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Urban infrastructure finance and its relationship to land markets, land development, and sustainability: a case study of the city of Islamabad, Pakistan

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Abstract

This study addresses the connection between financialization of real-estate, individual investment objectives, and urban sustainability. It uses a survey approach to explore the relationship between the financialization of urban development and its influence on urban sustainability in a develo** country. We found that the respondents prefer to invest in real-estate to achieve a return on investment, rather than to build a house to live in. This behavior increases urban sprawl resulting in a slower occupancy growth rate and causes a delay in the provision of basic amenities, hence affecting urban sustainability. We conclude that it is necessary to create a balance between urban land development requirements for housing needs, investment requirements for revenue generation, and individual savings requirements. The study contributes to the literature on financialization by adding the view of individual private investors to the research that mainly addresses institutional investors.

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Fig. 1

Source: Capital development authority (CDA 2016)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Environment, School of Environment, Enterprise and Development (SEED), University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON, N2L 3G1, Canada

    Muhammad Adil Rauf & Olaf Weber

Authors
  1. Muhammad Adil Rauf
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  2. Olaf Weber
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MAR contributed to conceptualization, methodology, formal analysis and investigation, original draft preparation; OW contributed to review, editing and supervision.

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Correspondence to Muhammad Adil Rauf.

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Appendix: Survey questionnaire

Appendix: Survey questionnaire

  1. 1.

    Do you own a house in Pakistan? (You or your spouse)

    • Yes

    • No

  2. 2.

    What is your current purpose/intention for real estate investment? (Choose one)

    • to buy a plot to construct a house in the future

    • to buy a plot for a profit

    • to buy a plot/house for children

    • to keep money safe for the future and avoid currency devaluation

  3. 3.

    Of any plot you purchase (or purchased), how long it will take (or took) to sell/construct/possessed the plot? (longest total period in one case)

    • 1–2 years

    • 3–5 years

    • 6–10 years

    • 11 + years

    • Not Applicable

  4. 4.

    What form of a house do you prefer? (Choose one)

    • Independent houses

    • Apartments in low rise

    • Apartments in high rise

  5. 5.

    How do you prefer to finance the construction of your house? (Choose as many as applies)

    • Self-saving

    • Crowd financing (Committee etc.)

    • Loan support from family & friends

    • Bank finance/mortgage

  6. 6.

    What is the best sector for the purpose of investment and saving? (Choose one best answer)

    • Real Estate

    • Bank saving deposit/saving certificates etc.

    • Stock market/Forex market

    • Business or Business Partnership

    7 to 12—How will you choose locality for your own living purposes? (Rate your preference)

  7. 7.

    Provision of infrastructure

    • Low

    • Medium

    • High

  8. 8.

    Distance from city center

    • Low

    • Medium

    • High

  9. 9.

    Distance from school

    • Low

    • Medium

    • High

  10. 10.

    Distance from workplace

    • Low

    • Medium

    • High

  11. 11.

    Land/house price

    • Low

    • Medium

    • High

  12. 12.

    Natural setting/landscape

    • Low

    • Medium

    • High

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Rauf, M.A., Weber, O. Urban infrastructure finance and its relationship to land markets, land development, and sustainability: a case study of the city of Islamabad, Pakistan. Environ Dev Sustain 23, 5016–5034 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-020-00802-1

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