Leveraging Social Capital for Urban Environmental Governance: A Case Study of Lahore’s Smog Crisis

Abstract

This study examines how bonding, bridging, and linking social capital shape community engagement with urban air quality governance in Lahore, Pakistan. Employing a convergent parallel mixed-methods design, the research triangulates survey findings with insights from semi-structured interviews. Bonding social capital facilitates local coping and mutual aid but remains confined to symptomatic relief rather than structural change. Bridging capital is weak, constrained by socio-spatial segregation, the dissolution of elected local governments, and the absence of cross-community deliberative platforms. Linking capital is the most critically deficient dimension, characterised by low institutional trust, data manipulation by authorities, and minimal participatory channels, yet survey evidence reveals substantial latent civic willingness to engage when accessible mechanisms exist. The study argues that social capital cannot substitute for formal governance but is an indispensable component of inclusive, participatory environmental policy. Durable air quality improvement requires institutional architectures that actively cultivate trust, cross-class collaboration, and citizen co-production.