EMERGING CHALLENGES IN LAND USE REGULATION SYSTEM:

A CASE STUDY OF MURREE, PAKISTAN

Syed Mujahid Hussain*

Abdul Waheed**
Malik Naeem Asghar***

ABSTRACT Keywords: Land Use Regulation, Land Use Challenges,

Development Planning, Murree City
Most of the cities of Pakistan have expanded arbitrarily.
Among these cities several had some sort of development INTRODUCTION
plans, to guide the city’s future growth. Due to one reason
or the other, the city developments have not taken shape as Land use planning is a critical part of the physical
per plans. However, development projects as per these plans development process of a city. It is a regulation system
were randomly taken up by Authorities, which can be termed through which people are motivated to choose between the
as partial implementation of Plans. Consequently, these land uses options that can fulfill their socio-economic needs,
projects provide temporary relief regarding some specific as well as ensure sustainable physical development for the
problems of that city, but at the same time triggered numerous area (UNFAO, 1996). The range of land use regulation
interrelated issues for which local authorities were not pre- system may vary from country to country depending upon
prepared. A need is being felt for plan oriented development area coverage, statutory framework, prevailing polices,
rather than project oriented development, for which lot is institutional setup, resources, character of city and other
needed in policy and strategy formulation, institutional urban issues specific to that particular city. Similarly, the
strengthening and implementation. This paper aims at nature of problems related to land use regulation and its
appraising the land use regulation system of Murree city, repercussions have been different in developed and
that has expanded in the absence of any preconceived plan. developing world. In the developed world, the problems
The success it has achieved with prevailing system, with caused by expansion of cities are pressing, but still
respect to existing land use pattern and its implications for manageable. On the other hand, in the case of the developing
stakeholders, especially tourists and local residents, all relate countries the land use plans are usually part of Master Plans
to the research query. Findings of the research reveal that or of some other forms of development plan, but are rarely
the growth of Murree has been without any specific pattern implemented owing to various reasons (UN Habitat, 2015).
or pre-conceived plan for over three decades. Murree lacks In this scenario, the land use pattern takes a disorganized
basic amenities of life in qualitative and quantitative terms. form, rather than a controlled and guided form, resulting in
In this regard, the most crucial aspect relates to lack of undue urban sprawl and all sorts of urban management and
balance in distribution of neighborhood and sub- environmental issues. In the developing countries, owing
neighborhood level facilities. Due to this centralization of to significant urban population living under poverty line,
amenities, parking is becoming one of the major problem sizable population is compelled to occupy the areas that are
for local residents and the floating population as well. disaster prone (Gencer, 2013). Consequently, when major
Building byelaws and zoning regulations of Murree also natural and man induced disasters hit these urban areas it
need to be adapted as per local conditions. results in colossal damage to human life and property. These
events highlight the need for sustainable land use planning

* Syed Mujahid Hussain, Urban and Regional Planning Department, National Institute of Transportation, National University of Engineering and
Science, Islamabad, Pakistan
Email correspondence: ikajodzaodo@gmial.com
** Abdul Waheed, Assistant Professor, Urban and Regional Planning Department, National Institute of Transportation, National University of
Engineering and Science, Islamabad, Pakistan
Email correspondence: drwaheed@nit.nust.edu.pk
*** Malik Naeem Asghar, Head of Department, Urban and Regional Planning Department, National Institute of Transportation, National University
of Engineering and Science, Islamabad, Pakistan
Email correspondence: asghar.naeem@nit.nust.edu.pk

