DEV615 Urban Development

DEV615: Urban Development

 DEV615 Urban Development

Course ID: DEV 615

Course Title: Urban Development
Semester: Summer 2021
Huraera Jabeen
Course Prerequisite: None
Course Credits: 3 Email: ext.huraera.jabeen@bracu.ac.bd
Class Hours: 3 hours/week
Tuesday 18:30-21:30

Introduction
 DEV615 Urban Development

Who you are and what is your interest in this course?

Introduction
 DEV615 Urban Development

Development
noun (GROWTH)
The process in which someone or something grows or changes and becomes more
advanced
Cambridge Dictionary

Development
noun
de·vel·op·ment | \ di-ˈve-ləp-mənt , dē- \
Definition of Development
1: the act, process, or result of developing the development of new ideas
an interesting development in the case
2: the state of being developed
a project in development
3: a tract of land that has been made available or usable
a developed tract of land especially : one with houses built on it
Merriam-Webster

Introduction
 DEV615 Urban Development

What do you understand by development?

Introduction
 DEV615 Urban Development

What do you understand by urban development?

Introduction
 DEV615 Urban Development

change, livelihoods,
consumption, Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),
economic development, participation,
economic growth, peace,
education, positive change,
entitlements, poverty reduction,
equality, process of change,
equity, production,
freedom, progress, Terms and phrases
gender equity, reducing vulnerability,
goals, responsibilities,
good governance, self-determination,
Gross Domestic Product (GDP), social development,
health, social inclusion,
human development, sustainability,
human rights, targets,
Income, wealth
justice
Introduction
 DEV615 Urban Development

§ The course DEV 615: Urban Development aims to

enhance knowledge and understanding of key urban development issues,
especially in the Global South.

§ In the coming future, for the first time in human history more people will be living in urban
than rural areas globally as well as in the Global South. Cities and urban centres will be
considered as the engines of growth for countries while they will also face growing income
inequality and socio-economic exclusion, environmental challenges and rising violence. Lack
of institutions for sustainable urban development and management will pose additional
challenges.

§ The course intends to generate

debates and ideas about innovative, inclusive and
resilient urban development approaches.

§ The discussions will use the context of Bangladesh to compare with best practices of the
Global South.
Introduction
 DEV615 Urban Development

After completion of the course, the student will demonstrate:

§ In-depth knowledge of the trends of urbanisation, demographic and socio-

economic changes that have transformed cities of the Global South;
§ Critical understanding of the differences between the urban and rural fabric and
services from a development perspective;
§ Ability to identify several contemporary processes of urban development that
demonstrate critical awareness of the inequalities that urban areas (re-)produce, conceal, or
exacerbate;
§ Ability to examine issues, policies, programs of competing models of urban
managements and articulate thoughtful arguments both for and against those; and
§ Skills to critically analyse and develop arguments as well as communicate effectively in
writing and orally on course topics to an audience consisting of peers and practitioners.

Learning Outcome
 DEV615 Urban Development

COURSE CONTENT
Theme Topics
Drivers of urbanization 1. Urbanization in the Global South: Trends and Global development goals
2. Rural-urban linkage: Demographic changes, migration, livelihood, and urban
sprawl
Urban fabric and 1. Built environment development in urban areas: Land, buildings and
services infrastructure
2. Urban services: Energy, Water and Waste management, Transport and Public
health
Diversity and 1. Informality and poverty
Integration 2. Urban Resilience through Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk
Reduction
Urban Management 1. Political economy, Local government and Governance
2. City competitiveness: Economy, Technology, Environment and Culture
People at the centre 1. Participatory urban development approaches

Progression of the course

 DEV615 Urban Development

complex, contested,
ambiguous, and
elusive

Introduction
 DEV615 Urban Development

§ development can be defined as

bringing about social change
that allows people to achieve
their human potential.

§ development is a process
rather than an outcome

§ involves a positive change from

one state or condition to
another

who has the power to do what to whom

Development - A political term

 DEV615 Urban Development

§ Instead of common focus on income and

wealth, or on mental satisfaction or
processes Sen (1999) suggests a focus on
capabilities – substantive human
freedoms.
§ Freedom that encompasses both process
and opportunities,
§ And the recognition of the heterogeneity

constitutive of
development and
instrumental freedoms

Development as Freedom
 DEV615 Urban Development

§ development is not simply about the interactions between human groups;

it also involves the natural environment.

§ development is about the conversion of natural resources into cultural

resources.

§ the conversion has taken place throughout the history of human societies,
although the process has generally increased in pace and complexity with
time.

Inputs Sectors Outputs

Economy
Raw materials Product and services
Urban
Energy Waste
Education

Development transforms the environment

 DEV615 Urban Development

§ Economic development
Economic development is the
development of economic wealth of
countries or regions for the well-
being of their inhabitants.

§ Social development
change in the nature, the social
institutions, the social behavior or
the social relations of a society,
community of people, or other
social structures.

Sectors of Development
 DEV615 Urban Development

Urban:
People, behaviours, processes, services, buildings, infrastructure, culture and
lifestyles that are associated with cities, urban spaces or other environments that
embrace the urban in some sense. It also encompasses concepts and behaviours
traditionally associated with nonurban areas (rural areas).

Urbanisation:
The processes by which the population of urban areas grows.

Urban development:
the process of developing populated settlements, sometimes referred to as 're-development’.

Some concepts
 DEV615 Urban Development

Urban development encompasses

§ built environment
§ infrastructure
§ natural environment
§ disaster preparedness
§ economics
§ governance
§ human rights
§ education
§ healthcare

Sectors of Development (cont.)

 DEV615 Urban Development

§ Global South (‘less developed’ regions according to UN) have around 2.7 billion inhabitants.

§ Since about 2015, more than 75% of the world’s urban population lives in the global South.

§ It is projected that by 2025, the urban population of the global South will be 3.75 billion
(54.3% of the total population of the global South)

§ Large decrese in the proportion of the world’s urban popultaion in high-income countries and
regionally in Europe where as urban popultaion in the global South tripled.

§ Of the world’s 33 megacities (urban agglomerations with a population of more than 10

million), 27 are in the global South and 16 are in Asia.

An increasingly urbanized world

 DEV615 Urban Development

§ There are a number of broad common trends:

§ a rapid increase in the number of megacities
§ ongoing strong urban–rural linkages and increased blurring of “urban” and “rural,”
§ increased urban sprawl and fragmentation, and
§ growing intra-urban inequalities.

§ Most new capital investements and most new employment opportunities are concentrated in
urban areas.

§ However, the megacities of the Global South have major socio-economic and environmental
problems, such as in increase in number of low-income urban dwellers, air and water
pollution, resource depletion, and rising urban poverty.

§ The new urban geography in many Global South cities has given rise to an anti-poor politics
often spearheaded by new and more established middle-class groups of residents.

An increasingly urbanized world

 DEV615 Urban Development

What are the drivers of urbanization in Bangladesh?

Discussion topic