Introduction

It is natural to crave leisure activities and recreational places to spend time in solitude to release the environmental stress of an overwhelming schedule and recharge for fresh back to work (Hasan, Hilal, & Neslihan, 2011). Individuals require leisure to gather positive energy to perform better at their routine places. Well-being improvement is associated with wide-ranging terms and activities, including happiness, positive effects and satisfaction in life (Yang, 2021).

Unfortunately, the ratio of unsatisfied and mentally distressed population is increasing in society day by day (Gerstenberg, Baumeister, Schraml, & Plieninger, 2020). They extensively require access to recreational areas, where these people can get some refreshing vibes and recover some happiness and hope in their lives (Lyu & Lu, 2019). To avail positive effects on emotional, intellectual, social, and physical landscape, people need to spend more time in recreational areas (Zheng et al., 2019). This is more prominent in urban metropolises where a lack of open spaces and intense traffic conditions make lives distressful (Wajchman-Świtalska, Zajadacz, & Lubarska, 2021).

The urban forest comprises of variants of trees like ‘pyrus’ and ‘palantus’ trees in a fully workable urban area (Ismail et al., 2018). These trees can be clusters or individuals placed in a linear fashion inclusive of individual street trees and clusters of park trees (Lamhamedi, Lizin, Witters, Malina, & Baguare, 2021). The slum areas consist of pseudo-urban forests that extend to the outer areas of the metropolis. This includes the periphery of the north, west and east portion of Karachi.

Urban forests not only provide individual benefits but also contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) (Campbell-Arvai & Lindquist, 2021). More specifically, it leads to reduced poverty, aids zero hunger objectives, promotes health and well-being as well as clean water and sanitation. Moreover, the SDGs linked to forest deregulation, are related to Affordable and Clean Energy as well as the SDG denoting Industry, Infrastructure, and Innovation. Urban forests are linked directly and indirectly to the implementation of SDGs (Kopeva, Ivanova, & Zaitseva, 2018; Maruna, Crnčević, & Milojević, 2019)

The urban forest implementation and recreational facilities design faces acute challenges to be addressed for feasibility and adoptability (Jim, Den, Bosch, & Chen, 2018). The four main challenges are divided into four main sections: treatment of river water; urban forest; impact of recreational areas; and importance of green places.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Karachi, the city of lights, is the largest metropolitan city in Pakistan. As per last census, the population is over 21 million (Sahoutara, 2023). Not only in terms of area and population but also in terms of strong employment ratio, fastest-growing business potential, fastest life of citizens, and extremely affordable housing schemes. As declared by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), economically, Karachi is one of the most affordable cities in the world (Hayder, 2018).

Based on the above, it is extremely considerable and need of time to construct and enhance recreational areas in urban places (Shah & Irandu, 2022) especially, in Karachi. If the design is implemented rigorously, these recreational areas could be transformed into environmental hubs, where residents of Karachi can revitalize themselves, eventually finding peace and positive energetic vibes for personal satisfaction.

Malir river originates in the northest part in the outskirts, nearly 40 km north of the Karachi city as per Government of Sindh. It cuts through the city dumping the seasonal load to the Arabian Sea. The construction of dam on the river was designed to prevent over flow. However, most recently the Malir River has been highlighted in the news due to various factors.

As per Asian Development Bank (ADB) recent survey document on supporting public-private partnership investment projects in Sindh Province, Malir Expressway project, risk mitigation for excess noise through the plantation to reduce the impact of noise levels, is recommended in this project as the most cost-effective and efficient option (ADB, 2022) . Malir Expressway which is around 40km 6 lane expressway hugging the Malir River basin from Qayyumabad in South, terminating near the Bahria Town interchange in the north. The construction has received mixed responses

The urban forest adding to the green places comprises of variants of trees like pyrus and palantus trees in a fully workable urban area. These trees can be clusters or individuals placed in a linear fashion inclusive of individual street trees and clusters of park trees. The slum areas consist of pseudo-urban forests that extend to the outer areas of metropolis. This includes the periphery of north, west and east portion of Karachi. The concept of artificial lake has been explored previously (Picos-Corrales et al., 2020) and the urban wetland is highlighted in a case study in China as detailed in Yang (2021).

