas present a significant challenge for negative consequences of uncontrolled urbanization; unemployment, high demand on government services, demand for increasing infrastructure, corruption and national security. A lot has been said on these topics individually. However, there is no data on location of cities, let alone the rural areas. All the current observations are based on a single source of dataset: National Census of 1998. This census, conducted 18 years ago, is already lagging behind by 8 years and i guess it will not come out before 2019. National census is being delayed for 8 years due to security while political rallies and elections, whose electorates are based on census data, are carried out without delay...amazing politics. The next general elections of Pakistan, to be held in year 2018, will definately be based on 1998 census data. Anyways, these issue of data access, accuracy and currency have always hindered a reliable estimation of current urbanization trends in the country. Census 1998 did not provide spatial data for the cities. The basic questions which i have been unable to answer are quite simple:
So i plan to work on this problem in the coming months. I plan to draw the point locations of cities in pakistan, estimate their most recent population using 1998 as the base year and pre-1998 growth rate as the projection criteria. I aim to prepare a GIS shapefile of cities of entire Pakistan in future for research on urbanization and population expansion in Pakistan. Using my personal literature and data archives, i have prepared a more general map of cities in Pakistan, which i used in my PhD dissertation. I paste this map of location of cities with their population categories below. This map will be used as a starting point to generate a more accurate map of the location of cities in the country. Approximate location of cities in Pakistan: source: http://hub.hku.hk/bitstream/10722/222364/2/FullText.pdf I will keep updated about the issues and progress in preparing GIS file of cities for the country. If you know about the potential data source or existing file which presents the location of cities, please do share with me. I will be very thankful as it will help me improving the existing work further.
Best Adeel Other tags: Lat Long data on cities in Pakistan; GIS data on cities in Pakistan; Shapefile of cities in Pakistan, location of cities in Paksitan Publisher Info:
Taking public transportation in an unfamiliar city can be daunting. But if the city you're in has an effective system, there's no need to waste money on cab fare when you could be saving money — and maybe even getting somewhere faster — with public transport. We've rounded up some of the best public transport systems around the world, from Paris, France, to Seoul, South Korea. Next time you're in one of these cities, hop on for a ride. Recent studies have again highlighted the increasing issue of obesity in Pakistan. While their data remains less-authentic, studies have found that one in every four Pakistani people might be overweight. According to the news published in the Express Tribune, Pakistan is 9th most obese country. Pakistan ranked 9th out of 188 countries in terms of obesity, according to the Global Burden of Disease Study published in The Lancet medical journal Thursday that said no country has turned the tide of obesity since 1980. A staggering 671 million people now fall within the obese category, said the study – 78 million of them in the United States, which accounts for five percent of the world’s population, but more than a tenth of its grossly overweight people. Similar findings appeared in a previously reported national study by Debra Nanan of Aga Khan University, Karachi. The author found that women are more likely to be overweight than men. Article says that obesity increases with socioeconomic status and age and Women in their adulthood are more obese than their younger counterparts. Figures from the free article are pasted below: I want to emphasize similar trend of mobility or travel behavior in Pakistan, which i have examined previously in a study paper. It show that women are more likely to remain immobile, they make fewer trips than men. Ageing and socioeconomic status decreases mobility of women. So it seems a strong correlation between mobility, travel and obesity. Because majority of travel in Pakistan is done by walking, it seems that those who walk more are less likely to be overweight, at least for women. In cities, women are particularly becoming automobile reliant. It makes them more vulnerable to obesity and related health risk. Men, particularly in later ages, walk more and they are less likely to be mobile as well.
