Recent Researches

Climate change

Barcelona planning

Localisation of  global planning approach

Pedestrian traffic

Community participation

Slums of Dhaka  city

Future planning response to adapt climate change in Khuna city, Bangladesh

Bangladesh will be highly affected by climate change if adaptive measures are not taken immediately. Although, policies and programmes are already in place to respond, proposed measures lacks physical planning measures to adapt to affects of climate change. This study has been initiated to identify future planning interventions to reduce the affects of climate change. The research has been conducted the on a particular city Khulna and recognises that climate change will increase disasters, create pressure on water resource, and reduce other resource, create pressure on quality of life and in the long run it will make people more poor and vulnerable. However, these environmental threats can be reduced by proper physical planning measures. From this very realisation this study proposes a set of planning responses to contribute as a starting point for further research on planning response to combat global environmental threats.

Barcelona is internationally acclaimed for innovative urban planning approaches. The revitalisation journey of Barcelona has faced difficult social, economic and environmental challenges but in most cases planners, citizens and political leaders of Barcelona have initiated unique techniques to overcome the challenges. This study has tried to understand the planning techniques those have been applied to address the challenges as Barcelona has progressed between 1975 and 2005. The research has also identifies the future challenges those have appeared as a consequence of planning initiatives. From existing literatures and from field visit, this study has recognised that poor urban living environment, inadequate services and facilities, social deprivation and depressed economy were the initial challenges for Barcelona. Barcelona responded to these issues by social movement and approach of neighbourhood level projects. In the long run new challenges like shortage of funding, urge for a market led development and push for becoming a global city have appeared as key issues. However, political will power for development, unique way of using international events to mange fund and most of all physical planning and designing techniques have  played a successful role to tackle the issues. At the end, the study has realised that although Barcelona has taken a number of admirable mechanism, the city has now been brought before new challenges as a consequence of the previous planning practice. Environmental degradation, urban sprawl, social polarisation, market led less participatory planning are imposing new threats to progressive Barcelona. The city has progressed and has become  a success because of intuitive planning response but it has also been found that many of the responses have failed to ensure the long term benefits and lost the way in a market led planning approach. Therefore, this study has concluded that transformation process of Barcelona can be a take away lesson for the planners to address planning challenges in a neo liberal world.

Localization of the Global Approaches to Make a City Highway More Responsive for the Pedestrians: Case Study from Khulna City, Bangladesh

Number of initiatives has been taken through out the world to ensure better and responsive pedestrian environment in the city highways. But, Bangladesh is yet to make the city highways safe and comfortable for pedestrians. This study tries to find out the way of making the city highways more responsive by applying the established world wide concepts and suggest some solution in context of local circumstances. In fact the aim of the paper is to suggest some global approaches which can be adopted in Bangladesh through modification, moderation or improvement. The study tries to get to the goal in three stages. At first it explores the present situation of the pedestrian environment of a city highway of Bangladeshi city. Secondly, it tries to find out present initiatives and facilities provided and compares with the world wide initiatives. Finally, he study suggests some guidelines by introducing moderated and modified global approaches. During the research the study finds that, 95% pedestrians are dissatisfied about their walking environment. Authorities are working to improve the situation. But they have almost no coordination. Moreover their solution approaches are short term and not up to date. There are no definite law, standard or design guidelines for pedestrian environment such as for footpaths, facilities. The study finds that there is a big gap between the local approaches taken and the global approaches which can be taken. So, finally the study tries to give some suggestions to bridge the gap and use the global approach in local context.       

