The COVID-19 outbreak created immense disruptions in our daily lives. Travel is one of the major areas severely impacted by the pandemic. Bangladesh experienced two waves of COVID-19 between March 2020 and July 2021. Although several studies focused on significant changes in the travel behavior of urban road users before and during the pandemic, hardly any research examined the differences between the two waves. Hence, it was important to study the differences in travel behavior between the two waves of the COVID-19 pandemic to understand how the effects of travel restrictions, health concerns, and the severity of the pandemic on people's travel decisions change over time. This study intends to investigate the changes in travel behavior between the first and second waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in Dhaka and the factors that influence these changes. Data were collected through online questionnaire surveys using the Google form. Voluntary response and convenience sampling techniques were used to collect responses from 447 people in Dhaka. Descriptive statistics and non-parametric tests were conducted to analyze the data. In addition, two multinomial logistic models were developed to identify the factors behind the changes in travel behavior. This study reveals that work and shopping trips increased, whereas work-from-home and online shopping somewhat decreased during the second pandemic wave compared to the first pandemic wave. Most non-car owners who reduced their use of public transportation during the first pandemic increased their use during the second wave. There was no significant increase in the use of active transport modes for work and shopping trips in Dhaka. The perceived risk of COVID-19 infection was relatively lower during the second wave, influencing the respondents to travel more frequently for work and shopping purposes. Ensuring more adaptive public transportation, flexibility to work from home, and creating supportive infrastructures for active transport modes might help to provide a safe, affordable, and efficient transportation system for all during the future waves of the pandemic and other unprecedented events.

In the rapidly evolving landscape of urbanisation and transportation infrastructure in Bangladesh, it is critical to address the disparities in public transportation access that disproportionately affect vulnerable people such as older adults and people with disabilities. This scoping review aims to synthesise the available evidence and highlight research gaps on unequal access to public transportation and how these inequalities lead to the social exclusion of older adults and people with disabilities in Bangladesh. We followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses, Scoping Review Extension (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines and employed thematic analysis to interpret the findings. Four databases Scopus, Embase, PubMed and Web of Science, and online sources such as Google Scholar and TRID were searched from January 2002 to July 2022. The findings show that the existing modes of transportation are inadequate and non-inclusive and pose both physical (including built environments such as roads, ramps, and footpaths) and social barriers (such as low income, low employment opportunities, and negative social attitude) which reduced the accessibility to workplaces, healthcare, and social networks for these two vulnerable groups. An inclusive and sustainable urban transport infrastructure, older adult-specific and disabled-friendly transportation policies, and behaviour changes are significant steps to improve safety and social inclusion. The transport authorities have ignored the transport necessities of these vulnerable groups and (in)advertently pushed them towards marginalised sections. This study theoretically contributes to the age-friendly city framework for older adults and people with disabilities by adopting an inclusive urban mobility approach for all.

Dhaka city is experiencing tremendous growth in traffic. Until recently, the city’s demand for traffic was entirely served by public buses, a mix of motorized and non-motorized paratransit, and private personalized transport. The first ever rail-based metro, mass rapid transit (MRT), namely MRT Line 6, was partially inaugurated on 28 December 2022. Authority expects that there will be visible modal shift. However, MRT systems in many Asian and European countries are attracting much lower private motorists than what is expected. Moreover, in Dhaka, a unique mix in road-based transport with public transit and varieties of paratransit and private personalized vehicles intensifies the uncertainties involved in modal shift. Therefore, based on a field survey done before four (04) months of the partial inauguration of MRT Line 6, this study intends to explore the modal shift potentials of different mode users to a completely new mode and the modal choice factors. The analysis of the results finds overall, 75% of all mode users are willing to shift, while para and public transit users are comparatively more willing than private personalized vehicle users. However, such willingness comes up with one or more conditions: comfort, reasonable fare, reduced total travel time, less crowd, etc. The study finds that affordability, availability, and accessibility factors have an influence on their modal shift behavior. Also, results from binary logistic model identify significant impact of several sociodemographic, trip- and accessibility-related factors influencing modal shift choice. Findings from this study explain the optimism regarding MRT by different mode users and inform the decision-makers about their course of actions including different interventions, strict and carrot approaches to hold on to the potential shifters and attract more.

