The city of Karachi is a mix of many characters and actors making the urban fabric of any city an interesting mixture of culture, complexities, contradictions, opportunities and challenges. But the pressure and unnoticed stress of unsuitable situation causes disorders. Do we really understand the reason for disorder in our society? The increasing level of chaos around us is due to the lack of intolerance. Aggressive people rebellion to give escape to their anger, usually by destroying innocent lives and public property…

We all had hard times when we have seen the people of our country with anger and aggression, but did we know that we were harming ourselves? Probably not. Expressing aggression is a natural part of our emotions, but its how we choose to express it that counts. Problems arise when a person suppresses or expresses their aggression inappropriately. People may become physically ill or 'violent'. Ignorance is also an extreme attitude that prevails in these situations. We don’t bother to react on many of the problems or issues at times. These attitudes are seems complacent in nature, satisfied with what we are doing but not aware of consequences at long-run. Are these attitudes so strong that that it takes over the ability to think? To be able to find a solution for this, we must investigate the roots of these behaviors.

“We strive to gratify our wants, desires, goals, aims, and ambitions. Introspection and self-knowledge of these aims further highlights this realization. The inability to satisfy desires or accomplish goals may lead to frustration in one form or the other”.

“Sometimes our ambitions exceed our abilities, or we misperceive the possibilities. But sometimes an external barrier that precludes gratification blocks us. This may be a blockage preventing us from reaching an appointment, a college rule prohibiting us from taking a particular course, an amorous neighborhood cat interrupting our sleep, or our race restricting professional advancement. Whatever the barrier is, we are frustrated.”

These continuous frustrations develop s

tress then lead us to get out of all these situations that are necessary for a human to get their mind free from this stress and divert mind and think in a different perspective.

The question is how spaces react with all these frustrations and how they can play role in reducing the stress developed.

From years there are congregational spaces used as entertainment to cater these type of frustrations of the society. As in every religion there is a central congregational space that is used to gather people of common mind-set to share ideas and perceptions to divert their minds from all the tiredness of life cycle.

Like mosques in Islam are used to gather people living around. Discuss ideas share views, add knowledge bring awareness, share happiness and sorrows. These all factors were the way to keep people away from getting stressed from daily frustrations.

conventional concept of getting knowledge and awareness to open-up mind was to stay-in-touch with a person "Guru" that have been realized the truth of universal laws, observed world, built perceptions that are helpful for living, generated concepts through their own experiences. Those "Guru" teach the mankind, given them knowledge and awareness

.

this concept became common and conventional since time has changed everything. now people by them-self experiences and build observation, develop concepts and get knowledge and education from their surroundings. the children of today are teach in playgrounds rather in class rooms, where they learn, observe, built -up their selves, discuss and share.

Every person new-a-days have enough experiences and observations that they all have "Guru" in their own self as well. The need now is to bring them together so that they would share knowledge with each other generate new perceptions and develop new ideas.

Today congregational spaces are transformed into Restaurant, Malls, Play grounds, Concerts, Exhibition etc

These congregational spaces act as buffers between fixed circle and fast track of lives. These spaces become stress releaser for people that are getting frustrated.

WHY CONGREGATIONAL SPACES ARE IMPORTANT:

These spaces are needed more than previously; since we are getting much more frustrated day by day that generated our complacent attitude more strongly.

Our living style today is more compact than previous days. We don't have breathing spaces in our homes. we are living in vertical houses mostly (majority middle and low income groups) and facing many difficulties to get our selves relaxed. These spaces make us get-out of homes and spread over streets. dhabas, chai wala, thallay wala, paper seller etc are most common sitting places of people now.

These commonly sitting places are most attractive for people now-a-days because they are providing some interesting benefits to them. For example; people of same interest combine together at these places, share ideas, develop interest, gives freedom of speech; which lacks mostly in routine life. This benefits the perspectives and perceptions of life of the people sitting there.

With shared interests. Observations and knowledge the old concept of congregation revives. People get facilitated from the benefits of gathering and sharing. They release stress by speaking, they share their thought, relate them selves from precedence, and get a chance to view themselves from a distance, so that they could criticize on their own thoughts and actions.

THE EXISTING CONGREGATIONAL SPACES IN KARACHI:

Through overall observation and study about the city, the most commonly seen congregational spaces are of 3 types. Public Spaces, Neighborhood Spaces, Squares.

Public spaces in the city are those who are recognized by every class of people and people use them or even if not know them they talk about them.

The study of Bin-Qasim Park at Old Clifton gives facts that the park is purely a public space where people from every class come and have picnic in the park. the park spread-over a huge area that caters all Karachities.

the public park doesn't have any class-specification and doesn't have any ownership scene for the visitors coming in. people come visits, have picnic and leaves the place.

Same is the case with Expo-Center Karachi.

Here exhibitions are held and people of same interest congregate together. But there is a class-specification factor involve. Specific type of people comes in specific type of exhibitions. Adding knowledge and awareness adds-up through exposure to the world.here usually people come to meet people of their field so that they could make contacts that benefit their profession/ interest.

The second and third type of congregation observes is neighborhood spaces and squares. In Karachi city neighborhood parks and informal spaces; squares, are most common. These spaces act as buffers in the areas that are already in cycle of daily routines. Neighborhood parks are easily accessible and people visit them more often than public spaces.

Although city of Karachi is not, as a whole of it, planned but many of its areas are designed and planned. Like

Noth- Nazimabad area is planned in radial, emerging from a point and spreading outwards. Every chunk is an individual radial having residences, parks, square, roads accordingly and is connected with the spread of another radial chunk.

The fats analyzed from the area are that the people of the area are not aware of the planning strategies. They do not own the parks but generated squares at road side. The road connecting Five-Star Square is the most popular street now-a-days as Food Street. People come and sit at the place but the parks are not used as they are meant to design.

But yes... now streets are play-grounds and cafes too. With all the rush, garbage, panic the hustle and bustle of life is running through.

Azizabad and Hussainabad areas are also well-planned. Grid plan have proper neighborhood parks running throughout the area. The essence of the spaces looked in plan of the area doesn't work for the people living there. The parks are well planned for the residences nearby but not in use as they meant to be.

People lining in neighborhood doesn't use the park as much as they have formed squares. Only a few parks from all these belts are in-use and families come and visits. The major drawback of these circumstances seen is the visual break between the parks. If you are crossing the street you can't notice that there are parks at both sides of the street, because of the over-eye-level high walls.

The existing scenario damages the essence of the planning and probably a reason for the ignorance of these well- planned parks.

The third area came across observation is because of its vertical planning. Gulistan-e-Johar is one of the new areas developed in Karachi. It’s been developed within almost 20 years and still expanding. The area is planned over strategies of vertical residences and parks at the ground. In the current scenario the parks are planned between residential apartments but due to vertically and height of the buildings, the parks are hidden. People living in the area from many years haven’t even noticed many of these parks.

Although the planned spaces are not working for the area but the street culture is fully active. People living in the neighborhood use the street as verandas. Activity throughout the day and till late at nights remains and people living in the area with their families and friends are out of their houses for shopping, playing, eating-out and sitting.

Now the question arises:

Are these spaces as congregations helping the areas and the people living in or are they damaging?

Till what extent are these congregations helping the problems they suppose to cater?

Pro's and Con's of these spaces are need to be identified for further study and analysis.