Presentation on Dhaka City :

Challenges for Resilient, Inclusive and Sustainable City

Dr. Atiq Rahman, Ferdous Jahan, PhD & Dwijen Mallick

Workshop on
Building Resilient, Inclusive & Sustainable Cities

Organized by: University of Leicester

Venue: Council Suite Rooms # 1&2
Date: 8-9 November 2018

BANGLADESH CENTRE FOR ADVANCED STUDIES

House 10, Road 16A, Gulshan 1, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh
Phone: 8818214-7, 9851234, 9852904; Fax: 9851417
Website: www.bcas.net
Dhaka City: Rural-Urban Continuum
Dhaka City: Rural-Urban Continuum
Dhaka a Growing Megacity South Asia
 Dhaka a Growing Megacity South Asia
• Bangladesh is experiencing rapid
urbanization
• Urban population growth of 7% annually
• Both pull & push factors including
poverty, environmental degradation,
river ban erosion and climate change
• Dhaka is characterized with
unplanned development, inadequate
urban infrastructures and facilities,
traffic congestion, low standard of
living, environmental degradation,
poor governance, lack of interagency
coordination and growing climate
change impacts on city population,
economy and society
 Dhaka a Growing Megacity South Asia
• Dhaka is the capital city of
Bangladesh
• A megacity in the South Asia having
immense economic, political and cultural
importance
• The area of Dhaka has been inhabited since the first
millennium and the city rose to prominence in the
17th century as a provincial capital and commercial
centre of Mughal empire in the Indian sub-continent
• Under the British Empire, the city saw the
introduction of electricity, railway, modern
water supply and western-style education
• Dhaka is the home of over 15 million people
within 306 sq km.
• The population density is very high
• Dhaka will be the home of 25 million by the year
2025
 The Key Challenges in Dhaka City
• Rapid growth of population due to huge
in-migration (0.5-0.7 million annually)
• Urban poverty & slum development
• Traffic congestion and road accidents
• Air and water pollution
• Lack of spaces and greenery
• Acute housing problems
• Lack of energy and power supply
• Inadequate health services, poor water
and sanitation facilities
• Lack of institutional integration
• Poor governance
• Growing disaster risks, &
• Climate change Impacts
• A consultation on Road Map
for Implementation of UN
Urban Agenda for 2030 has
identified the following issues
and challenges:
• Institutional Integration
& Urban governance
• Pro-poor and climate
resilience housing
• Accessibility to basic
services & transport; and
• Disaster risk reduction
• Climate change
Adaptation&
Mitigation
 Growing Urban Poverty in Dhaka City
• Wealth and Economic Transition
• Contradictions: Wealthy people and extreme poverty
• Growing pollution & environmental degradation
Urban Slums
Urban Traffic Congestion
Poor Urban Infrastructure and
Communication
Urban Flood & Water Logging
Urban Flood & Human Sufferings
Living in Inhuman Conditions
 Urban Air Pollution
• Air and water pollution severely
impact health of all, particularly
children

• Bronchial diseases and Asthma one

of the greatest killers

• The cost of human health impacted

and time and fuel wasted by cars
stationery in traffic is huge; is it
worth paying for by our present
development model

• Emerging diseases (e.g., dengue,

chikungunya, diarrheal diseases)
have been contributed by climate
change and urban mismanagement

