Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka is the 11th largest and the fastest-growing megacity in the world and faces an acute liveability and sustainability crisis.
The city is home to 18 million people and despite socio-economic, cultural vibrancy and a rich natural environment, unprecedented population growth, climate-change effects, economic growth imperatives and poor institutional capacity have challenged planners and policy makers to deliver liveability and sustainability outcomes. The city has become chaotic and socially iniquitous, its natural environment destroyed.
Like many other parts of the Global South, Dhaka’s urban planning has been historically controlled by the colonial and post-colonial regimes with minimal public input. As technical experts, planners cannot even fulfil their roles except as lip service to higher authorities. In Dhaka’s urban planning, professional planners are not major players.
