Urban Identity Under Pressure: Placemaking Interventions for Inclusive Development Around Johar Town, Lahore
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Private educational institutions located within residential neighbourhoods are devices that often lead to urban transformation at a fast pace. Unfortunately, the majority of residents do not control these changes. Expansion around institutions like Minhaj University, University of Management and Technology (UMT) and other in Lahore has changed its land use pattern adversely. The surrounding areas has become congestedd and has started acting as a magnet for informal trade, which is gradually leading to decline in its identity as a residential zone. This research traces the changes and asks the question of how placemaking can be used to recover spatial coherence and inclusivity in the academic district after the gentrification process. The research used satellite imagery (2005, 2025), mental mapping, field observations, and stakeholder interviews to gauge the size of the area covered by the park, which it had increased seven times. Moreover, the research reported a simultaneity of commercial pressures. The research found that there are continuous conflicts between pedestrians and vehicles, while students have insufficient public spaces. Furthermore, vendor activities remain unregulated, and conversation of residential units into hostels has become widespread. The study offers a detailed account of gentrification caused by education in Pakistan and the strategies of design to democratize the redevelopment of similar high, pressure university areas.
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