As far as city planning goes, Dhaka city may have received the shortest end of the stick.
Bangladesh’s rapid urbanisation has accelerated the country’s social and economic progress, making it one of the world’s fastest-growing economies. But delays in adopting a national urban policy are limiting the rate and scope of these important gains.
If you commute regularly along the Azimpur Road, perhaps you have noticed the ongoing construction of multi-storeyed apartment buildings for government officials by the Public Works Department (PWD)
Dhaka is shocked once again by the terrible news of an inferno engulfing the famous Chawkbazar. Although 10000 miles away, I am affected by it nonetheless.
A city is not mere buildings, streets and spaces; it is a theatre of social actions. And it is in that theatre, according to the American urbanist Lewis Mumford, that “man's more purposive activities…work out, through conflicting cooperative
Dhaka's traffic system is one of the most chaotic in the world. Due to the city's notorious traffic congestion, people suffer economically, physically and even psychologically.
Despite the usual gloomy narratives, there are opportunities to transform Dhaka into a modern but ecologically attuned metropolis. The transformation can be carried out with our own resources, and our own imagination.
The share of Bangladesh's urban population reached 35 percent in 2018 with a total urban population of about 58 million, which is expected to reach 80 million by 2030.
The dictionary meaning of “growth” is “getting bigger”, in size or volume, whereas “development” is improvement in the quality of a system. It can be an individual, a community, or a nation.
Today, at least one in four people in Bangladesh lives in urban areas. And in 30 years, at least half of the country's population will be living in cities.
Dhaka is a paradox. The more we build assuming we are “developing,” the more we dig ourselves into an urban mess: Transportation is a chaos. Travelling is a nightmare. Khals vanish, and roads turn to khals. Public space is non-existent. Housing is in disarray.
