Journal of Art, Architecture and Built Environment

Analysing and Enhancing the Level of Awareness about Air Quality among the Teenagers to Achieve Healthier Environment in Lahore

2024-05-17T07:11:44+00:00

Urban areas have witnessed a rapid increase in population all around the globe during the last few decades. Pakistan has also experienced rapid urbanization which has depleted available resources and created many challenges. These include an unplanned urban sprawl, long travel distances within the city, and the destruction of natural environment. Undoubtedly, among all the issues the city of Lahore is currently facing, poor air quality appears at the top of the list. The deprivation of trees and agricultural land, pollution generated by the construction of housing societies and road networks, and smoke emitted from motor vehicles and factories are some of the major factors contributing to air pollution in Lahore. The study aims to assess the air pollution awareness among the teenagers of Lahore city. Keeping in view the fact that air pollution has increased cardiac and respiratory diseases, it is important to educate the masses to improve air quality for a healthier and liveable environment. The government should introduce more effective legislation to control pollution; however, it needs consistent support from citizens, architects, builders, and all other stakeholders for its successful implementation. Educational institutions and media can play a significant role in creating awareness through education and positive campaigning. At the end, the study discusses how people can positively contribute to the solution when they come to know the intensity of the problem and its harmful effects.

Urban Conservation: A Transformational Vision for an Abandoned Hindu Temple in Lahore

2024-05-17T07:14:58+00:00

Lahore is an ancient city known for its diverse culture, art, and history, which is nearly 2,000 years old. Before the partition of the subcontinent, Lahore served as a home not only to Muslims but also to Sikhs, Christians, Jains, Hindus, and other religions. There were many places of worship built for different religions at that time. After partition, the majority of the Hindus migrated to India and left behind their abandoned worship places, that is, temples. These temples were occupied by the Muslims who migrated to Lahore from India. With the passage of time, they have declined significantly and need proper measures for their preservation. These abandoned temples are one of the significant remains of Lahore’s rich cultural background. Therefore, it is imperative to conserve these structures. One of the historically significant temples is the Old Basuli Hanuman temple. This study mainly focuses on the conservation of this prestigious temple, located on Aibak Road adjacent to the new Anarkali Bazar. It attempts to identify the barriers to the conservation of Hindu temples and formulates strategies that can be used for their conservation. These may include the restoration or reconstruction of the temple back to its original identity or changing it to a completely different economically and aesthetically beneficial structure. Furthermore, this study aims to pave the way for the preservation not only of the Old Basuli Hanuman temple but also of other neglected heritage sites.

Religious Tourism in Lahore: Case Study of Mosque Architecture under the Mughals

2024-05-17T07:20:39+00:00

The city of Lahore is well known for both its magnificent architecture and rich cultural legacy. Lahore saw a dramatic transition under the Mughal rule with the building of several famous mosques that continue to draw religious travelers from all over the world. This case study examines the possibilities for religious tourism keeping in view the Mughal era mosques of Lahore, while emphasizing their spiritual appeal and architectural value. The architectural integrity and beauty of these mosques require ongoing preservation and restoration efforts. Religious tourism in Lahore can boost the local economy by creating jobs, generating business revenue, and promoting cultural exchange, thus fostering interfaith dialogue and showcasing the Mughal mosque architecture. On the other hand, sustainable tourism practices, such as waste reduction, water and energy conservation, and responsible tourism behavior can mitigate the negative environmental and community impacts of religious tourism. The study highlights how crucial it is to protect and promote these locations in order to respect the Mughal architectural heritage, maintain religious customs, and improve the city's standing as a center for religious tourism.

Reclaiming Public Spaces amidst COVID-19 Pandemic: Tactical Urbanism as a ‘Resilience’ Response