The demand of green spaces like urban forests has increased and possesses vital importance because of the rising population and adverse health effects. The citizens are aware that an increase in population density negatively impacts environmental conditions (Arofah, Permana, & Mardiana, 2019). People of Karachi have become very detached from the natural environment and have been restricted to living amongst steel and concrete structures  (Baumeister, Gerstenberg, Plieninger, & Schraml, 2020).

Objective of the Study

The study aim consists of two folds i.e. proposal of up to 5 km long urban forest spanning on both sides of treated Malir River with multiple recreational activities, and study the behaviour and reaction of people about green recreational areas.

Proposal of Urban Forest

Less than a decade ago, a new infrastructure project was announced by the Sindh Government “Malir Expressway” beginning from KPT Interchange (Qayyum Abad) to M9 Motorway, near DHA City. This proposed 39 KM Expressway is going to be the longest road planned to be constructed in the Urban Area of Karachi. This paper focuses on proposing an urban forest for the longest planned road and highlighting environmental impact based on a quantitative analysis. The first objective is described well in section 6, Proposed System Model. The second objective is completely based the data which has been generated and gathered with the help of questionnaire.

Overview of Malir Expressway

With the help of available state-of-the-art studies and research articles, the feasibility of proposed model is depicted (Bradley & Bare, 2019). In the route of Malir Expressway, a 5 Kilometers long “Artificial or Treated Lake” is proposed. The lake is supposed to be surrounded by the urban forests along with its length, on both sides. The proposed features consist of a 2 KM long fishing area and 3 KM long boating and other water sports area as shown in the picture (proposed cross-section).

Proposed System Model

The proposed system is to implemented in the Malir River bed in the lower tributary close to the fallout near the Shahrah-e-Faisal regioni where a river flows with treated water. This has enabled the river to be surrounded by dense and lush green urban forests and has some designated space for jogging and cycling along with fishing, boating, and other water sport Amenities.

This proposal relates to enhancing Malir River and its impact on the environmental factors associated with Malir Expressway. This coud be inhouse or a private public partnership. Construction of this recreational green area can provide multiple benefits (Cetin, Sevik, Canturk, & Cakir, 2018) . An urban forest can improve the quality of air and water, pollutants as well as carbon are eliminated from the air (Lukito, 2018). The recreational benefits that urban forests and green places can deliver are closely associated with their positive impact on the mental and physical health of the residents (Bertram & Larondelle, 2017). Moreover, it can provide healthy leisure time activities, people can develop fishing skills, can ride a bicycle or can jog along a beautiful track. Furthermore, food and relax (Jang-Hwan et al., 2020).

Methodology

An nstrumental questionnaire survey was sent to the participants during March 2021 to inquire about people’s reactions to the recreational area as mentioned, expectations, and future requirements. The questionnaire was prepared using Google Forms (Raju & Harinarayana, 2016). This questionnaire consisted of three attributes

Possibilities and Threats of Implementation

The possibilities of implementation of such proposed system in a large urban area depends legal requirements and available funds (Gundersen, Köhler, & Myrvold, 2019). The availability and possibility of funds depend upon the tax amount collection. The tax is directly proportional to income of the citizens. So, to confirm the feasibility and possibility of such valuable and worthy proposed system model a small data have been fetched from the collected data and shown in the form of Income graph in Figure 3 and Tax graph in Figure 4 .

Income Assessment for the Feasibility of Proposed System

Figure 3 shows the percentage of income of participants where the income is monthly gross as reported by the participants in the survey. The distribution reflects the amount for dwellers that are randomly chosen and the selection is based on random sampling. Here the Figure 3 reveals that participants with income between 25K till 85K constitute between 45 % of the respondents. Similarly, nearly a fifth of the respondents have not detailed any income source or amount.