16 Journal of Research in Architecture and Planning: Vol. 22, 2017 (First Issue)
along with main streaming requirements of climatic change development control, owing to various latent or obvious
adaption and disaster management (World Bank, 2014). reasons. In short, the development in cities is either
completely uncontrolled or project oriented, rather than
In the present era, urban sustainability is the desirable goal plan oriented. Consequently, local governments, instead of
for any planning agency. Various aspects of urban exploring their own avenues of revenue generation, lookup
sustainability have been pointed out by researchers (Grimm to provincial and federal governments for development
et al. 2008; Pickett et al. 2011; Liu et al. 2014; Wu 2014). funds, resulting in projects prioritized by the same (UN-
Sustainability of any city can only be ensured if its growth Habitat, 2015).
process follows a preconceived plan or at least a thinking
process that has been carefully and logically knit through Murree City was developed without any baseline
guidelines from international practices, adapted to match development plan. When the British took over Punjab in
local conditions, with generous contribution from stakeholders 1849 they started looking for some climatic relief spots for
(Huang, et. al., 2015). Absence of land use planning can their army and associated personnel. In this regard, they
result in conversion of rural land into residential commercial selected Murree as their preferred hill station in 1851 and
and other uses of land and can cause suburban sprawl (López procured hill tops from local Dhond Tribe. Murree was a
et. al., 2001; Thomlinson and Rivera, 2000). pastureland near the village known as Musiari at that time.
With logistic support available from a well-established
Modern progress in communication and transportation cantonment area of Pindi, it was much easier to develop
systems, growing population, and the practically nonexistence the hill station, which took its initial form in a very limited
of land-use planning regulation has steered the transformation time span. In 1851 Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner
of countless earlier agricultural lands to urban built-up areas of Rawalpindi established their offices at Murree. This set
and subsequently, suburban sprawl (López et. al., 2001; a new trend for tourists and businessmen that made their
Thomlinson and Rivera, 2000). investments in the area. In 1851 Murree Sanatorium
Committee was established. In 1853 British Army built
Pakistani cities have experienced large influx of rural barracks for its soldiers in Murree, which started formal
population and refugees, in various eras of development housing in the city. The famous Mall Road was developed
(Qadeer, 1997). This mass influx, along with natural increase, in 1860, with permission to build only on one side of the
has contributed to the undesired haphazard expansion of road, to preserve the skyline. This building regulation
urban areas. The most affected in this regard are the provincial prevailed for about hundred and thirty years. In a short span
capitals. Overall, about 40% of country’s population is of time cantonments were built at Kuldana, Gharial, Barian,
currently residing in urban areas (UN Habitat, 2015). Kalabagh and Upper and Lower Topa, In the meantime, a
number of English medium schools were constructed in the
Most cities of Pakistan, especially in the province of Punjab,
city including Lawrence College, Saint Dynes and Convent
have attempted to equip themselves with rules, and regulation
of Jesus and Marry. Entrance of the locals was restricted to
and human resources that can be considered as an effort
the Mall Road and this restriction prevailed till independence.
towards development control (Government of Punjab, 2013).
The summer capital was later shifted to Shimla, but
But the current situation of most of Pakistani cities today
developments made during British era paved the way for
indicates that these efforts have not resulted in much success.
a tourist hub that Murree is today.
Beside other reasons, the dilemma of our cities is that polices
and plans structured for urban areas are rarely implemented The land use expansion of Murree has been dictated by the
(UN-Habitat, 2015). The gap between implementation and land ownership pattern and propensity of commercialization
framing of policies and plans has multiple reasons that may to tap the tourism potential of the city. In this regard
vary from city to city and province to province (Qadeer significant role has been played by the provincial
1997). In some cases, polices and plans are expert driven commercialization policy that has safeguarded the interest
and not stakeholder driven, in some other cases the decision of investors, rather than the needs of the city (PLG, 2004).
makers are not aware of ground realities of a city. As a result Murree has become a city with almost no statutory
framework to guide development, with transportation,
Most Pakistani cities and towns have not had relevant
parking, hierarchy and balance of amenities, ribbon
capacity for development that can contribute towards
development, environmental concerns, local of institutional
implementation of policies (UN-Habitat, 2015). Some cities
capacity, local of disaster management capacity, economic
are equipped with most of the paraphernalia and prerequisites
issues as its major challenges.
of implementation, but they lack political will towards

