Today we think of cities as state or provincial capitals, although the modern state did not come into existence until the 19th century. Kingdoms and empires had fluid boundaries, centred around walled cities such as Baghdad, Cordoba, Jerusalem, Constantinople, Venice and London. Political scientists speculate that, once again, cities will take precedence over states.

The World Congress of United Cities and Local Governments, where mayors meet every three years, was established in Barcelona in 2004. It has over 240,000 members in over 140 states and advocates democratic self-government of cities of the world. More than half the world’s population lives in cities and is expected to rise to 80 percent by 2080.

As Benjamin R. Barber writes in his book, If Mayors Ruled the World, city management has to focus on the necessities of everyday life, such as “collecting garbage and collecting art rather than collecting votes or collecting allies. Putting up buildings and running buses, rather than putting up flags and running political parties.”

Cities often have more in common with other cities of the world than with the rest of their own country. The management of all cities is focused on water, transport, waste management, crime management, trade and business, public spaces, housing, education, leisure and cultural activities. Cities are closely connected to the needs of citizens, unlike the more abstract concerns of the state.

Cities, especially megacities of five million or more, bring together people of diverse backgrounds into an interesting combination of camaraderie and anonymity. Cities are powerhouses of enterprise, creativity and progressive ideas. Cities offer freedom from tradition, family and gender. Anyone can reinvent themselves in a city.

On the dark side, the city can be a place of loss. Crime can slip through its dense population. Cities often pay the price for protests and violence aimed at the state, and generate inequality and environmental pollution. A strong mayor is key to the smooth functioning of a city.

Leoluca Orlando, mayor of Palermo in Sicily for four terms, successfully freed his city from the clutches of the Sicilian mafia, the Cosa Nostra. A city that sounds ominously like Karachi, racked with hundreds of mafia killings and kidnappings, corruption and fear, with a crumbling heritage, Palermo became a vibrant cultural city once again.

The cornerstone of Orlando’s policy was to yoke together law enforcement and culture. He engaged a committed team and involved private citizens. He re-opened the opera house after 23 years, planted trees, improved schools, street lighting, regulated markets, restored heritage buildings, created pedestrian spaces, art museums, cafes, essentially “taking back the city after dark.” This revitalised entrepreneurs and businesses.

If, like me, you live in Karachi, the third largest city of the world, you will be bewildered by how it functions without a mayor, torn between 13 different authorities working independently and often in conflict. Yet, it somehow generates 69 percent of the revenue of the country and collects around 3,000 billion rupees in taxes, of which a mere 1.7 percent returns to the city. The city self-governs from the street. It is indebted to Napa and the All Pakistan Music Conference for the only remaining public cultural events.

Karachi, like Johnathan Swift’s character, Gulliver, is tied down by the small people, the Lilliputians, who are “able to take advantage of Gulliver’s exhaustion and overpower him while he sleeps on the beach after his long, troubled journey. They tie him down with strong ropes to make sure that, when he eventually wakes up, he can’t move.” Treated like a horse rearing to bolt, Karachi’s need for self-governance goes unheeded.

A megacity is an independent entity, regulated by its own dynamics. Ideally, as Ibn Khaldun said, “The more numerous and the more abundant the population in a city, the more luxurious the life of its inhabitants.”

Durriya Kazi is a Karachi-based artist. She may be reached at durriyakazi1918@gmail.com

Published in Dawn, EOS, October 31st, 2021