I have been working on a research paper on this topic of mobility across ageing and socioeconomic status in Pakistan. it is expected to be published in June this year. It will show how the travel changes across gender, geography and demographic factors in the country. In 2014, Chinese government (National Geomatics Center of China) produced two global high-resolution (30 m) full coverage land cover maps for years 2000 and 2010. This product is known as GlobeLand30 and is publicly available for download (non-commercial use only; no derivative products permited) via www.globallandcover.com. The two 30-meter resolution land cover maps show global distribution of ten major land cover classes: Water bodies, Wetland, Artificial Surfaces, Cultivated land, Permanent snow and ice, Forests, Grasslands, Shrublands, Bareland and Tundra. GlobeLand30 products are free of charge for scientific research or public welfare undertakings. GlobeLand30 is stored according to raster data format, and there are 853 data tiles all over the world. The data products corresponding to each data tile can be downloaded in the form of ZIP files, including five parts: classification results files, coordinate information files, connection diagram of image classification files, metadata files and description files. The data size of each data tile is about 10 MB after compression. GlobeLand30 covers the area within 80°N and 80°S, and the data tiles are organized by two methods. The data tile is implemented in the size of 5°(latitude)×6°(longitude) within 60°N and 60°S, and in the size of 5°(latitude)×12°(longitude) within 60° to 80° north and south latitude. The organization of all the data tiles is shown in Figure 1, and its vector files can be downloaded inhttp://globallandcover.com/document/globemapsheet.zip. Can be seen here: http://www.globallandcover.com/GLC30Download/index.aspx soruce and links to other free land use datasets: http://worldgrids.org/doku.php?id=wiki:land_cover_and_land_use#current_global_land_cover_maps http://www.globallandcover.com/User/Login.aspx Few screen shots of the data below for Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong, Singapore and Kuwait cities are given below:- Two years ago, i posted an article: Wish To Study "B.Sc Urban Planning" In Pakistan?? Check Its Accreditation First! And then also about Updated List Of Institutions/Universities Offering Courses In Architecture And Urban Planning - 2014 At that time, i advised readers to prefer studying in PCATP accredited universities only. However, the times have changed. Competition for admission is rising, and at the same time, supply of non accredited institutions who offer urban planning degrees is increasing. I mean it is good as more and more institutions are coming up. it will surely increase the level of education and probably would lead to external linkages with other planning schools over the world. And there are great chances that they many of the currently non accredited schools would get the desired accreditation status sooner or later. Recently, a reader asked me a question: ... I don't have enough marks in Intermediate to get admission in a RECOGNIZED CRP program in Punjab..... [but] I also have the option of admission at UMT or NFC in BS CRP program. Will it be a worthy option? ...many public jobs advertisement DO NOT MENTION THE NEED FOR PCATP REGISTRATION. Well, opinions change with time and situation. and probably i have more broad opinion. My answer would be: It is totally worth if you could study BS CRP program in ANY university, EVEN, if it is not recognized by PACTP. Why? because there are many reasons behind it. Firstly, because getting urban planning education is better than not getting it at all. Secondly, urban planning is a skill, it is a profession which is a nice field of study and profession. Thirdly, who knows if your university program of CRP gets accreditation in future and possibly during your own course of study. Fourthly, It has a good job market and unemployment rate among urban planners is probably close to ZERO in Pakistan (it is my personal opinion, particularly for Punjab). Fifthly, although the planners from unrecognized universities / institutions may not get accreditation from PCATP, they could still work as urban planners in the background without using their names e.g. without signing as planning professionals. And finally, there is a big market for employment of all urban planning graduates in a range of private and even in government sectors, as well. I have observed that many public jobs advertisement DO NOT MENTION THE NEED FOR PCATP REGISTRATION. They just ask that the degree should be from HEC RECOGNIZED UNIVERSITY ONLY. I think this requirement aspect is going to change the landscape of urban planning education and practice in Pakistan. I see two streams of urban planners over five years or so. The ones who would have a PCATP registration and the ones without it. "... I don't have enough marks in Intermediate to get admission in a RECOGNIZED CRP program in Punjab..... [but] I also have the option of admission at UMT or NFC in BS CRP program. Will it be a worthy option?" And more importantly, the CRP graduates without PCATP accreditation could always seek accreditation from other organizations such as RTPI (Just google it). They could study foreign masters program in urban planning. They could work in foreign institutions as they normally do not ask for PCATP registration. And probably if they want, they could wait and get a double degree in planning in future. An urban planner is not just an urban planner. He or she is a Human geographer, a spatial analyst, a designer, a social / urban policy analyst and so on. Conclusion: Please do study urban planning in Pakistan. Do your research dissertations on transportation planning, human geography and spatial planning. These fields have a great potential for employment in current and future prospects of Pakistan. Use computer based planning e.g. AutoCAD, GIS, and get skill in programming languages such as Python, Java etc. it would be very useful. An urban planner is not just an urban planner. He or she is a Human geographer, a spatial analyst, a designer, a social / urban policy analyst and so on. I just thought to visualize my dataset about population expansion in Islamabad Metropolitan Area. And here is the end result after a couple of hour working in ArcScene. Population density increased in Islamabad more dramatically and is comparable to that of the Rawalpindi Cantonment Area. Surprise! Methodology: I used 1998 Population Census dataset for Union Councils in Rawalpindi and Sectors in Islamabad. Later projected it to year 2013 with average growth rates and classified in ArcGIS. I share the single images that were combined to make the movie. Seems that the movie for these images will not be uploaded on this page until i pay to the weebly. That's why i have uploaded the movie.
