LAHORE: Successive governments, donor agencies and private developers go on building new houses narrative without understanding a fundamental principle of modern urban planning — people do not need shelter in isolation, they need a habitat.
A house is merely a physical structure. A habitat is a complete environment that connects residents to the networks of life: water, power, sanitation, mobility, markets, education, healthcare and security. Without these networks, a housing colony quickly degenerates into a slum, no matter how aesthetically it was built on day one.
Real-estate planners and urban economists increasingly warn that Pakistan’s housing shortage cannot be solved by throwing concrete at the problem. The country must first acknowledge that a meaningful dwelling depends not on the number of rooms but on the quality of the surrounding ecosystem. A house becomes liveable only when it is supported by physical, economic and social amenities that allow a family to work, learn, commute, socialize and secure their future. When these essential ingredients are missing, the occupants do not experience a better life — they experience isolation.
This failure of understanding is visible across Pakistan, where dozens of new housing schemes, both public and private, are launched every year on the premise of affordability. Yet most of them turn into underpopulated, semi-abandoned or poorly maintained settlements within a decade. Critics note that planners measure the deficit of units, not the deficit of habitats. It is a costly mistake. Without access to the interconnected networks of power supply, potable water, drainage, roads, public transport, markets, schools and healthcare, a low-cost housing unit becomes a high-cost burden for its residents.
The highest prices in Pakistan are found not in the largest houses but in the best habitats. Meanwhile, government housing ministries often design projects to meet bare minimum specifications. To contain costs, they opt for the cheapest land available — usually far from urban centres, disconnected from major transport corridors and lacking in civic infrastructure. Builders replicate this approach, focusing on rapid sales rather than long-term sustainability. Residents who move into these schemes soon confront a punishing daily reality: long commutes, poor services, higher transportation costs and limited opportunities. Many end up switching to lower paid jobs near home or start micro-businesses simply to avoid the physical and financial strain of travel. Urban planners warn that this dispersal of labour reduces national productivity, increases traffic congestion and worsens environmental impact.
Connectivity alone can dramatically transform land value and liveability. Habitat has become the new buzzword in real estate, and rightly so. Pakistan does not suffer from a shortage of houses. It suffers from a shortage of liveable, connected, serviced, sustainable habitats. Unless planners, policymakers and developers internalise this shift, the country will keep building new houses that no one truly wants to live in — and the housing shortage will never really end.
