The trend of allocating space for large, landscaped parks within gated communities is gaining traction in Pakistan. This is primarily because their presence boosts property value by four to six percent and demand by 15 to 25%.
If you live in a gated community, or are a planner who is thinking about establishing a park in a gated community, keep the following in mind.
1. Plot sizes usually range between one to 10 acres; as a general rule, their size should be at least 15 to 20% of the total area of the gated community.
2. Tree that should be plantedd in parks may include coconut, ate palms, guava, gulmohar, mango, neem, peepal and tamarind (imli) mainly because they provide the most shade. Flowering plants may include cosmos, coriopsis, gailardia, gerbera, gazania, osteospernum and stachys, they are gorgeous to look at and require less water than other species.
3. Standard facilities include a play area for children, benches and walking/jogging tracks. Other features that are increasingly being used include gazebos, fountains, ponds and skating rinks.
4. Residents can usually rent these spaces for private functions (such as birthday parties and weddings) for anywhere between Rs 8,000 and 35,000 per night. This cost usually includes rent, electricity and watered supply, as well as cleaning and maintenance services. Several gated communities rent out the premises to non-residents at a higher rate.
5. During Eid-ul-Azha, residents usually use the parks as shelter for their sacrificial animals and are not charged for this service; large parks grounds usually serve as Eid Gahs.
6 Areas where gated communities with large parks/grounds are located include:
* Faisalabad: Millat Road and Sargodha Road
*Hyderabad: Bypass Road and Nasim Nagar Road.
*Islamabad: GT Road and PWD Road * Karachi: Clifton, Gulshan-e-iqbal, Malir Cantt, Sakhi Hasan and Super Highway
* Lahore: Bedien Road, Central Bank Road, Ghazi Road and Walton Road
* Multan: Multan Public School Road and Sher Shah Road.
By Uzma Nawaz. Information provided by Karachi Associates.