Agricultural land, the primary factor of food production, is essential for ensuring food security. Land constraints have led policymakers to promote agricultural intensification to achieve higher production, which is no longer sustainable. In Bangladesh, the consistent decline of agricultural land at a regional scale is a rising concern for food security. This study intends to assess the spatiotemporal changes in agricultural lands concerning food security, including temporary cropland, permanent cropland, and fallow land. LANDSAT satellite imagery for 1995, 2010, and 2022 were categorized using a hybrid image classification method. However, the study limits to produce higher accuracy as compromised due to the spatial resolution of LANDSAT imagery. MLP-CA Markov chain model was used to predict the agricultural land for 2041 by employing driver variables. The study finds around 15% loss in agricultural land from 1995–2022 with significant losses (12%) between 2010–2022. The built-up area is doubled after each of the time periods. Temporary crop-producing lands are declining quickly and converted rapidly (around 30%) to built-up areas between 2010–2022. Notably, agricultural land near riverine zones rapidly converts to built-up areas, hinting at potential environmental consequences. The model predicts around 10% loss in agricultural land with a likely conversion around cities and riverine areas, driven by infrastructure development. Contradictory sectoral policies have driven such conversion without effective land use policy. Hence, the study implies formulating a physical plan and urbanization policy for growth control and management, as well as land zoning and master plan for protecting valuable agricultural land.

Pedestrian crashes at high-speed locations are a persistent road safety concern. Driving at high speed indicates that the driver would get considerably less time to react and make evasive maneuvers to avoid a pedestrian crash. On top of this, other crash-contributing factors such as humans (pedestrians or drivers), vehicles, roadways, and surrounding environmental factors actively interact together to cause a crash at high-speed locations. The pattern of pedestrian crashes also differs significantly according to the high-speed intersection and segment locations which require further investigation. This study applied Association Rules Mining (ARM), an unsupervised learning algorithm, to reveal the hidden association of pedestrian crash risk factors according to the high-speed intersection and segments separately. The study used Louisiana pedestrian fatal and injury crash data (2010 to 2019). Any crash location with a posted speed limit of 45 mph or above is classified as a high-speed location. Based on the generated association rules, the results show that pedestrian crashes at the high-speed intersection are associated with intersection geometry (3-leg) and control (1 stop, no traffic control device), driver characteristics (careless operation, failure to yield, inattentive-distracted, older, and younger driver), pedestrian-related factors (violations, alcohol/drug involvement), settings (open country, residential, business, industrial), dark lighting conditions and so on. Most pedestrian crashes at high-speed segments are associated with roadways with no physical separation, dark-no-streetlight conditions, open country locations, interstates, and so on. The findings of the study may help to select appropriate countermeasures to reduce pedestrian crashes in high-speed locations.

Assessment of development plans particularly in terms of land use and land cover can strategically support conventional land use planning practices. This paper attempts to assess the land cover related proposals mentioned in the development plans of two small urban areas, namely Madaripur and Rajoir of Bangladesh, which are rapidly growing and facing shrinkage of agricultural lands and water bodies by such growth. Land cover data for the study have been extracted from Landsat satellite images of 1995, 2005 and 2015. The classified satellite data have been employed in a Multi-Layer Perceptron Markov model to predict the land cover scenario of the study areas for 2035, the terminal year for the development plans. The proposed development plan and the modelpredicted land cover maps of 2035 are both quantitatively and spatially compared. The study also determines the degree of conformance and identifies the affected sites within respective protected areas. The analysis reveals significant mismatches between the development plans and the model predictions for the unconstrained simulation of the model, whereas fewer differences are observed in the case of guided simulation. The results imply that lack of implementation of the development plans may result in undesired land cover transformations. It recommends employing remote sensing and GIS-based models to support the land-use plan-making process in the development authorities.

Although a large number of studies have tried to explore the relationship between built environment and pedestrian crash severity in developed countries, there is a lack of similar studies in the context of developing countries. Methodologically, the contributory factors influencing pedestrian crash severity are commonly identified through global logistic regression (GLR) models. However, these models are unable to capture the spatial variation in the relationships between the dependent and independent variables. The local logistic regression model, such as geographically weighted logistic regression (GWLR), can potentially overcome this issue. The application of local logistic regression to model pedestrian crash severity is absent in the literature. Therefore, this study aimed to apply the GWLR technique to explore spatially heterogeneous relationships between natural and built environment-related factors and pedestrian crash severity in Dhaka, the capital city of a developing country: Bangladesh. First, using secondary pedestrian crash data, a GLR model was developed to identify significant contributory factors influencing pedestrian crash severity. Results of the model showed that the probability of fatal pedestrian crash occurrence increased at night, in unlit locations, and during adverse weather conditions. In addition, the likelihood of a fatal crash decreases when medians exist on roads and around institutional land use. Also, the chance of fatal crashes increased on straight and flat roads and at locations with more bus stops. Finally, this study explored spatial variation in the effect intensity of these significant variables across the study area using the GWLR technique. High intensity variation across the study area was found for road geometry and institutional land use factors. On the other hand, low intensity variation was found for light conditions and the presence of median factors. This technique can be applied in any area, and the results would help provide insights into the spatial dimension of traffic safety.

