Cities are places where innovation, invention, technological and knowledge spillovers occur. However, they are also places where unemployment, crime, pollution, and exploitation of human resources occur. One major problem of cities of today is the low density leapfrog development pattern that leads to high service provision costs and harms the welfare of society negatively. This study aims to address the issue for Pakistan. Due to data limitations two universities are selected for analysis purpose. On the basis of observational analysis QAU is labeled as leapfrog whereas COMSATS is categorized as Compact Development. We hypothesize that low density development leads to higher service provision and social costs and compact development can lead to cost savings. The empirical exercise consisted of a randomized survey. It was found that indicators for social costs significantly differ between the two universities. The ordinal probit model was employed on survey results. Connectivity was found to be significantly related to walkability. The comparative analysis for service provision cost showed striking cost differential, as QAU spends a lot more than COMSATS to provide basic facilities. The results prove the baseline hypothesis. It is suggested that. QAU should use elements of smart growth like infill development. Both universities should work to raise social interaction among students. The real benefits of smart growth lie with the cities, and each city should apply smart growth to achieve cost savings and higher social capital. Supervisor:- Dr Zahid Asghar