Journal of Research in Architecture and Planning: Vol. 22, 2017 (First Issue) 17
This paper aims at appraising the land use regulation system questionnaire survey was done. A total of hundred respondents
of Murree city that has expanded in the absence of any were interviewed. Survey was administered face to face and
preconceived plan. The paper also reviews the success a random convenience sampling techniques was adopted.
Murree has achieved with the prevailing system, with respect
to the existing land use pattern and its implications for
RESULT AND DISCUSSION
stakeholders, especially tourists and local residents. Moreover,
this paper intends to answer two main questions; firstly it
With enhanced accessibility to Murree and non-existence
aims to identity the current pattern of the town’s existing
of any significant development in other tourist locations,
land use and secondly it aims to review the limitations and
Murree is experiencing immense tourist influx. This influx
challenges faced by its land use regulation system. Through
on one hand offers better economic opportunities to local
review of two Master Plans (Housing and Physical
populations associated with tourism, and on the other hand
Development Plan, 1988 and Master Plan to develop Murree
it is creating problems of administrative and municipal
as a pollution free town, 2013) that were prepared for Murree
nature for public authorities at Murree. Besides this seasonal
in the last twenty eight years, the paper highlights the need
pressure on city’s existing facilities and infrastructure, it is
for approval and notification of a Master Plan and at the
experiencing natural growth and its need for more tourist
same time suggests certain improvements prior to the Master
related buildings is increasing every year. This has resulted
Plan’s approval.
in conversion of more residential land into commercial land
and utilization of forest land into urban buildup area.
METHODOLOGY
Moreover, non-availability of natural gas supply to Murree
Review of Existing Situation for many decades and shortage of gas in winters, has resulted
in cutting of trees for heating and cooking purposes. All
The reviewing of land use regulation process in Murree these factors have contributed to environmental degradation
involved various steps in order to conclude certain in Murree and loss of its scenic beauty. Absence of efficient
observations regarding the process. As a first step to get and adequate public transport compel tourists to use private
insight of the existing situation of land uses in Murree and or hired vehicles which create huge problem of parking in
to identify policy gaps, issues and implications for future the main city of Murree, especially during peak tourism
growth, a review of demographic and socioeconomic trends, season. Murree has a hilly terrain which offers very limited
planning policies and urban growth strategy was carried plain pockets to build parking lots. Moreover, narrow roads
out. Besides this analytical review of land allocation for all and ever increasing congestion due to construction of new
land uses such as commercial, residential, open spaces, hotels and other commercial buildings in the central city
institutional was done. For this purpose, secondary data has further enhanced traffic and parking problems.
regarding land use maps, master plan, reports were collected
from City District Government Rawalpindi (CDGR), Another major problem that has developed for local residents
Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA), Tehsil Municipal of Murree over the last couple of decades is the massive
Administration Murree (TMAM), Housing and Physical increase in land prices in the central city, due to conversion
Planning Department Punjab (H and PPDP), Tourism of most of the land into commercial land uses. This has left
Development Corporation Punjab (TDCP), Forest no option for less privileged and rental residents, but to live
Department Murree and Water and Sanitation Authority in hinterland of Murree and commute daily.
(WASA).
Murree city’s land use plan was prepared under Master Plan
Department in 1988 which got notified at that time but
The primary data collection included structured interviews
remains not precisely intact after so many years. However,
and sample questionnaire surveys with various stakeholders
a land use plan was prepared under the project titled ‘Master
including CDGR, RDA, TMA, TDCP, Forest Department
Plan to Develop Murree a Pollution Free Town 2031’, which
and NESPAK. A total of twenty structured interviews were
has not been notified till date. Without guidance of an overall
conducted from aforementioned officials. A checklist was
plan, the city kept on expanding, without any development
used to draw information regarding various trends in
strategy or control. This not only contributed to haphazard
expansion (especially in disaster prone areas), development
urban sprawl, it also made the city to lose its balance related
control, parking, usage of road by various modes of transport,
to distribution of amenities. All facilities were concentrated
public transport, environmental degradation and change of
in the central city whereas the hinterland was deprived of
land use. Similarly to get public perception and priorities,

