Past, present and future of Urban Dhaka

URBANISM Semester 1

Matriculation Number: 4070314

MD Ashfaq Bin Arif Submission date: 31.01.2020

‘DHAKA City’

Contents Basic information...........03 Growth map...........05 Figure ground map...........08 Road network map...........09 Rail network map...........10 Metro rapid mass transit map...........11 Waterbody map...........12 Greeneries map...........13 Final map with all layers...........14 Thoughts about the city...........16

“A city that outdistances man's walking powers is a trap for man.�

-Arnold Joseph Toynbee

DHAKA CAPITAL OF BANGLADESH

Area: 2161.17 KM2 Population: 21,005,860 Population density: 28,410person/KM2 Climate: Tropical savanna climate Growth rate: 3.2%

Location: 23°45’50”N 90°23’20”E Established: 1608 CE Language: Bengali (Bangla) Governmant type: City corporation Time Zone: UTC +6 (BST) Source: Wikipedia

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‘HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT’

Growth Map

01. Year 1600

02. Year 1750

03. Year 1850

04. Year 1950

Scale- 1:150,000 **Light blue area shows the current administrative border of Dhaka

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Growth Map

05. Year 1980

06. Year PRESENT Scale- 1:150,000

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‘CURRENT STATE’

Figure Ground Map

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Scale- 1:75,000

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Road Network Map

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Scale- 1:75,000

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Rail Network Map (Placed on Road Network Map)

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Scale- 1:75,000

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Metro Rapid Mass Transit Map (Placed on Road Network Map)

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Scale- 1:75,000

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Waterbody Map

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Scale- 1:75,000

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Greeneries Map

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Scale- 1:75,000

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Final Map (with all layers)

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Scale- 1:75,000

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‘THOUGHTS ABOUT THE CITY’

Dhaka - its Past Present and Future Dhaka - the capital city of Bangladesh has a 400 years history of growth and destruction, disintegration and change, war and rebirth. This still expanding city struggles with overpopulation but still strives to give shelter and livelihood to approximately nine million of its inhabitants.

The earliest settlement in Dhaka can be traced back to the 12th century. Near the river 'Buriganga' the land was fertile and the communication through the riverway was convenient for that period. The 'Mughals' came to the continent to rule and they chose this strategically located place near the north part of the river to establish a city in the seventeenth century (map 01). The city was their business center for handicrafts and the river made transportation of goods easy. The main expansion of the city took place under Mughal governor Shaista Khan. Back at that time, the city measured 19 by 13 kilometers, with a population of nearly one million. In the South Asian region, Dhaka stood among the biggest and rapidly developing cities in South Asia. During the 17th and 18th centuries, it grew into a regional economic center. At that time Dhaka was serving as an international business hub.

In the mid 18th century (map 02), the British East India Company won the War of Buxar against the Mughals and took over the region. With the dawn of the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain, At that time Bengal became the leading center for jute trade (during first industrial revolution) and Dhaka was the center of it.But the British exploited the wealth and manpower of this city for their business benefit which caused stagnation and decline during the mid 19th century (map 03). Dhaka became heavily impoverished. But soon Dhaka revolted against British domination. After the revolt, Dhaka saw some important development in the city structure including a meter gauge rail line, Dhaka cantonment, some educational institutions, parks around the city, water and electricity supply system, etc.

After the ending of World war II, the Partition of British India happened in 1947. Dhaka became the capital of East Bengal and East Pakistan. At that time, Dhaka’s population increased dramatically because of the migration of Muslims to this city. From the 1950s rapid urban expansion started to take place in the region of Dhaka (map 04).

But in the meantime, conflict began to rise between West Pakistan and East Pakistan and that resulted in a war between these two countries in 1971. East Pakistan won the war against West Pakistan and born as a new country with the name Bangladesh, and Dhaka as its capital. The post-independence period witnessed rapid growth as Dhaka attracted migrant workers from across rural Bangladesh. 60% of population growth has been due to rural migration (map 05). In the 1990s and 2000s, Dhaka experienced improved economic growth and the emergence of affluent business districts and satellite towns. Between 2001 and 2011, the city's population grew from 6 million to 9 million.

The current population of Dhaka is 21,005,860 (map 06)(Source: http://worldpopulationreview.com/world-cities/dhaka-population/). The growth of Dhaka was often unplanned, spontaneous and organic. The shape of the city follows the same language.

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Dhaka is one of the fastest-growing megacities in the world. It is predicted to be one of the world's largest metropolises by 2025. The southern part of Dhaka is called ‘Old Dhaka’, that is the part where the city started and grew from. Dhaka is surrounded by rivers from the South, East, and Westside(map 11). That is why the main flow of growth was always on the Northside.

This city is one of the most overpopulated cities in the world. Compared to the increase in population in this area, the expansion of the city is limited. And due to rivers on three sides, the city only stretched from the south to north direction. The result is severe congestion in the traffic situation and the deterioration of the quality of city life. Many poor villagers migrate to Dhaka every day looking for work and that exacerbates the already crucial situation. These poor people end up living in the slums in very poor condition. All of these adds up to the burden the city has to bear every day.

From a recent study, it was found out that, Dhaka’s average traffic speed is 7kmph (Source: https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/dhaka/2017/07/19/dhaka-average-traffic-speed-7-kmph/).

This situation is unbearable. Dhaka is the administrative, corporate, business capital of Bangladesh. But due to overpopulation and corruption the situation is deteriorating and development in its real sense is non-existent.

Looking for a solution to the tremendous problem the Government came up with the idea of the Metro Rapid Mass Transit system (map 10). It will touch all the heavy traffic nodes and can carry a high number of passengers in a short period of time. But due to already saturated infrastructures and lack of space for properly designed stations, I think this will just worsen the already unbearable traffic situation.

In its young stages, Dhaka was a glorious prosperous city. It went through Mughal ruling, British ruling, struggle, and war. Unfortunately, now the city is in an impoverished state burdened by its own overgrown inhabitants. The amount of available greeneries is beyond danger line (map 12). I think being stuck within its own boundary, there is no practical way to save this city. Maybe a practical solution will be to divide all the important functions of Dhaka by making several satellite towns with a good and fast inter-city transportation system so that everyone does not have to depend on Dhaka to do every kind of administrative work. That will help to diffuse the population throughout nearby areas and also bring developments to those areas where it is needed.

Sources: 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhaka 2. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/324746990_PLANNING_AND_DEVELOPMENT_OF_DHAKA-A_STORY_OF_400_YEARS

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‘THANK YOU’ FOR TAKING THE TIME TO GO THROUGH MY PROJECT.

HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE STORY OF STRUGGLING YET SURVIVING AND THRIVING DHAKA.

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