A unified land use classification system with mutually exclusive definitions of each land use category helps to avoid inconsistencies in the planning process and, most importantly, ensures effective implementation of development control tools. In Bangladesh, the planning authorities prepare land use plans by independently deciding the land use classes. This study aims to explore the nature of inconsistencies in the land use classification systems followed by different planning institutions in Bangladesh and understand their corresponding consequences. To conduct the study, land use plans prepared by different planning institutions have been collected. Based on descriptive analysis, the study shows that the types of land use classes in land use plans change over time, between administrative units, and in different parts of the country. Even authorities are not consistent in maintaining a classification system in their subsequent plans. Moreover, the plans retain ambiguous definitions of land use classes. The classification and definitions of the land use classes are not well linked with different national acts, rules, and policies relating to environmental and natural conservation, which makes it difficult to control development and protect natural, environmental, and cultural resources. This study has the potential to help us understand the importance of a unified land use classification system. Utilizing concept hierarchy, the study has also developed a system for land use classification in Bangladesh that will assist in future research, planning, and policymaking.

The SARS-CoV-2 virus has brought unprecedented change to the world. Distancing measures make people find an alternative way to interact with others and fulfill their duty. It is acknowledged that the epidemic has dramatically impacted people's work schedules, which in turn has changed how they travel. Till now very few studies were conducted on this new phenomenon. The purpose of this study is to ascertain how COVID-19 has affected the work schedules and travel habits of office workers in Bangladesh and show the comparative scenario before and during the pandemic. The study is based on primary data. Respondents are surveyed through Google Forms. With the response of 342 respondents, primary data were processed and analyzed. Descriptive analyses were conducted to carry out the output. Inferential analysis was applied somewhere to scrutinize the result. The study reveals that there are significant changes in work patterns and travel patterns of office workers in Bangladesh due to COVID-19. People have shifted from offline to online activities. Travel time and trip frequency per week have been reduced greatly. The usage of the bus has reduced rapidly. Instead, people have started to walk or use a rickshaw, and bicycles. In many cases, offices have provided vehicles. The degree of these changes varies among different socioeconomic groups of people. This study is a useful resource for new policy-making insights and could inspire subsequent research.

To ensure the safety of pedestrians, it is essential to have a comprehensive understanding of their road crossing behaviors, including the factors that influence the decisions they make regarding crossing. One of the crucial crossing behaviors of pedestrians is the crossing pattern, which refers to whether a pedestrian crosses the road by walking or running. Safety of the pedestrians often depends on it as running crossing pattern is one of the riskiest crossing behaviors. However, there is a lack of inclusive studies that explore pedestrians’ decision regarding their crossing pattern. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the significant factors influencing pedestrians' decision regarding their crossing patterns (walk or run) at intersections in Dhaka, Bangladesh, using the chi-square test, and to examine the association between the identified contributory factors and crossing pattern using the association rules mining technique. Pedestrian road crossing behaviors, their characteristics, and traffic characteristics related data were collected from six busy intersections in Dhaka using the videography survey method. Findings of the study showed that walking crossing pattern was strongly associated with the factors such as controlled intersection, narrow road, wide median, female pedestrian, older pedestrian, using two-stage strategy, group crossing, accepting larger gap, using crosswalk, and crossing in front of slower vehicles. Besides, running crossing pattern was strongly associated with uncontrolled intersection, wide road, narrow median, male pedestrian, younger pedestrian, using rolling gap strategy, crossing alone, accepting shorter gap, crossing through conflict zone, and crossing in front of light and faster vehicles. The findings of this study would aid policymakers to develop effective solutions to improve pedestrian safety as well as to design future technologies like automated driving systems.

This study attempted to investigate the impacts of COVID-19 on public transport usage in a hypothetical ‘new normal’ situation in a South Asian country, Bangladesh, by using data collected during the first wave of COVID-19. Most of the samples came from young and affluent groups. Findings of the study showed that a substantial proportion of respondents expected to reduce travel by public transport during the ‘new normal’ situation than the pre-pandemic situation. To identify the factors behind the expectation, a multinomial logistic regression model was developed. Results suggest that income, regular travel mode, frequency of travel by public transport in the pre-COVID-19 situation, expected change in trip frequency and virtual activities, risk perception, and trust in preventive strategies can influence public transport use during the ‘new normal’ situation. The results of the study would be useful in understanding the immediate impact of a pandemic on public transportation and help prepare better for future pandemics.

Growing travel demand and technological development provoke to enhance the share of ridehailing services within urban transportation sector in the developing countries. To keep pace with this flow, Uber service has been launched in Dhaka, Bangladesh and is getting popular to city dwellers. Despite this, very little information is available regarding the user groups, their trip characteristics and service quality of ridehailing in the context of developing countries. In addition to this, effects of such service on other modes and users’ view about service are at unexplored state which is important to ensure a sustainable and equitable transport system. This study intends to investigate these issues where questionnaire survey through face-to-face interview has been conducted among the Uber users of Dhaka using simple random sampling technique. The data are analyzed engaging descriptive statistics and statistical modeling. Results show that Uber is used by comparatively wealthy younger social groups despite they claim to pay more than other alternative modes even than the specified fare by Uber that put forward the issue of equity. In accordance with user’s opinion, better accessibility, safety, comfort and existence of emergency situation influence their decision to choose Uber instead other modes like CNG, taxi services etc. Uber users of Dhaka mainly share trips with their acquaintance ones. Moreover most of the users claim the facilities on Uber car and GPS system of app need to be developed for enhancing the service quality that may further assist the decision making of integrated sustainable transport system.

