Pakistan is a low-middle-income country of 188 million people that ranks low in human development, with rural-urban disparities in poverty, income and development infrastructure. Rural poverty is widespread but more pronounced in arid and semi-arid zones. The country’s urban economy contributes 78% to the national gross domestic product (GDP) although it is home to one third of the total population (World Bank (WB), 2014; Hussain, 2014). With an urbanisation rate of 3% per annum (Kugelman, 2014), many Pakistani cities have informally grown into large agglomerations with about 35% to 50% of urban population reportedly living in informal settlements (WB, 2014; Kugelman, 2014). Government projections suggest that by 2030 more than half of Pakistan’s population will be residing in urban areas (GoP, 2014). Such estimates do not take into account the effects of climate change – on urbanisation, rural-urban migration, and population growth.