18 Journal of Research in Architecture and Planning: Vol. 22, 2017 (First Issue)
the same. In the absence of an efficient local public transport undesired pattern, without effective development control.
system the commuters faces difficulties to reach their desired Table 1 provides the land use distribution of Murree town
destinations of livelihood, education and social life. in the year 1988. If these look at these land use percentages
are compared with today’s standards, it seems that Murree
Owing to lack of planning and development control in town was a balanced town in terms of its land use distribution.
Murree, the population settling in disaster prone areas could
not be checked. Studies related to disaster risk assessment Murree at that time was a small town and the rural areas
were conducted from time to time, but none of the same were not considered as part of urban Murree and maybe
were made part of building byelaws and zoning regulations. there was not enough interaction between the two that
It is high time that some revolutionary steps are taken to needed planning of hinterland. The only crises situation in
prepare and notify an overall development plan for Murree Murree was the influx of tourist in the summer season that
and supplement it with various action plans. Moreover, it is left roads of Murree choked. Murree as a town itself was
essential that authorities should start looking at Murree as not a problem area. The plan was taken up for the plan
a city and tehsil headquarter, besides it being recognized as period of twenty five years in the future, but it failed to
a tourism hub. While emphasizing the need for notification anticipate the pace of growth of Murree city. The adopted
of Murree’s Master Plans, it is most appropriate to observe approach can be justified, as the transport projects taken up
the quality of these plans in the context of its relevance, at later stages and law and order situation that changed the
explicitly, actualization, coverage and understanding of status of other tourist destination (contributing to the tourist
urban and regional issues of the city and its environs. influx to Murree) could not have been anticipated earlier.
Review of Master Plan 1988-2013 The 1988-2013 Master plan of Murree did not provide
The first Master Plan for Murree was prepared in late eighties. any guidelines to check ribbon development or even to
At that time Murree had population of 21,801(projected by identify it as a threat towards planned development at later
Master Plan) and it was anticipated to grow to 42,776 by stages (Table 1). Consequently, Murree’s commercial areas
the end of plan period in year 2013. It was also reported that flourished along road sides gradually. With all sorts of
431,000 tourists visited Murree in 1987 out of which 68,000 shops along road sides and other facilities following their
opted to stay overnight or more. The tourist population was footsteps, the very concept of planned neighborhoods and
projected to be 1,437,663 annually in the year 2013.
Table-1: Land use Distribution of Murree Town in Year 1988
Source: Master Plan of Murree Town, 1988-2013
Most of the concentration of the population was in and
around main tourist resort area. The livelihood of residents S. No. Land Uses %ages
of urban Murree was dependent on tourism and rural areas Yr. 1988
were dependent on agriculture. Due to lesser economic
options the growth rate of Murree did not rise much and 1 Residential 26.88%
even in certain time period it reduced. The reason for this
was out migration of local residents to other urban areas of
Pakistan. 2 Parks and Play Grounds 19.04%

3 Institutions (Eduction and Health 17.16%

The Master Plan of Murree was focused on the developed
urban area, but it covered all aspects of urban life including 4 Public Building 13.38%
tourism. For some reason this Master Plan could not be
notified and also no review of the same was conducted. 5 Commercial 4.21%.
Therefore, the development of Murree happened in this
period without any restrictions or guidance of any Master 6 Graveyard 3.99%
Plan. The only document or tool that the development 7 Industrial 0.11%
agencies could refer to was building byelaws and zoning
regulations. This document too lost its validity and usefulness 8 Circulation 15.23%
with the passage of time, as it could not provide required
guidance to the developers, builders and planners, regarding Total 100%
many areas of development. This gap in the statutory Note: Reserved Forest Area and Cantonment area were
framework resulted in the expansion of Murree in an not included in this distribution.