Study of Pedestrian traffic at Railway Market Block of Khulna CBD

Walking is safer and more convenient than any other means of transport. Movement is freer, Hazards of congestion and pollution become low, risk of accident reduces and cost as well as money is saved when people choose to travel on foot. Pedestrian movement is the prime choice especially in the central business district (CBD) area of Khulna City. The aim of this paper is to find out the pedestrian traffic situation of the CBD area of Khulna City. It focuses on the problems of the present pedestrian traffic movement and secondly it tries to find out the causes of problems. The situational analysis has been done through observing accessibility, convenience, safety, continuity, quality of space and most of all the pattern of pedestrian traffic. It was observed that people mainly come to the study area for commercial activities (about 23.7%). Most people (44%) prefer walking to go to their working place or return home from working place. Pedestrian flow is highest during 6:00 to 8:00 pm (app. 800 persons each 15 minutes in two busy roads; Clay Road and Old Jessore Road)which is more than double in comparison to morning and noon. All the roads lack usable foot-paths. Moreover, approximately 50% of the carriage-ways are occupied by vendors, shops, signage, marker sequences, and parking and construction materials. Main identified problems were illegal occupancy, lack of separated pedestrian ways, high traffic volume and poor traffic management. Even the physical environment of the area is not healthy for pedestrian circulation. The study has been concluded with some short and long term proposal which can be taken to rectify the situation. Thus, these findings can be helpful for traffic management and redevelopment of the CBD area in Khulna City.

Involving Community to Better the Planning Practice in Third World City

In many parts of the world, community involvement is a contemporary issue in urban physical planning practice. In Bangladesh except few areas, this involvement is still a dream. This paper aims to find out the failures of existing planning practices and tries to explore how these failures can be turned to success through proper community involvement. The study tries to attain its goal in four steps. At first it tries to find out the failure of planning practices in terms of planning, spatial development coverage and development control. Then the research tries to explore why people are violating, neglecting or not paying hid to the rules. In the third step, the research tries to identify the places for community in urban physical planning. The study finally proposes a participatory planning process, which involves planning, development and development control in short scale. The research is based on secondary database, primary surveys in two mixed residential areas and interview with people, concerned officials and planners in the city as well. Existing top down planning and development approach fail to enable the community. As, for them, almost there is no place in planning and development process. Study shows, violation of building construction rules are common both in planned and unplanned areas. It thinks that the gap between people and authority and the gap between people should be bridged and they should think about their own good. Awareness building, integration of community from the primary planning stages, consultation with people, monitoring and evaluation by both parties and most of all integrated participatory physical planning approach is a must to ensure better physical environment. The proposed model of community involved planning process at the end will give food for thought for ensuring detail people integrated planning in third world cities. People as well as authority will work under a strong spiked umbrella to make quality urban physical environment the problem.

Tracing Changes: Slums and squatters of Dhaka city

Dhaka is a city of hope for distressed migrants. In Bangladesh Works, opportunities and attractions have been bringing more and more people to this city. The city started its journey since the 14th century. The Mughals turned it to capital (1610); Massive development was initiated by Saesta Khan between 1660 to 1690.The initiation of informal settlement was impede during this period. But during the reign of East India Company there was a decrease in population (1824). The city was revitalized during when Queen Victoria took the power in her hands. Once again people started coming to Dhaka to settle down, and as a result squatters appeared along 1943 to 1947. World war, calamities, famines, poverty and many other factors worked as a force then. But the situation deteriorated along the Pakistan period. Informal settlement got a organized shape along the railway tracks of Dhaka. People came due to flood, and poverty. The situation was worse in 1971 to 1974. 90% of the present squatters were formed during that period. War, femine, flood and security reasons brought about 1.7 million people in Dhaka .By 1975 the government tried to evict the squatters and 0.2 million squatter settlements were evicted. Though it reduced the population for a while in 1980 (20000 people) but re-squattering made the population about 75000 again; during 1987 it reached 0.25 million. Now it has exceeded 0.60 million. Lots of people live in the squatters but the service and facilities are not good for them. Poor sanitation, inadequate supply of water, no supply of electricity, poor drainage and roads are common scenario in the squatters. Their housing pattern changed very little over history. Jhupri or katcha structure still dominates. So their houses are hardly a shelter rather than a well-defined house. In spite of such poor living condition squatter people are not reduced. They are migrating from various areas.  In Bangladesh Natural calamity, poverty, attraction to urban life, amenities, justice expectation etc are bringing them to Dhaka. In fact Dhaka is burdened with squatter at present. So there are lot of government and non-government initiatives to reduce squatters through relocating or rehabilitating them. But the success is yet to be achieved. Informal housing is a part of our settlement history, a part which is not desired to continue but could not be eliminated till now.