Researchers have been trying to identify the contributory factors behind pedestrian crash occurrences through studies at both microscopic and macroscopic levels. However, built environment-related factors have primarily been examined in developed countries, resulting in a limited understanding of the phenomenon in the context of developing countries. Methodologically, these studies mostly used global regression models, which failed to incorporate spatial autocorrelation and spatial heterogeneity. Additionally, some of these studies applied spatial regression models randomly without following a comprehensive logical framework behind their selections. Our study aimed to develop a comprehensive spatial regression modeling framework to examine the relationships between pedestrian crash occurrences and the built environment at the macroscopic level in a megacity, Dhaka, the capital of a developing country: Bangladesh. Using secondary pedestrian crash data, the study applied one global non-spatial model, two global spatial regression models, and two local spatial regression models following a comprehensive spatial regression modeling framework. The factors which significantly contributed to pedestrian crash occurrences in Dhaka were employed person density, mixed and recreational land use density, primary road density, major intersection density, and share of non-motorized modes. Except for the last factor, all the other ones were positively related to pedestrian crash density. Among the five models used in this study, the multiscale geographically weighted regression (MGWR) performed the best as it calibrated each local relationship with a distant spatial scale parameter. The findings and recommendations presented in this study would be useful for reducing pedestrian crashes and choosing the appropriate modeling technique for crash analysis.

Every monsoon period, the households in Dhaka face extensive waterlogging in their localities. This recrudescing event leads to tangible and intangible losses in the lives of these residents. In general, loss and damage assessments for floods focus on insured losses at the meso or macro scale. However, in developing countries such as Bangladesh, household properties are uninsured. Consequently, the losses induced by the waterlogging that occurs in every monsoon period remain unassessed. The current study attempted to capture those losses for the monsoon period of 2017 (May–October) by addressing tangible and intangible losses. Tangible loss and damage were estimated in monetary terms, whereas intangible loss and damage were identified to depict a complete picture of their suffering. This paper conducted household surveys in slums and ground floor residences to include all income groups. Data were elicited from a detailed questionnaire by disaggregating losses into repair and damage costs of household assets, income loss, increases in transport cost, and coping costs associated with disrupted water supply and sanitation. The study findings show that the average losses of high- and middle-income households were higher than those of low-income households for the monsoon period of 2017. Alternatively, poor households shared the highest annual income percentage (approximately 8%) compared to the middle- and high-income households (approximately 5%). Turning to intangible losses, households suffered from health issues and psychological stresses, and all these consequences led to a loss of trust in authorities. As these losses remain undocumented, these study findings manifest significant policy implications regarding understanding urban communities' vulnerability to monsoonal waterlogging events in developing countries.

COVID-19 pandemic has caused adverse impacts on different aspects of life around the globe, including travelers’ mode choice behavior. To make their travel safe, transportation planners and policymakers need to understand people’s perceptions of the risk of COVID-19 transmission in different travel modes. This study aimed to estimate mode-wise perceived risk of viral transmission and identify the factors that influenced the perceived risk in Bangladesh. The study used a five-point Likert scale to measure the perceived risk of COVID-19 transmission in each travel mode. Using ordinal logistic regression models, the study explored the factors that influenced the perceived risk of COVID-19 transmission in different travel modes. The study found that people perceived a very high risk of viral transmission in public transport (bus), moderate risk in shared modes (rickshaw, auto-rickshaw, ridesharing), and very low risk in private modes (private car, motorcycle/scooter, walking, cycling). Such high-risk perception of viral transmission in public transport and shared modes might lead to a modal shift to private modes, which would worsen urban transport problems and undermine sustainable transportation goals. The study also found that socio-economic factors (gender, age, income) significantly influenced perceived risks in all travel modes. Contrarily, psychological factors (worry, care, and trust) were significant only for public and shared modes, but not for private modes. Lastly, travel behavior-related factors influenced perceived risk in shared and private modes.

