SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF LAND VALUES IN KARACHI CITY

Urban land values constitute an important aspect of study in urban geography where the emphasis is laid primarily on spatial analysis. Urban land values are note uniformly distributed in cities. The city centre records highest land values in almost all cities of the world. The land values decrease is not uniform. It takes many curvilinear shapes. In large cities there are mini-poles of land values like regional retail centres, business thoroughfares etc. Usually decrease in the land values from these mini-poles also acquire patterns which differ from city to city. Land values are affected by different factor like location of plot, amenities, taxes, environmental conditions and inter-related factors.The present study analyses the land value distribution within Karachi City us the largest city of Pakistan. Its land use is complex. Therefore a complex pattern of land values has developed. The study examines the following aspect of land values 1. An overall distribution of land values within the city. The city centre records the highest land value. The land values decrease with distance from the city centre. It has been investigated in this study whether decrease in land value from the city cnetre to the periphery is linear or not. If not, whether it has developed a pattern2. The city centre is not a point. It covers an appreciable area. Land values differ from one part of the city centre to the other>3. Distributional pattern of land values within the city centre has been analysed4. Retail trading areas develop in different parts of the city. More complex the city more complex its retail trade. Next to the city centre the retail areas fetch high land values. However the land values differ from one retail area to another. It has been investigated whether the land values of retail areas have developed any pattern5. Residential land values differ from one area to another in accordance with their location in relation to city centre, retail centers, industrial areas, highways and roads, plot size and many other factors. An attempt has been made to analyse the residential land values6. Industries constitute an important land use of Karachi. Their land values differ from one industrial area to another and also within the industrial areas. Both these aspects of land values have been analysed in this study