Imtiaz Alvi, The Informal Sector In Urban Economy: Low Income Housing In Lahore, OUP, Karachi, 1997.pps 323. Price Rs. (Pakistani) 535/-. Cities play an increasingly important role in the economic standing of nations. Urban areas, with their anonymity and fast pace, can be nonconducive to societal cooperation. Social capital and trust are more difficult to develop and sustain in large groups. In many cases, interactions between parties are not repeated and therefore there is no incentive to develop reciprocal relations. In urban settings, people tend to cluster together in small communities and networks of support, but trust and goodwill for those outside immediate groups is minimal. High levels of intra-group social capital and very little inter-group social capital (referred to as "bridging social capital") may have profound effects on inequality, private sector development, government and public welfare.