Google Docs users can find it here: Population Densification In Rawalpindi Islamabad Metropolitan Area, Pakistan: 1998 To 2013 Box users can view and download it from here: Population Densification In Rawalpindi Islamabad Metropolitan Area, Pakistan: 1998 To 2013 Data set is available on demand. Farid Zakria's New American dream [ from his new book supporting liberal arts in the US]:
If you want to live a good life these days, you know what you’re supposed to do. Get into college but then drop out. Spend your days learning computer science and your nights coding. Start a technology company and take it public. The New Pakistani dream: If you want to live a good life these days, you know what you’re supposed to do. Get into college for degree but if you drop out, produce a forged one. Spend your days in university completing an engineering / medical degree and your nights memorizing their books. Find a government job and become permanent employee. Or, start a political career from college, based on race, tribal identity or sectarian grounds. It is a hard look on the facts and trends! A new global study by London-based Institute for Economics and Peace has ranked Pakistan third on the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) list. However, a little is known about the patterns of events and how do they vary over time. Particularly, for urban planners, it shows how urbanization is linked (both affects and is affected by the events) with security issues of the country. Related to it is a unique monograph recently published by RAND Corporation, Drivers of Long-Term Insecurity and Instability in Pakistan Urbanization. I found a very interesting Global Terrorism Database that can give very important information on it. a lot of information on the events from 1970 to 2013 has been tabloid in this database. I am exploring this database now days, with a view that it may highlight useful information on the much debated topic that urbanization might pose various additional security challenges to the country. I paste below some information i extracted from the dataset for educational purposes. Other interesting variables that can be used to analyse this dataset include city name, number of casualties, month of incidents and other related information. This dataset is of particular interest to the students, academics and even to politicians and policy makers such as urban planners, security experts etc. as it gives useful information on the current security challenges being faced by the country. Even, i think, mainstream media has seldom examined this dataset which can become a good source of investigative reporting on the government's efficiency assessment. No doubt that i am hesitant of discussing such sensitive topics, but being a research scholar in urban planning field, i think it is important to analyse the spatial and population growth in the country from every major aspect. security condition is not only shaping the urban plannig practices it is also shaping the economy of the country. so it should not be ignored in expert analysis. I would like to see more resaerch using this wonderful dataset, i have seen only a couple of articles on it so far. e.g.: Urbanisation and Political Change in Pakistan: exploring the known unknowns Apologies, i am not a good writer and this draft has been produced hastily on a sunday afternoon with a cricket worldcup2015 match going on between Pakistan and Ireland. |
AboutDiscussions on social, transportation and urban planning issues with a focus on Pakistan. Archives
April 2016
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List of Health Facilities in Pakistan with Geographic Coordinates as of 2012 added on 01 June 2013
- - - - List of schools in Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and FATA Provinces as of September 2011 added on 01 June 2013 - - - - Pakistan Time Use Survey Dataset added. - - - - Pakistan's spatial datasets uploaded on April 20, 2013 - - - - Share your data with others on the link below; it will be owned by you and you can invite other collaborators to use it. visitor's mapCategories
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