Climate change, urban flooding and the politics of elite-led urban expansion in Islamabad: A political ecology study of state power, land use, and flood vulnerability

Abstract

This study examines the ways elite-led urban expansion in Islamabad has disrupted natural drainage channels and heightened flood vulnerability. The study uses a qualitative political ecology case study that is based on policy and planning document review, historical maps and satellite images. Interviews and focus groups discussions were conducted with planners, engineers, officials, and residents in both urban centers and low-income neighborhoods. The study revealed that major roads, gated housing schemes, and commercial mega-projects designed and promoted by elites have encroached on and canalized natural drainage channels, changing the direction of floodwaters toward poorer, informally planned neighborhoods while planning rules and environmental safeguards are selectively acted upon to favor elite interests and present floods as natural or management failures. This study argues that effective mitigation requires not only engineering and management improvements but also legal protection and partial restoration of important drainage channels, strict implementation of hydrological criteria into development approvals, stronger accountability transparency and for elite-led projects, and inclusive planning that focuses at-risk communities.