Journal of Research in Architecture and Planning: Vol. 22, 2017 (First Issue) 19
sub-neighborhoods suggested through the Master Plan was took place and contributed to unplanned growth could not
totally defeated. The Plan did not refer to disaster risk have been anticipated, but the built in mechanism for review
assessment studies conducted earlier and failed to identify of the Master Plan after every five years could have made
hazardous areas in the existing or proposed studies. Moreover, it possible to mitigate the later year’s problems. In this
it did not make any effort to do the same in areas it identified regard, the importance of notification of this Master Plan
as potential growth areas. cannot be denied.

Review of the Master Plan for Murree 2013-2032

The Master Plan of Murree 1987-2013 was focused on the
urban area and did not put enough light on the reserved
The second Master Plan for Murree was prepared in year
forest areas of Murree. Thus, it did not provide sufficient
2013, after the previous Master Plan period had expired.
guidelines to conserve the natural habitat of Murree’s wildlife
The previous Master Plan was not notified and the
and its precious forest areas, that included very old coniferous
development for twenty five years went on without any
trees and some rare species of deodar trees. Similarly, Murree
formal plan. The new Master Plan prepared in year 2013
had some heritage sites from colonial times that interested
was expected to fill the gaps of the previous Master Plan
foreign tourists. The Master Plan did not propose any policies
and provide solutions for the very visible urban problems,
regarding safeguarding these. The Master Plan anticipated
created by the absence of a comprehensive plan for the city,
enormous increase in tourist population, but did not provide
with development potential. The Government of Punjab felt
any guidelines for efficient public transport services and
the need for a comprehensive plan for the city and entrusted
road efficiency. Moreover, it also failed to indicate the
Tourism Development Corporation of Punjab (TDCP) the
relationship of the location of traffic generating land uses
task to cover all the aspects of urban life in their Tourism
with transportation.
Master Plan launched at that time. With some variation in
Terms of Reference (TOR) of the assignment the task was
A noteworthy drawback was that the whole effort of the
initiated by the authority.
Master Plan was not backed by a comprehensive
implementation strategy. Following are some shortfalls in
The engaged consultants made a very good effort in the
the implementation strategy of the Master Plan:
preparation of the Master Plan while covering all the
a. The policies and proposals were vague in nature, failed characteristics of Murree urban area. Besides studying
to provide clear cut and effective projects. Projects proposed existing features of land uses, they also reviewed the old
were without phasing and had crude cost estimates; Master Plan for its existing potentials, policies and proposals.
This exercise provided a base to initiate the study. Besides
b. It was not clearly mentioned whether these projects the Master Plan (1988 – 2013) the new document reviewed
were to be taken up by public sector or by private sector or the various policies and strategies of national and provincial
by mutual partnership; level related to urban planning. The document analyzed
c. The implementation tools like guidelines for byelaws Murree City in the light of these reports and its application
and zoning regulations were not provided that may have in case of the city. Moreover, it analyzed the prevailing
delivered the required launching pad; intuitional setup in Murree and also commented on the
capacity of implementing agencies of the Master Plan.
d. The institutions responsible for execution of these
projects were not identified along with the guidelines of It also studied the past land use growth pattern of Murree
their capacity buildings; and analyzed the land use growth in the historical perspective.
In this regard, it was observed that there was urban sprawl
e. The public participation and empowerment of concerned in Murree, in the form of segregated pockets outside the
population strata was not given that could have provided main urban core. It was also pointed out that the topographical
sense of ownership among the masses and may have been limitations related to the availability of land compelled
the driving force behind approval and implementation of people to vertical expansion, despite unstable soil conditions
this master plan. and disaster prone areas in the vicinity. Furthermore, it
The master plan had various good and bad points, but the studied the daily commuting pattern of Murree city to provide
problems with the Master Plan would have been resolved, basis for detailed transportation analysis. The good thing
if it was subjected to review by various authorities, academia about this document was that it studied in detail the major
and intellectuals. At that time some of the development that aspects of land use with respect to sustainability. With