Local government bodies and other concerned agencies in developing countries spend a considerable amount of money on rural road development. However, in the absence of any robust and systematic methodology, road development largely relies on ad-hoc decisions and subjective judgement of public officials. Such a decision-making process often leads to inefficient resource allocation bypassing equity and long-term societal benefits. Although there are some established methodologies for road network planning, complexities exist in applying those methods. First, most of the established methods are not suitable for rural road development, particularly regarding the volume and nature of traffic on them. Second, some methods are highly complex and lack practical applicability. Third, road development planning should not be top-down alone but ensure the participation of local stakeholders. Given these limitations, this study proposes a methodology—Rural Road Planning and Prioritisation Model (RPPM). It consists of two major components (i) developing a core network in participation with local stakeholders and (ii) prioritisation of roads based on Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) and Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA). The proposed method is piloted in one district, and a web-based software is also developed for practical implementation by the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED), Bangladesh. The paper also discusses the results of the pilot study.

It is critical to understand the elements that influence CO2 emissions from commuting to establish low-carbon transportation and land-use regulations. Research attempted to determine the mechanisms by which the built environment (BE) influences commuting-related CO2 emissions. Most research was conducted in developed nations and used traditional modeling to evaluate the relationship between BE and CO2 emissions primarily considering direct consequences related with BE. There is a research vacuum in predicting the total impacts of BE on CO2 emissions from commuting, taking into account the mediating effect of car ownership. This research examines total effects of the built environment (BE) on commuting-related CO2 emissions including both direct and indirect effects. We used 10,592 home-based work trips from Dhaka, a developing city, to create a structural equation model (SEM) for predicting this association. We included car ownership as a mediating variable and treated BE, car ownership, and CO2 emissions as endogenous variables. Both population density and land-use diversity are positively associated with private car ownership. The study shows the built environment plays a different role in explaining CO2 emissions from commuting in developed and developing countries. Population density has a direct positive impact on CO2 emissions, as evidenced by previous research in a developing metropolis. Because of its mediating effect on car ownership, land use diversity has a considerable positive indirect impact on emissions but a negligible overall effect, making it ineffective on its own and necessitating the implementation of complementing Travel Demand Management (TDM) policies. Our modeling results are comparable with those from both developing and developed countries in terms of public transportation accessibility, job accessibility, and road network design. The results might be used to produce policy guidelines to reduce car ownership and CO2 emissions, which would help developing countries in South Asia meet their sustainable development goals.

Introduction: Globally, pedestrians are one of the most vulnerable road-user groups. Their vulnerability increases while crossing the road at controlled intersections during the “don’t walk” phase. Previous literature shows that driver yielding behavior has an association with pedestrian safety at intersections. Though several studies have explored driver yielding behavior towards pedestrians at conflict points, evidence on how pedestrian actions influence driver yielding behavior at intersections is yet to be investigated. Method: To pursue this end, a binary logistic regression model was developed using the collected data to explore the effect of non-compliant pedestrian characteristics and their road crossing behavior on driver yielding behavior towards pedestrians at six controlled intersections of Dhaka, Bangladesh. The data were collected through videography survey. Results: Results showed that drivers were more likely to yield to pedestrians who were female, crossing in a group, carrying baggage, not using a mobile, making some hand gesture to the driver, or crossing by rolling gap strategy. Practical Applications: These findings add new insights for transportation planners into the complex interaction between vehicles and pedestrians at busy controlled intersections, and thus would help to make a pedestrian friendly street.

Background and Objectives Buses are the most common form of public transport for older adults in developing countries. With over 37% of total trips, buses are the principal mode of transport in Dhaka. The majority of older adults are dependent on buses because of their affordability relative to other modes such as auto-rickshaws, rideshares, and taxis. This study aims to investigate key barriers in accessing buses in Dhaka and the consequences of these barriers to the everyday mobility of older adults. Research Design and Methods Thirty participants aged 60 and older were recruited from 2 socioeconomically different neighborhoods in Dhaka. We employed a thematic analysis of visual surveys and in-depth interviews to understand older adults’ spatial and cultural context and their experiences using buses in their everyday lives. Results Boarding and deboarding buses were common barriers for older adults due to overcrowding and traffic congestion. In addition, older adults faced challenges such as ageism, gender discrimination, and undesirable behavior by transport personnel and co-passengers. These barriers affected their independent mobility and influenced their access to work and social life, contributing to their social exclusion. Discussion and Implications This study illustrates the challenges faced by older adults when accessing public transport and the need to improve access to work, health care, and social life. Inclusive transport policies are essential in low- and middle-income countries to improve the well-being of older adults.

In this study, we aimed to evaluate the performance of various machine learning (ML) classifiers to predict mode choice of movement-challenged persons (MCPs) based on data collected through a questionnaire survey of 384 respondents in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The mode choice set consisted of CNG-driven auto-rickshaw, bus, walking, motorized rickshaw, and non-motorized rickshaw, which was found as the most prominent mode used by MCPs. Age, sex, income, travel time, and supporting instrument (as an indicator of the level of disability) utilized by MCPs were explored as predictive variables. Results from the different split ratios with 10-fold cross-validation were compared to evaluate model outcomes. A split ratio of 60% demonstrates the optimum accuracy. It was found that Multi-nominal Logistic Regression (MNL), K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN), and Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) show higher accuracy for the split ratio of 60%. Overfitting of bus and walking as a travel mode was found as a source of classification error. Travel time was identified as the most important factor influencing the selection of walking, CNG, and rickshaw for MNL, KNN, and LDA. LDA and KNN depict the supporting instrument as a more important factor in mode choice than MNL. The selection of rickshaw as a mode follows a relatively normal probability distribution, while probability distribution is negatively skewed for the other three modes.