Tax Assessment for the Feasibility of Proposed System

In order to implement such beneficial proposed systems, the citizens of Karachi have been asked about willing to pay more taxes in survey. The idea has been reflected through such studies (Sohn, Kim, Kim, & Li, 2020). So, it is an important finding and collected by reported responses. Out of 102 people, 61.8% people are willing to pay more taxes to build these places, as shown in Figure 4 the total percentages of respondents agreed and strongly agreed to pay more taxes as defined by the last three bars.

Willingness to Pay entrance Fees to Assess for the Feasibility of Proposed System

Out of 107 people, 57% want to pay a visit once a week, 29% want to pay a visit once a month, and 14% want to pay a visit after months. The following data shows how much people can pay to enter this place.

Preferences of Green Places for Assessment of the Feasibility of Proposed System

Out of 106, 94.3% of people consider the green recreational area as being an important part of their everyday life. While 76.6% of people consider living in such a place and 91 from 105 would like to see more green areas in Karachi. The identical study has been oobserved in the work of Andrea, Tampakis, Karanikola, Galatsidas, and Giannakopoulos (2020).

Uses of Recreational Area to Assess the Feasibility of Proposed System

Ninety one out of 105 people says that they will use this place to relax, 77% of people would like to use these places for recreation (Hautamäki & Donner, 2021). This is confirmed by Figure 7 which states that 7.9% of respondents are neutral when asked to check whether they would be willing to spend leisure time in green places; 19.8% agree whereas 72.3% strongly agree to spend leisure time in green places with friends and family. This sums up to 91% (Sun, Xiang, Tao, Tong, & Che, 2019), 84% of people want to have such a fishing place, and 91% of people prefer water sports/boating area in Karachi.

Result Analysis

A total of 112 responses were received in which 96.4% of people were educated and 4.6% were uneducated; 66.1% owns a vehicle while 33.9% travels via public transport; 47% works full time, 14% does not work or housewives; and 32% are students and 7% works part-time.

94.1% of people love this idea and want such a green place where they can enjoy multiple activities with their family and friends (Lee et al., 2021). This consists of people who have responded with agreement (8.8%) and strong agreement (85.3%) for likeability of the idea of Malir River Bed Forestation Drive.

CONCLUSION

This is the first known attempt on proposing a framework for implementing an urban forest spanning on both sides of the treated Malir River with facilities of multiple recreational activities in Karachi. This proposal will not only help fulfill the need of such recreational area but also to balance the negative environmental impact of Malir Expressway. To support this idea, a quantitative survey was conducted to check people’s response. It was found that people are willing to pay more taxes for the construction of healthier green spaces besides willing to pay the required entrance fees. People come to know the importance of quality of life in post pandemic, so they really need more green recreational areas in Karachi. As predicted, the population of Karachi will grow along the M9 Motorway so this proposal can help to assess EIA report of Malir Expressway and other future projects. We propose the consideration of this project and recommend further ventures along arterial water flow channels within the urban areas of Sindh to SEPA and other authorities. To develop this project in future, a detailed on-site survey, cost estimation, and feasibility report should be carried out.

This research proposed model is a first known attempt on preserving forest and water habitat along the major artery connecting north to south of the largest city of Pakistan. The survey findings show that people are willing to pay up to Rs100 for a weekly visit with fishing and boating provisions. The same is proposed to Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) and further work for a detailed technical management assessment based on the above guidelines is expected as a result of this publication. The study further suggests promoting water sports, exercising in green environment as well as potential advantage of locations for solar station and fish farm for sustainable development.

IMPLICATIONS

Future work can extend the concept of urban forest and add features like the fish diversity aquarium, and use disruptive technologies as a means to implement social positivity as well as cost as designs adapt to changing economic, technological and human resources management topics.

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors have declared no conflict of interest.