20 Journal of Research in Architecture and Planning: Vol. 22, 2017 (First Issue)
 Bank
Check Post
Church
Education
Filling Station
Health
Hotel
Junction
Park
Parking
Plant
Police Station
Public Building
Religious
Rest House
Resturant
Solid Waste
Sport

Journal of Research in Architecture and Planning: Vol. 22, 2017 (First Issue)
Transport
Primary Road
Secondary Road
Tertiary Road
<all other Values>
Cantt Area
Residential
Commercial
Hospitality
Education
Public Building
Graveyard
Health
Mixed
Park
Parking
Plant
Religious
Solid Waste
Transport
Water Body
Thick Fores
Open/Grazing Land
Built Up Area
Thin Vegetation
Figure-1: Land Use Classification Muree City
Source: Master Plan to Develop Murree a Pollution Free 2031, Existing Scenario Valume-I, Tourism Development Corporation, Punjab-June 2013

21
comprehensive reviews and analysis of various documents specific conditions. Functions like approval of housing
related to urban development the document proposed policies schemes and change of land use should be given to TMA,
related to various sectors. In this regard Sustainable land as they have better vision of their administrative jurisdiction.
use planning policies (SLP) were dealt with separately. Owing to the trend of commercialization in the central city,
Similarly, relevant policies were proposed on all aspects of most of the resident population has moved to the outskirts,
urban growth, in the respective sections. outside the municipal boundary. There is a need to revise
the municipal boundary, considering the physically coherent
In the area of disaster risk-resilient land use planning the development and future growth. There is also a need to take
range of safely located building were enhanced to all buildings up conservation of the forest and preservation of heritage
where public gathering took place, in addition to educational site in a planned manner. Moreover, the development in
and health buildings. Moreover, provisions of document disaster prone areas need to be checked with applying
recently prepared by UNDP regarding seismic micro-zonation international protocols for resettlement, if required. To ensure
of Murree were streamlined with the master plan provisions. implementation of plans and guide development in a proper
In this regard, peak ground acceleration (PGA) value maps manner there is a need for extensive institutional strengthening
for each area were prepared and the information was made among development agencies related to Murree.
part of building byelaws and zoning regulations. This criteria
was applied to existing buildings as well, by introducing At the analysis stage, to evaluate the sustainability of existing
retrofitting techniques. land use it was crucial to look at Murree from the resident’s
perspective, to facilitate the analysis process two main
In the second section of exploring growth opportunities/ aspects were given main consideration to evaluate efficient
corridors more care could have been practiced to discourage provision of amenities during local respondent’s survey.
the prevailing trend of ribbon development. The Master Plan The first one was the location criteria and the other was
proposes a density proposed to 252 persons per acre, which called allocation criteria of various amenities and facilities.
seems on higher side and may need to be revisited. Moreover,
provisions of middle and lower level amenities could have Table 2 depicts that average distance of metaled road from
been emphasized for neighborhood and sub-neighborhood most of the household is 0.59 km, whereas average distance
levels, besides commercial activities and parking. The of sub-neighborhood parks was reported to be about 4.99
precincts provision policy, recommended in the Master Plan, km and the demand for location of shopping areas was
could be healthy practice for urban uplift of Murree. However, preferred to be at 2.01 km. These statistics show that most
this policy framework needs to be reinforced by of the areas from which respondents belonged were not
comprehensive detailed planning and designing, with ample adequately served with respect to these facilities. The end
inclusion of all stakeholders, including prospective end users users of these facilities could not reach these facilities
and land owners. conveniently in the hilly terrain of Murree, even in fair
weather conditions.
Murree is a city that has expanded far beyond its urban
Table-2: Distance of daily use amenities from respondent’s household.
limits. The land use aspects in the master plan are focused Source: Field survey
on the urban core within crow flying of less than 2.5 km
from GPO Murree. This approach may not solve problems S. No. Various Amenities Average Distance
of Murree city. Its physical expansion, considering the socio- for HH (in km)
economic relationship of main core and hinterland, should
be studied carefully, to revise and acknowledge the actual 1 Metaled Road 0.6
boundary of the city. Furthermore with emphasis on the
main core the focus remains on tourism and with limited 2 Sub-Neighborhood Park 4.9
option of land, new avenues cannot be recommended.
3 Consumer and Demand
Goods Shopping Area 2.0
ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
4 Hospital 6.7
The Master plan of Murree prepared in year 2013 has not
been notified. Similarly, the model building byelaws, zoning 5 Play Ground 3.2.
regulations and subdivision regulations issued by the
Government of Punjab, need to be adapted to the city’s 6 Public Graveyard 4.5

