Pakistani & Indian Streets Could Look Like This…

Added: 2026-05-12

[00:00:00]Karachi is one of the most chaotic cities I've ever walked through.

[00:00:04]But hidden inside this madness is a street designed to show what Pakistan's cities could look like with proper urban planning.

[00:00:12]And apparently something incredible happens the moment you enter.

[00:00:16]So let's see if it lives up to the hype.

[00:00:17]I've read a lot about it online.

[00:00:21]It's called the Denso Hall Walking Street.

[00:00:26]You'll know we're there because you know the cars will stop, the motorcycles will stop, and there's a few special things about it.

[00:00:35]I'll tell you about it as we get there.

[00:00:37]It's really hot out here.

[00:00:39]It's like 30 degrees.

[00:00:55]Denso Hall Walking Street.

[00:01:20]Okay, let's let's keep going.

[00:01:22]Okay.

[00:01:22]Here's the entrance to the street where the motorcycles end.

[00:01:27]A bit of parking out here.

[00:01:28]And so out there, it's like 28 degrees.

[00:01:34]But as soon as I'm getting closer to this walking street, the temperatures drop literally ten degrees.

[00:01:42]I'm not kidding you.

[00:01:43]And the weird thing is, you can physically feel the difference immediately.

[00:01:49]And it's just a lot more peaceful already.

[00:01:52]I'll tell you why the temperatures dropped.

[00:01:55]So it's because of the ground.

[00:01:56]Have a look at the ground here.

[00:01:59]See this?

[00:02:00]This is terracotta.

[00:02:01]It's not asphalt.

[00:02:03]It's not pavement stones like out there.

[00:02:05]It's terracotta.

[00:02:07]And so these tiles, they soak in the water and they release the water as well.

[00:02:13]Works like a natural AC.

[00:02:28]Thank you.

[00:02:29]He saw the camera and thought the BBC had finally arrived.

[00:02:33]But honestly… he’s got a point.

[00:02:34]So if anyone’s watching, please fix these potholes.

[00:02:37]And even got, like, a sign here which says what they're doing.

[00:02:40]So yeah, water is absorbed and it goes into this garden here.

[00:02:46]So they got less of a flooding issue because these terracotta tiles, they let the water go down into the ground basically.

[00:02:54]And yeah, they've also built trees in here.

[00:02:55]So that's why the temperature would have dropped.

[00:02:57]There's a whole garden in the middle of this terracotta walking street.

[00:03:01]Incredible, man.

[00:03:02]Hang on a sec.

[00:03:03]Is that Gujarati up there?

[00:03:05]Long before modern borders existed.

[00:03:08]Traders from western India, especially Gujaratis, built communities across port cities like Karachi.

[00:03:14]And even today, traces of that history still survive above old homes and shopfronts.

[00:03:19]And I found this across Sindh and you will see it when I get out of Karachi.

[00:03:23]And I go into Interior Sind as well.

[00:03:25]This is what we need all across Karachi.

[00:03:29]And so apparently these terracotta tiles, they were built by women who used the beg here.

[00:03:36]They gave those women jobs to build the tiles, all the tiles for this street, and it's quite long so they wouldn't need a lot.

[00:03:42]But the deeper we walked, the more I realized this wasn't just a tourist street.

[00:03:47]I think the power’s gone off.

[00:03:49]That's why you can hear like a generator over here.

[00:03:56]People are selling all sorts of stuff, man.

[00:03:57]There's like tools, locks.

[00:04:04]Markets all the way down these gullies.

[00:04:09]There's a toy store.

[00:04:11]This is like, oh, people are having having food out here as well.

[00:04:15]So I think they're eating chicken korma.

[00:04:17]Yeah.

[00:04:18]It’s definitely chicken korma and bread.

[00:04:21]This is the bread making station.

[00:04:23]They’re putting the naan (bread) into the tandoor there and they'll pull it out and serve it.

[00:04:26]So yeah just an outdoor dining area here.

[00:04:29]And everybody's enjoying, enjoying lunch.

[00:04:32]Basically a food court in the middle of the trees.

[00:04:40]What are they selling?

[00:04:42]Hi.

[00:04:43]Oh, so they're having like chickpeas and bread.

[00:04:46]Looks good. Looks nice.

[00:04:49]Because there are no vehicles here.

[00:04:51]People actually sit outside, eat together and spend time here.

[00:04:53]There's no dust.

[00:04:55]There's no fumes.

[00:04:57]It's lovely.

[00:04:58]Like just tons of gullies.

[00:04:59]Look at this cat.

[00:05:01]Look at this Look at this cat down here.

[00:05:04]This cat is just.

[00:05:05]Just hanging out.

[00:05:12]This guy is bargaining for... These are fake Skechers.

[00:05:17]Skechers shoes.

[00:05:20]Ok.

[00:05:22]So... of fake Skechers here.

[00:05:28]Pretty good.

[00:05:31]And you can buy clothes.

[00:05:35]Yeah.

[00:05:35]Here's the generator.

[00:05:36]I was talking about making all the noise.

[00:05:40]The power goes off quite a lot here in Karachi.

[00:05:43]It's actually a joy to walk down.

[00:05:45]I wish all of Karachi was like this.

[00:05:47]It should be, na?

[00:05:49]They've got an entire clothing market in the centre here.

[00:05:53]And if you look up, you will see some very old buildings.

[00:05:58]Very old buildings.

[00:06:00]Let's see how much further this goes.

[00:06:03]I think they're trying to build this walking street throughout the city.

[00:06:06]They're trying to continue it.

[00:06:07]But I'm sure nothing is easy here.

[00:06:13]Yeah, it ends here.

[00:06:15]You see, the whole street is bloody blocked here.

[00:06:19]This is a normal market.

[00:06:23]It’s all blocked, man.

[00:06:24]Look at that down there.

[00:06:25]Crazy.

[00:06:27]And then kind of back to the madness, you know?

[00:06:29]Of cars and bikes everywhere.

[00:06:33]Rickshaws trying to get through people.

[00:06:35]See, this is the difference, na?

[00:06:38]this is what normal old Pakistan is like.

[00:06:40]Just a bit of a mess.

[00:06:41]Let me know in the comments.

[00:06:43]Should they build these walking streets throughout Pakistan?