Pavement dwellers remain largely outside any shelter and social service schemes in developing countries. Programs for urban poor are settlement specific and primarily targeted to slum communities. A number of initiatives did not succeed in the past mainly because those were limited to providing temporary shelters only. Since homelessness is a multidimensional problem, an effective intervention needs to provide multifaceted support to homeless people. This paper presents the case of Amrao Manush project which has developed a model framework to uplift the living condition of homeless people through the Pavement Dweller Centers (PDC). The PDC offers shelter and multidimensional support to pavement dwellers including day care facility, child education, basic health care service, and skill development training. The project demonstrates how a continuous and stepwise process of upgradation – ranging from providing basic shelter and services to skill development training – can empower homeless people to overcome extreme poverty, find employment opportunities and eventually move out of streets. The paper also discusses the major strengths and weaknesses and suggests potential strategies for further scaling-up the initiative.

A growing body of research has addressed the multimodality of public transport, but relatively few studies have investigated the first-and-last-mile travel behavior—especially in the context of developing countries. In this study, we surveyed public transport commuters who live in Dhaka’s suburban areas and regularly commute to the main city. We find that the majority of the respondents use non-motorized modes of transportation (NMTs); however, the shares of motorized forms of transportation (MTs) such as human-haulers and buses are higher for egress compared to access. The choice of modes, both for the access and egress stages, are examined using multinomial logit (MNL) and nested logit (NL) models. The results show that rail travelers are more likely to choose MTs for egress compared to bus travelers. This is mainly because of longer distances between rail stations and trip destinations at the activity end. Among other factors, travelers’ income, and gender, as well as mode-specific attributes such as waiting time, travel time, travel cost, degree of seating comfort, and availability of the modes are found significant. Female commuters are more likely to choose rickshaw over other modes, while lower-income commuters show a higher tendency to choose paratransit and bus transportation when other variables are controlled. Finally, the paper discusses the implications of the findings for the improvement of first-and-last-mile connectivity of Dhaka’s public transportation system.

Compact development is broadly professed for making significant contributions to achieve sustainable growth of cities. Therefore, evaluation of the existing compactness of urban areas is crucial for guiding future urban development. Previous studies measured urban areas' compactness at a city or metropolitan scale in a developed country context. Hence, a considerable research gap exists in studying compactness at the neighborhood scale, especially in urban areas from a developing country. This paper aims to evaluate and compare compactness level of neighborhoods in the GIS environment through broadly six indicators-population density, evenness of development, clustering nature of development, land-use diversity, floor use mix, and road network connectivity in eight neighborhoods of Dhaka city, Bangladesh. For this, the study developed a Composite Compactness Index (CCI) based on a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approach. Study results classified four neighborhood as low compact, three as moderately compact, and one as high compact neighborhood. Travel behavior analysis through modal share, travel time, and travel distance validated compact neighborhoods' tenability. Here, identified low and moderate compact neighborhoods require immediate planning interventions for improving their compactness level. Results from this study can work as a preliminary guideline for planners, policymakers, and development agencies for designing a more sustainable and efficient urban form through compact urban development on neighborhood scale. The developed methodology presented here can be applied to other areas with refinements necessary for corresponding geographic location.

Background: The emergence of COVID-19 pandemic has not only shaken the global health sector, but also almost every other sector, including economic and education sectors. Newspapers are performing a significant role by featuring the news of COVID-19 from its very onset. The temporal fluctuation of COVID-19 related key themes presented in newspaper articles and the findings obtained from them could offer an effective lesson in dealing with future epidemics and pandemics. Aim and method: This paper intends to develop a pandemic management framework through an automated content analysis of local newspaper coverage of COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh. To fulfill the aim, 7,209 newspaper articles are assembled and analyzed from three popular local newspapers named “bdnews24.com”, “New Age”, and “Prothom Alo English” over the period from January 1, 2020 to October 31, 2020. Results: Twelve key topics are identified: origin and outbreak of COVID-19, response of healthcare system, impact on economy, impact on lifestyle, government assistance to the crisis, regular updates, expert opinions, pharmaceutical measures, non-pharmaceutical measures, updates on vaccines, testing facilities, and local unusual activities within the system. Based on the identified topics, their timeline of discussion, and information flow in each topic, a four-stage pandemic management framework is developed for epidemic and pandemic management in future. The stages are preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation. Conclusion: This research would provide insights into stage-wise response to any biological hazard and contribute ideas to endure future outbreaks.

