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Karachi Is Now The Largest City in the World

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Interesting post. But Riaz, dont you think what you are invariably supporting is exodus of not only people but also creation of imbalance
between Agriculture and Manufacturing?

Not necessarily. In US and some other industrialized nations, a very small percentage of population works on farms, and yet, they produce bumper crops that can feed the world.

Take the example of California. It is a high-tech, highly urbanized state that exports food to the rest of the world, particularly its fruits, veggies and nuts. Some people even joke about California being a bowl of "fruits and nuts" .
 
Here are some figures for Karachi population I got from the editors of citymayors.com:

YEAR Urban Population
1856 56,875
1872 56,753
1881 73,560
1891 105,199
1901 136,297
1911 186,771
1921 244,162
1931 300,799
1941 435,887
1951 1,068,459
1961 1,912,598
1972 3,426,310
1981 5,208,132
1998 9,269,265
2006 13,969,284
2007 14,500,000

Since Karachi population has been growing at about 4-6% a year lately, the 18 million figure for Karachi population in 2009 makes sense.

My math is a bit rusty, but even 6% per annum from 2007 fig of 14.5 million takes you to 16.3 in 2009.. What am i missing here??
 
My math is a bit rusty, but even 6% per annum from 2007 fig of 14.5 million takes you to 16.3 in 2009.. What am i missing here??
and by 2010?

For Karachi its not just simple rise in population.

The city limits were increased to incorporate surrounding areas into city proper.
 
It is a simple question of LARGEST city. Who the hell is talking about economics?

The THREAD STARTER is talking about economics by mentioning :-

In another survey, Mercer has ranked Karachi as the fourth cheapest city for expatriates.

I had already quoted the paragraph for you . If Riaz wants to show Karachi in a better light by bringing in Cost of Living then I just repeated the same by highlighting with a valid source that Mumbai and Delhi generate more wealth ( Higher GDP ) .:argh:
 
jeez!!! karachi is a big city ...what difference does it makes if it becomes the biggest city in the world???Congratulations to Karachians..and guys get over it...
 
It would have been better if the author would have also mentioned the fact that Karachi is home to world's largest slum - Orangi Town.

Karachi’s Orangi beats Slumdog Millionaire’s Dharavi in Mumbai as Asia’s largest slum - Telegraph

The report you refer to was compiled by Mumbai's Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation with assistance from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). It claims that while Dharavi, the setting for the Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire movie, has 57,000 families living in overcrowded huts with poor sanitation, Orangi on the outskirts of Karachi is home to more than a million people living in poverty. This report was sponsored and paid for by Mumbai municipality.

The fact is that Orangi is nothing like Dharavi in terms of the quality of its housing or the services available to its residents. This report appears to be nothing but a shameful attempt by Mumbai's municipality to hide its own inadequacies by diverting the attention of the world to the biggest city of India's neighbor and arch rival Pakistan. What is even more disturbing is how the UNDP has become a party to this misleading claim. This preposterous claim is also an insult to the memory of Dr. Akhtar Hamid Khan who organized Orangi Pilot Project (OPP) and tirelessly worked with the residents on self-help model to improve their lives.

Orangi is not really a slum today. But it started life as a 'kutchi abadi' or squatter settlement for the large influx of refugees in Karachi from East Pakistan (often mistakenly called Biharis) after the fall of Dhaka in early 1970s. It consists of an area larger than 25 square miles (versus 0.67 sq miles in Dharavi) with a population of over a million (versus over 700,000 residents of Dharavi). Most of Orangi's population increase in the last three decades has come from the growing rural to urban migration, particularly of ethnic Pushtoons from the North West Frontier Province (NWFP). Shanties have now grown into single or two level cement houses over the years and a large number of schools have been operating successfully, sending the poorest children into the best educational institutions of the city. A significant population of educated middle class has grown in Orangi. There are a number of small businesses and a cottage industry, started by budding entrepreneurs and funded by microfinance efforts in the area. The city of Karachi has built roads to provide improved access to residents.