• Sound pollution is still dominant

despite some efforts
 Impacts of the Key Challenges:
Studies & Data Sources
• All the key problems and challenges have serious negative
impacts on
• Society, economy, human settlement, environment and natural
systems of Dhaka city
• Few studies have been conducted recently by BCAS,
academies and research institutions, UN agencies, INGOs
and government departments
• A recent survey conducted by WFP (2015) says that main
reasons of the rapid growth urban population is rural to urban
migration. Thousands of people from disaster prone districts
and climate hotspots like coastal districts, riverine chars
(island), drought prone upland and haor basins migrate to
Dhaka city every year
 Impacts of the Key Challenges:
Studies & Data Sources
• Other pioneering studies on Dhaka city include:
• Rabbani and Rahman, 2011; Yahya et al., 2010; Mowla and Islam,
2013;; Alam and Rabbani, 2007, which focused on City population,
infrastructures, society and economy in general, but on urban poor in
Dhaka city and their working potentials, habitats, health and living
conditions as well as on climatic hazards and their associated impacts
in Dhaka city
• The studies by World Bank, 2007; Hossain, 2008; UNICEF, 2010;
Ahmed, 2013) have focussed on human settlements and access to
basic services; and
• Hossain et al. (2013) have mentioned two major problems with water
supply in Dhaka slums; & the poor quality of the water supplied for
the city dwellers
• There has been lack of study on climate change impacts and
vulnerability of the communities and development sectors like
garments industries, trade & business, SMEs and the growing
service sectors
 Impacts of the Key Challenges: Data Sources
Quantifiable impact
on
Population, poverty and
urban slum improvement;
inclusive social development
and economic growth
Environmental Pollution,
degradation, health,
housing, traffic and basic
amenities; Institutional
integration & governance
Climate Change, Disasters,
adaptation, mitigation, DRR
and Resilience
Level of uncertainty (low,
Data sources medium, high)
Bangladesh Bureau of Statistic (BBS), Population Low to Medium
Council, Department of Population Sciences at the
University of Dhaka; Urban Development
Directorate (UDD); RAJUK, Planning Commission,
GED, CUS, BCAS; BIDS, Coalition on Urban Poor
MoEF&CC, DoE, DPHE, LGED, NLGI, HDRI, National Medium
Housing Authority, BCAS, NSU, BUET, University of
Dhaka, NIPSOM,
BCAS, BRAC University, MoEF & CC, DoE, DDM, Medium to High
BMD, BBS, ICCCAD
 Impacts of the Key Challenges:
What are the Gaps?
• Nature and trends of the problems behind the
challenges
• Deeper understanding of the impacts of climate change
and consequences on society, economy and ecosystems
& ESS
• Opportunities and options in the SDGs regimes
• Integration of CCA & DRR under the Sendai and Paris
Agreements
• Policy & sectoral responses: technology and innovation
for WASH, energy efficiency and resilient housing etc.
• Institutional integration, participation and governance
• Community actions and institutional measures
 Relevant Policies & SDGs
• Government of Bangladesh has
developed strategies and action
plan in line with SDG-11 to make
the cities and human settlement
inclusive, safe and resilient
• The key goals and targets are:
• By 2030, ensure access for all to
adequate, safe and affordable
housing and basic services and
upgrade slums
• By 2030, provide access to safe,
affordable, accessible and
sustainable transport systems for all,
improving road safety, notably by
expanding public transport
• By 2030, significantly reduce
the number of deaths and the
number of people affected
and substantially decrease &
the direct economic losses
relative to global gross
domestic product caused by
disasters, including water-
related disasters, with a focus
on protecting the poor and
people in vulnerable
situations
• By 2030, enhance inclusive
and sustainable urbanization
and capacity for participatory,
integrated and sustainable
human settlement planning
and management for all
Top Collaborating Partners in Dhaka City
• Government Ministries & Departments (MoEF&CC, DoE,
DDM, BMD, Forest Department)
• RAJUK and Urban Development Directorate
• Planning Commission & GED
• Bangladesh Bureau of Statistic (BBS)
• Centre for Urban Studies (CUS) at the University of Dhaka
• NILG & City Corporation
• Bangladesh Paribesh Andolon (BAPA)
• Bangladesh Urban Forum (BUF)
• Bangladesh Climate Change and Development Forum
• ICCCAD at the IUB
• C3ER at the University of BRAC
Specific Areas for Research, Innovation and Advocacy
• Affordable, pro-poor and climate resilient housing & habitats
• Improvement of traffic systems
• Sustainable water supply, sanitation and energy
• Human health and well being
• Greenery and city space
• Climate change adaptation & DRR
• Social and cultural heritage
• How to expand the urban services to the rural areas in a
planned and environment friendly way
• Equity, inculcation & justice; and
• Responsible citizenship
 Key Research Questions
• Resilience:
• Inclusive and safe water, sanitation and health risk
management
• Heat Stress and Health Risk Management of the Poor, Women,
Children and Elderly People
• Improve resilience to Small and Medium Enterprise & Growing
Service Sector (which provide 60% employment in Dhaka City)
• Synergy among the Sendai Framework and Paris Agreement
(NDCs) with focus on energy, industry, transports and service
sector in Dhaka for
• Adaptation and DRR
• Mitigation and pollution control
• Resources and energy efficiency with 3Rs
 Key Research Questions
• Inclusiveness:
• Inclusion of Poor, women, professionals and marginal groups in
adaptation planning and implementation
• Inclusion of Community Based Organization and local/social
leaders in city planning and implementation: creating space for
all to contribute
• Multi-stakeholder engagement in implementation of New UN
Urban Agenda for 2030
• Sustainability:
• How to increase ownership, participation and partnership of all
actors and stakeholders
• Improving governance, integration and responsive institutions
• Exploring the interface of the economic, social and
environmental imperatives in the resilient cities
In 2015, the world has seen a grand convergence
of three global agreements
• Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction (and
climate change adaptation)

• SDGs: Agenda for 2015-2030

• The World We Want
• Universal Push to Transform Our World
• Leaving No One Behind

• Paris Agreement 2015 November

• 196 countries universal agreement
• Came into force at unprecedented speed in CoP 23 Marrakesh
 What do we want in Bangladesh?

• An Urbanized Bangladesh (planned and resilient

cities with thriving population, vibrant economy &
culture in sound environment)

• An Urban Areas and Centres with Rural

Endowments

• A Rural Bangladesh with all Urban Facilities

• There is no Single Bangladesh Solution &

• Let Thousand Flowers Bloom
Thank You