The concentrated development in the urban areas attracts people to migrate into cities for a better living and consequently leading towards the root causes of many socio-economic and environmental nuisances. Moreover, the high-density urban living engines the rapid spread of contagious diseases and thereby threatening the lives of millions of people. The high death rate and affected cases of COVID-19 in Dhaka City, Bangladesh, and its nearby areas, i.e., Gazipur and Narayanganj, gives a clear indication of the importance of activity center decentralization. Due to the growing demand for healthcare, it has become necessary to decentralize the health care facilities to the remote areas and the Government of Bangladesh has already adopted some key measures. In this context, this particular research has tried to determine the mutilated amenity facilities for diversified stakeholders aiming parallel discouragement of the out-migration of skilled professionals and attracting the non-local professionals to live in rural Bangladesh. The research critically argues that if proper facilities can be provided in rural areas, rural to urban migration can be demotivated. It also argues that the development of small urban activity centers will help emergency situation management. The methodology includes an amalgam of a two-step exploratory and descriptive survey prior to and during the global COVID-19 outbreak. The determinants and precedence of required services were determined by Focus Group Discussion (FGD), structured direct questionnaire surveys, secondary online questionnaire surveys and persona approach. The outcome of the research proposes a glimpse of management measures for Bangladesh to tackle future pandemic situation which could be a role model for developing cities also.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused incredible impacts on people’s travel behavior. Recent studies suggest that while the demand for public transport has decreased due to passengers’ inability to maintain physical distance inside this mode, the demand for private automobile and active transport modes (walking and cycling) has increased during the pandemic. Policymakers should take this opportunity given by the pandemic and encourage people to use active transport more in the new normal situation to achieve sustainable transportation outcomes. This study explores the expected change in active transport mode usage in the new normal situation in Bangladesh based on the data from a questionnaire survey. The study finds that 56% and 45% of the respondents were expected to increase travel by walking and cycling, respectively, during the new normal situation. On the other hand, 19% of the respondents were expected to do the opposite. The study further identifies the factors influencing the expected change in travel by active transport modes during the new normal situation by developing multinomial logistic regression models. Finally, this study proposes policies to increase active transport use beyond the pandemic and ensure sustainable mobility for city dwellers and their well-being.

The impacts of COVID-19 on the transportation system have received attention from researchers all over the world. Initial findings reveal that patronage of public transport has gone down, while the use of active transport has increased in general. To the best of our knowledge, no study has focused on the pandemic’s effects on motorcycle mode, let alone in the context of an Asian city. We attempted to fill this void in literature by investigating if COVID-19 has influenced people to purchase motorcycles and determining the factors driving their intentions. The study is based on an online survey of 368 people in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. The study found that around 46% of the respondents were expected to increase travel by motorcycle during the post-lockdown period. About 21% of the respondents were also expected to do the opposite. Around 31% of the respondents planned to purchase a motorcycle by August 2021, and the results indicated that the pandemic has influenced more people to purchase motorcycles compared to the pre-pandemic period. The study further identified factors that influenced the respondents’ plan for purchasing a motorcycle during the post-lockdown period applying the binary logistic regression. Based on the findings of the study, policy measures were proposed for controlling the growth of motorcycle numbers and increasing the use of active transport modes as its alternative, and consequently, helping to achieve sustainable transportation outcomes.

In an era of environmental degradation, resource extraction needs to be restricted in proportion to natural capital’s regenerative capacity to nullify ecological overshoot. An investigation into spatial heterogeneity of ‘Ecological Footprint of Production’ (EFp) helps to examine spatial variation of human demand on nature due to production purposes. This study focuses on spatial variation in environmental impact of resource extraction by estimating EFp values for all 64 districts of Bangladesh. EFp is spatially varied across six land types in the following ranges 0.016–0.502 gha/capita for cropland; 0.016–0.637 gha/capita for grazing land; 0.004–0.194 gha/capita for fishing ground; 0.000–0.187 gha/capita for forest land; 0.00009–0.011 gha/capita for built-up land; and 0.000–1.192 gha/capita for carbon uptake land. Moreover, in this study, regions are delineated based on EFp values of six land types using ArcGIS-based standard deviation classification method. The region having the highest total EFp is located at the central-east part of Bangladesh. Among six types of land uses, cropland, grazing land and carbon uptake land contributed most in total EFp. Multiple linear regression modeling showed that population employed in service sector drives total EFp (gha) in negative direction and district population drives it in positive direction. Spatially segregated policy directions are recommended for restricting EFp to ensure reduced environmental degradation and increased production-based sustainability. Therefore, to promote sustainable sectoral enhancement plans and policies, this investigation facilitates regional policy guidelines based on sectoral magnitude of resource extraction.