22 Journal of Research in Architecture and Planning: Vol. 22, 2017 (First Issue)
The reason for this imbalance of facilities is the development stay overnight or more are mostly from distant areas. The
taking place randomly in small parcels of private land or tourist in Murree, irrespective of their duration of stay, looks
along the roads in the form of ribbon development, without at Murree’s land use from the perspective of parking
any development control or a pre conceived plan. Parks in availability, easy access to shopping and recreation areas,
Murree have been developed considering tourism aspect availability of places for recreation, greenery, road furniture,
rather than the needs of the local residents. sitting spaces, sufficiency of roads, availability of hotels
and restaurants, natural landscape and many other venues
Another important aspect of the survey was the results of to the satisfaction of their stake.
priorities of local residents regarding provision of various
amenities. Table 3 and Figure 2 show the priorities of survey Table 4 and Figure 3 depicts that the non-availability of
respondents. It can be observed that education is second tourist information center and parking are the main problems
priority of most of the residents, with first being health in Murree from tourist’s point of view. The second and third
facilities. The obvious reason is that the city lacks health priorities for the tourists are the provision of trauma centers
facilities especially in the public sector. People have to rush and filling stations.
towards Islamabad in case of major health problems. The
other priorities were clean drinking water, shops offering People seem satisfied with provision of hotels and
daily use goods and access road to their residences. The recreational facilities. As the tourists mostly visit Murree
demand for convenience shops owes to the fact that the on a personal or hired car, they ranked public transport at
concept of independent neighborhoods does not prevail in a lower priority. Other amenities and shops offering general
Murree and grocery shops are usually found on road sides use items were least important for the tourists.
or in central part of Murree. Surprisingly, the demand for
public transport and recreation facilities was one of the least
priority areas for local residents.

The visitors to Murree perceive the city from a different

point of view as compared to the local residents. Their needs
and expectations from the city’s land use are also different.
Therefore, it was essential to record the perception of the
tourists and the expectations from the city’s land use.

Murree is considered as a family tourist resort and is most

popular tourist destination for local tourists from all over
Pakistan. The day trippers are mostly from nearby areas like
Rawalpindi, Islamabad or Kashmir. People who choose to
Figure-2: Ranking of resident’s priorities for provision of amenities.
Table-3: Resident’s priorities for provision of amenities.

Priorities PS & Health Clean Shops Public Recreation Access

HS Water (Daily Use) Transport Road

First 13.0 57.4 12.8 2.5 0.0 0.0 12.3

Second 42.6 13.0 15.4 12.5 4.4 11.1 17.0

Third 11.1 13.0 30.8 22.5 13.3 3.7 25.5

Fourth 13.0 7.4 20.5 30.0 15.6 11.1 17.0

Fifth 11.1 9.2 15.5 17.5 17.8 14.8 10.6

Sixth 9.2 0.0 50. 12.5 13.3 33.4 6.5

Seventh 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.5 35.6 25.6 2.1

Total 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

Journal of Research in Architecture and Planning: Vol. 22, 2017 (First Issue) 23
Table-4: Ranking of tourist’s priorities for provision of amenities.

