Urban Population Growth in Pakistan 1961-1972

The growth of cities is a subject of increasing concern among social scientists and government planners in Pakistan as elsewhere in the developing world. Redistribution of the population from predominantly rural to increasingly urban pattern of residence has far-reaching implications for the demographic, socio-economic, and political character of the nation. Indeed, the process of urbanization as it applies in the Third World nations is generating considerable debate among scholars, for there are important policy implications and divergent views regarding the consequences of urban growth. Advocates of urbanization, who see it as the key which unlocks economic development and modernization [6], are being challenged by others who view cities as neo-coloniaiistic structures which drain their regional hinterlands of scarce resources [5] and provide a Western life-style for only the elite minority [13]. Meanwhile, government planners and policy makers have embarked upon programmes designed to foster urban growth and in some cases create new urban centres. The Agrovilles Scheme is such a programme under way in Pakistan [12].