A hospital was built in the community in the 1990s. While Dharavi has only one toilet per 1440 residents and most of its residents use Mahim Creek, a local river, for urination and defecation, Orangi has an elaborate sanitation system built by its citizens. Under Orangi Pilot Project's guidance, between 1981 and 1993 Orangi residents installed sewers serving 72,070 of 94,122 houses. To achieve this, community members spent more than US$2 million of their own money, and OPP invested about US$150,000 in research and extension of new technologies. Orangi pilot project has been admired widely for its work with urban poor.

Haq's Musings: Orangi is not Dharavi!
 
It would have been better if the author would have also mentioned the fact that Karachi is home to world's largest slum - Orangi Town.

Karachi’s Orangi beats Slumdog Millionaire’s Dharavi in Mumbai as Asia’s largest slum - Telegraph

BTW, the BMC's malicious effort hasn't helped it draw attention away from Dharavi, as seen by the latest "Slumming It" produced by Britain's channel 4, which has angered Indian government.

Here's a British report of India complaining about "poverty ****":

Diplomatic officials are preparing to lodge a complaint with Ofcom, the media watchdog, about the content of McCloud's Channel 4 series, Slumming It.

In the two-part documentary, the Grand Designs host visited Mumbai's squalid Dharavi slum. It showed children living amongst open sewers, dead rats and toxic waste, and residents scavenging on the city's rubbish dump.

Sources say the Indian High Commission in London granted a filming permit in the belief that McCloud was making a programme highlighting Mumbai's architectural history, and officials were horrified to see the end result.

"We thought it would be about the architecture of Mumbai but it was only about slums, nothing else. He was showing dirty sewage and dead rats, children playing amongst rubbish and people living in these small rooms. He never talked about architecture at all.

"This was poverty **** made to get ratings, and we are upset," the source said.

"Many people know India but for people who don't travel, they will think all of India is like this. Of course it will affect our tourism. It is not representative at all.

"We are not saying, 'Don't show Dharavi', but the show was not balanced. There is so much more to Mumbai and so much more to India."

The original synopsis submitted by the programme-makers said: "Kevin McCloud's passions are buildings and people and he will explore the architecture of Mumbai... Maharashtrian, British, Gothic and post-modern."

The source said: "When the production company applied, they said the name of the documentary was going to be Grand Designs. They said it was part of a 'celebration of all things India' and that he would look at different kinds of architecture. He didn't do any of this.

"Only occasionally did he mention the community spirit and the low crime rate and the fact that rubbish is recycled there.

"People forget that this nation is 60 years old. We are a young nation and it's not easy to bring 300 million people out of poverty just like that."

Slumming It was part of Channel 4's ongoing Indian Winter season. Of the five programmes shown so far, four have been set in the Mumbai slums, including a 'Slumdog' version of The Secret Millionaire.

The source accused Channel 4 of "cashing in on the success of Slumdog Millionaire", the Oscar-winning film which kicked off the season.

McCloud has praised the community spirit in Dharavi, claiming that the British government could use it as a model for "social sustainability". The Prince of Wales has hailed Dharavi as a model for urban planning.

In a joint statement, Channel 4 and the production company, talkbackThames, said: "We have not received a complaint from the India High Commission. The programme explores if city planners and architects can learn from the way Asia’s biggest slum has evolved and developed high levels of sustainability. Kevin McCloud follows everyday life in Dharavi and the film is a balanced and insightful account of his experience there.

"While it raises issues such as acute levels of poverty and the lack of sanitation, the programme also highlights many positive aspects of life in Dharavi such as the real sense of community as well as low levels of crime and unemployment. We believe that the film raises some important points around the issues of poverty, sustainability and city planning and is clearly in the public interest.”


India accuses Kevin McCloud of making 'poverty ****' in Mumbai slum programme - Telegraph
 
The report you refer to was compiled by Mumbai's Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation with assistance from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). It claims that while Dharavi, the setting for the Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire movie, has 57,000 families living in overcrowded huts with poor sanitation, Orangi on the outskirts of Karachi is home to more than a million people living in poverty. This report was sponsored and paid for by Mumbai municipality.

:lol:

How many reports has the BMC sponsored Mr. Riaz?

Did BMC sponsor "Planet of the Slums" (ISBN: 1844670228) by Mike Davis too?

Read it and you'll know which city has a bigger slum population.
 
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