Priority Tourist Parking Trauma Filling Hotel Recreation Public Amenities General
List Info. Center Station Transport Shops
Centers

First 22.9 52.6 18.2 12.8 7.1 6.7 6.7 3.0 0.0

Second 12.5 10.5 36.4 30.6 14.3 6.6 13.3 3.0 8.7

Third 29.2 18.4 18.2 23.2 7.1 6.7 10.0 18.2 0.0

Fourth 12.5 5.4 20.4 12.7 25.1 23.3 13.3 6.1 0.0

Fifth 14.6 0.0 4.5 5.2 7.1 23.3 3.3 24.2 4.4

Sixth 8.3 7.9 2.3 5.1 14.3 16.8 6.7 9.1 0.0

Seventh 0.0 2.6 0.0 5.3 0.0 10.0 30.0 12.1 13.0

Eighth 0.0 0.0 0.0 5.1 3.6 6.6 13.4 21.2 21.7

Ninth 0.0 2.6 0.0 0.0 21.4 0.0 3.3 3.1 52.2

Total (%) 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

For over three decades, the growth of Murree has taken

place without any specific pattern or a pre-conceived planning
approach. In all the projects and service plans, Murree has
emerged merely as a tourist hub with weak depiction of
planning as a city or tehsil headquarter. This trait has badly
affected the overall land use pattern of Murree in multiple
dimensions, creating huge piles of incompatibilities and
culminating diverse complexities in the city’s operational
efficacies. Predominantly, these practices have originated Figure-3: Ranking of tourist’s priorities for provision of amenities.
as a result of clumsy approach, taking tourism as a major
source in the employment sector. Unfortunately, no heed and heritage preservation being practiced also lack element
has been paid to find new avenues for economic growth for of true spirit. Special training programmes are required to
Murree city. Today, Murree lacks basic amenities both in be inducted into the disaster risk management area to
qualitative as well as quantitative terms. In this regard, what safeguard precious lives and properties.
it lacks most is the balance of distribution in neighborhood
The approval and notification of the Master Plan need to be
and sub-neighborhood level facilities. Moreover, due to
expedited. In this regard, extensive institutional strengthening
centralization of amenities, parking is becoming a major
is required to enable the development agencies to understand
problem for the tourist influx and for the local residents as
the working mechanisms and to ensure proper implementation
well. Emphatically, the creeping vitality of Murree seeks
of master plans. The standardized format for classification
the building byelaws and zoning regulations to be tailored
and reclassification of land uses issued by the Government
as per local conditions in the overall planning process.
of Punjab needs to be reviewed and upgraded to the level
With regards to environmental concerns, studies pertaining of sustainable land use planning, by incorporating the aspects
to disaster assessment were conducted especially in the areas related to environmental sustainability, socio-economic uplift
of landslides and seismology, but the same were never and disaster resilience. To strengthen development agencies,
streamlined with the ongoing development activities. finance mechanisms also need to be revisited and new
Similarly, conservation of habitat of wild life/forest areas avenues for revenue generation need to be explored, with

24 Journal of Research in Architecture and Planning: Vol. 22, 2017 (First Issue)
the TMA being the main beneficiary and service provider be established to achieve a balanced distribution of amenities
at grass-root level. for all areas of Murree city and its environs, with the national
and international standards of the cities attracting tourists
Murree deserves to be acknowledged primarily as an across the world. Moreover, conservation of habitat/forest
administrative head for a sizeable resident population. The areas and preservation of heritage buildings need to be
city faces multifarious problems which are interrelated and accorded top priority, and in this regard a comprehensive
interdependent in nature owing to the diversity of city’s plan needs to be prepared for implementation in phases, so
characteristic. In this regard, hierarchy of land uses should that the routine activities are not seized to a standstill position.

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