Housing situation in Pakistan is far from ideal. The World Bank has also hinted at a looming housing crisis in the country’s urban areas. This is in spite of the uncontrollable mushrooming of housing societies countrywide.
Having suffered all their lives from poor urban infrastructure that’s only going from bad to worse, Pakistanis have been in a dire need of quality housing that rids them of everyday hassles and elevates their lifestyle to some degree.
Although often at the cost of the environment and city infrastructure, the new housing societies, within their ‘walled gardens’, offer them the promise of what they should have had by default: Residential communities that are safe and offer life’s basic amenities to make life worth living.
But recently, the focus of new property developers seems to have become much ‘grander’. As they begin to treat basic amenities as a given, their attention has fallen onto catchphrases like ‘grandeur’, ‘splendor’, ‘majesty’, and more.
Monuments First, All Else Later
To do justice to these grand claims, their obsession is now fixated on monuments and mascots. What was pioneered by Malik Riaz of Bahria Town is now a rampant trend; look at any new real estate project and the obsession with ‘great monuments’ would be obvious.
Today, it’s hard to find a project that’s not marketing sleazy replicas of global monuments as part of the core offering. The trend has started to make projects without such pretense as real estate pigmies with a lesser worth than the ones that come with a mini Eiffel Tower or a Burj Khalifa.
This trend has gone so far that the powerful and wealthy developers have started to wage a monumental (literally) war against each other. This, unfortunately, has shifted the focus from developing core amenities required for living to making monuments instead.
A few years back, a housing society presently known as Blue World City promised an exceptional lifestyle but ended up trying to make its way to the Guinness Book of World Records for constructing 250 ft Horse Mascots.
On the other hand, the individuals who have invested in this project to live the promised ‘exceptional life’ can only see those horses (and other monuments) from the barren land that still needs basic development after many years of the project’s launch.
Another housing society that has been launched recently looks inspired by the 7 wonders of the world because it’s named – guess what – 7 Wonder City! Now, what’s wonderful about it is that it will ‘bring to Pakistan’ the Egyptian Pyramids, Stonehenge from England, the mighty Taj Mahal, the Roman Colosseum, America’s Statue of Liberty, and more.
As the list of such housing projects gets longer every day, the real purpose is left to be served. People want quality housing NOW and the beautification can always come later. But sadly, our direction seems to be in reverse.
Do We Need Mascots & Monuments?
Don’t get us wrong. The beautification of the areas that we live in is important and pleases our senses. Cities all around the world work on it and monuments are a part of the effort too. But prioritizing the creation of monuments over core development that people need urgently is misplaced for sure.
There is no doubt that these monuments or statues also reflect the efforts and hard work of the engineers, laborers, and whosoever is involved. But ultimately, they are of no use or value if they precede the core necessitates of the people that the developer is promising to serve in the first place.
Plus, to us, the kind of copycat monuments we continue to erect are plainly in bad taste and out of our societal context. What connection do we have with (a bad replica of) the Eiffel Tower, Statue of Liberty, Colosseum, or any other wonder of the world?
Will we not be happy with a housing society that has no monuments but a good layout plan, sound construction, and all basic amenities covered? Don’t we need such a housing project NOW rather than wait for years for yet another useless Eiffel Tower or Burj Khalifa to be built? I believe we badly do!
UP Development, LLC, a leading retail developer with more than 25 years of experience primarily focusing on urban communities in the Southeast and Midwest, is expanding nationwide into high-growth markets.
Great article, I think that’s something need to addressed.
Don’t impressed with the fake monuments whole investing in any housing project.
You’ve brought up a really thought-provoking issue regarding the housing situation in Pakistan. It’s evident that the focus on monumental aesthetics in new housing projects has taken precedence over providing essential amenities and quality living conditions. While the idea of creating visually appealing environments is important, it should never overshadow the immediate needs of the people.
You’ve brilliantly highlighted a pressing issue that’s been gaining attention in Pakistan’s housing sector. The housing situation indeed seems far from ideal, with concerns about a potential crisis looming in urban areas, despite the proliferation of housing societies. The fact that people have endured poor urban infrastructure for so long makes the need for quality housing even more crucial. It’s disappointing that while these new housing societies offer a promise of improved living conditions, their focus seems to have shifted from providing essential amenities to chasing grandeur and monument-building.Keep it up!
i enjoyed this post