2024-05-17T08:01:56+00:00

Several cities were struck by the global COVID-19 pandemic in the year 2020. The rapid and hazardous spread of the crisis resulted in a profound urban transformation, changing the fundamentals of urban living. This research provides a perspective regarding the vulnerability and resilience of cities, particularly their public spaces. Public spaces, a significant component of the urban realm, remained fundamental in transforming cities during the pandemic. Implementing radical measures to minimize the spread of the virus and adopting emergency plans to resist the subsequent socioeconomic collapse demonstrated the varying yet synchronized stance on resilience. Two key approaches are used to pursue the concept of resilience as a strategic framework for public spaces. These include a balancing or bounce-back approach, which supports the idea of ‘return to normal’. The other is an evolutionary or bounce-forward tactic, characterized by adaptive capacity and transformation. This research reflects on the adaptive capacity of ‘resilience’ in public spaces, in which ‘tactical urbanism’ as an effective tool is used to create flexible, low-cost, and temporary design strategies to achieve public health goals and urban sustainability. It also discusses the examples of tactical interventions in public spaces during the pandemic and manifests the strength of temporary tactics to bring long-term change. The research concludes by proposing a new paradigm for public space planning, associating tactical urbanism and incorporating the evolutionary or adaptive capacity of resilience. The discussed strategies instil a vision for designing resilient public spaces for highly anticipated future pandemics and other hazards.

Sense of Community among the Residents of Gated and Non-Gated Communities in Lahore, Pakistan

2024-05-06T11:58:31+00:00

Planned gated and non-gated communities have appeared rapidly all over the world due to the public amenities and quality of life they offer. It is generally assumed that gated communities provide better security as compared to non-gated communities. However, population growth and urban sprawl have led to many social and physiological issues including the death of old city traditions, community identity, and lack of the sense of community (SOC). Thus, modern urban development faces the challenge of meeting the habitation and social needs of people with lesser face-to-face interaction and more mobile and fluid ways of communication. Lahore is the second largest city of Pakistan. It has experienced the growth of private sector led gated communities over several years. This research aims to compare their physical characteristics, as well as the perception of security, extent of social interaction, and the sense of community among their residents. For this purpose, the data of interviews with the residents of 4 selected gated and non-gated communities of Lahore was collected. The findings revealed that the sense of community is strongly associated with the extent of social interaction in both gated and non-gated communities. Contrary to what the literature generally suggests, this study found a higher sense of security among the residents of non-gated communities than gated communities. Finally, it was concluded that the participation of the residents in community development and management activities would promote more socially cohesive and vibrant communities.

Rethinking Future. A Potential Solution for Encroachment and Illegal Bazar around Shalimar Gardens, Lahore

2024-05-17T08:09:59+00:00

The infrastructure of streets is the lifeline of any developed city. If one wants to experience the urban culture of any city, then the streets are the best place to wander for this. Thus, the streetscape of a city remains a decisive element in its success. In any city, “its streetscape" not just adds to the experiential quality of the built space but also portrays the natural built fabric of the street. Stakeholders, such as hawkers, cyclists, pedestrians, and vehicles utilize the streets. Likewise, occupants living on a specific street also play a significant part in helping to analyze the nature of that specific street. The current paper discusses the problems with the streets of Shalimar Gardens, Lahore (a world heritage site). Furthermore, it provides a redesign solution for these streets marred with the issues encroachment and illegal Bazar using streetscape methodology, which is an important rejuvenation endeavor for the streetscape of the city.

Fire Risk Assessment for Heritage Structures of Lahore: Current Situation and Contributing Factors

2024-05-17T08:15:31+00:00

Pakistan is recognized around the world for its heritage structures which represent the country’s glorious history. These structures are of distinctive architectural and cultural importance. They differ from each other in various aspects of their ornamentations, building fabric, design, and construction process; however, they were typically built without any concern towards fire safety. Worryingly, mortifying accounts of fire disasters have been reported from all over the world. Fire incidents and fire disasters in heritage sites of the world amplify the fact that this threat should be fully recognized and precautionary measures must be taken beforehand. For this purpose, the technique used in this study is called Fire Risk Index (FRI). It has been used internationally for cities with historical values, especially in Portugal. In this study, this technique was applied to 12 cultural heritage buildings of Lahore. A site visit was conducted to each structure. Based on the observations and data, the value of FRI was derived for each structure. Furthermore, the characterization of the buildings was also carried out in terms of fire risk. It was found that Sheesh Mahal and Lahore Museum have the highest fire risk and were classified as high-risk buildings. Overall, the heritage structures included in this study comprised 17% high-risk buildings, 33% moderate-risk buildings, and 50% low-risk buildings. In the same vein, propagation of fire (P) was determined as the most prominent sub-factor in evaluating the FRI values, as there are 67% of heritage structures in which the contribution of this sub-factor is more as compared to other sub-factors. This study contributes towards the development of intervention packages as an efficient tool for fire risk mitigation purposes in heritage structures