F E AT U R E
Working together to help a village grow sustainably
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An international collaboration between Birmingham City University (BCU) and Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) was inspired by Abubokkar Siddiki’s visit to his parents’ village of Kazirgaon in 2018, located in an area of wetlands in north-east Bangladesh. The project explores UN Sustainable Development Goals, rapid urbanisation in rural settings, as well as transnational education. Abubokkar Siddiki and Eccles Sze Ng Greenwich Public Health and Birmingham City University
Kazirgaon village and its bazaar have grown exponentially over the past 10 years. The rate the village has grown shows the potential to become a small town, merging the eight surrounding villages together over the next 15-20 years. However, there are no architects, landscape 22
architects, urban planners, or planners to help the villagers to plan their built environment. The local high street is imploding, faced with issues such as lack of drainage, lack of access to clean drinking water, poor hygiene and fire safety, and lack of proper planning. The village also needs increased access to education and basic health care facilities, and population growth is leading to rapid unplanned expansion of the village and the boundaries of the bazaar. There is a need to tackle the issue of rapid growth on a village level. A well-planned village infrastructure with all the basic amenities and technology
1. Walking tour. © Kawshik Saha
As we seek to rebalance the urban-rural divide and the need to address rural-urban migration, the physical implementation of secondary city plans is one of the areas that can have the most positive impact in the coming decade. HRH The Prince of Wales, The Prince’s Foundation, Rapid Planning Toolkit, 2020