The available approaches for measuring accessibility are rigid and complex in nature, and mostly impractical for decision-makers as they require a large number of data, logistics support, and technical knowledge. Therefore, this study seeks to propose a flexible and practical approach for quantifying and ranking the accessibility to market facilities in rural areas. A three-stage multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approach is proposed to fulfill the objective. The first stage involves the identification of factors that influence the accessibility to rural market facilities. The next stage involves the use of the Constant-Sum Paired-Comparison Method (CSPCM) to determine the priority of each identified factor. The third stage adopts the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) to quantify and rank the accessibility to market facilities of rural areas. To illustrate a real-world application, accessibility to market facilities in ten sub-districts of Bangladesh have been quantified and ranked by using this proposed approach. Results of this application support the claim that MCDM approach is a practical, flexible, and reliable approach that would better assist the policy-makers to identify poor accessible rural areas.

Though equal and easy accessibility to healthcare facilities are a fundamental right, people of the coastal region often get poor accessibility to healthcare facilities. This research aimed to assess the spatial accessibility to healthcare facilities in the coastal region of Bangladesh. Patuakhali district was selected as the study area. Accessibility to three levels of healthcare facilities: Community Clinic (CC), Upazila Health Complex (UHC) and District Hospital (DH) was measured individually using Geographic Information System (GIS) adopting the simple distance measures. Finally, overall accessibility to healthcare facilities was measured by overlaying accessibility to all three levels of healthcare facilities according to their relative importance. The findings of this study showed that a significant portion (70%) of Patuakhali district had high accessibility to CC; whereas, almost 60% and 40% of the area had poor accessibility to UHC and DH, respectively. Furthermore, 40% and 28% of the area of Patuakhali district had low and high accessibility to overall healthcare facilities, respectively. Furthermore, accessibility to healthcare facilities was found very poor in rural areas, char areas, and seashore. Thereafter, it is recommended to provide an UHC in every upazila and a DH in the southern part of Galachipa upazila to ensure high spatial accessibility of healthcare facilities.

Background To prevent the viral transmission from higher infected to lower infected area, controlling the vehicular traffic, consequently public movement on roads is crucial. Containment strategies and local cognition regarding pandemic might be helpful to control vehicular movement. This study aimed to ascertain the effectiveness of containment strategies and local cognition for controlling traffic volume during COVID-19 pandemic in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Method Six containment strategies were considered to explore their influence on traffic condition, including declaration of general holiday, closure of educational institution, deployment of force, restriction on religious gathering, closure of commercial activities, and closure of garments factories. Newspaper coverage and public concern about COVID-19 were considered as local cognition in this research. The month of Ramadan as a potential event was also taken into account considering it might have an impact on the overall situation. Average daily journey speed (ADJS) was calculated from real-time traffic data of Google Map to understand the vehicular traffic scenario of Dhaka. A multiple linear regression method was developed to comprehend the findings. Results The results showed that among the containment strategies, declaration of general holiday and closure of educational institutions could increase the ADJS significantly, thereby referring to less traffic movement. Besides, local cognition could not significantly affect the traffic condition, although the month of Ramadan could increase the ADJS significantly. Conclusion It is expected that these findings would provide new insights into decision-making and help to take appropriate strategies to tackle the future pandemic situation.

Rapid urban population growth stimulates the challenges of city government authorities in providing the municipal services adequately considering the citizen’s demand. While the gap persists between the service provision and citizen’s perception on it, the quality of life of cities may deteriorate due to psychological dissatisfaction of dwellers with urban services. Hence the evaluation of the urban service quality from the citizen’s perspective and accordingly addressing the gap is necessary for sustainable urban management. This study shows a common framework incorporating SERVQUAL, Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Citizen’s Score Card to define the quality of municipal services spatially and functionally based on the satisfaction of citizens. The items under the dimensions of SERVQUAL and the weightages of each dimension were set through literature review and expert opinion. Dhaka, the only megacity of Bangladesh is experiencing an impetuous growth towards its northern portion and Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) is the responsible authority to supply the municipal facilities within this area. Nine residential neighborhoods having homogeneous characteristics in terms of population density, residential land use, built up area and income level within the jurisdictional area of DNCC were selected to collect the data. The data were collected through household questionnaire survey using stratified random sampling technique where people responded for each SERVQUAL questions and scored the facilities provided by the DNCC. The result shows citizens are moderately satisfied (63.3%) with municipal services aggregately. To meet the demand of dwellers, the city government authority should be more functional, reliable and participatory and be equipped with qualified manpower and facilities. Despite the locational characteristics are uniform among the case areas, Ward 3, Ward 4 and Ward 31 are in unprivileged state in terms of municipal services. The facilities of public toilet, parking and disaster management activities performed by DNCC are commonly in unsatisfactory state in all areas that require special attention from the authority. Based on the findings, it could be stated that where the city government authority is roughly unsusceptible to meet the demand of the existing population, the enormous population growth within urban areas could affect the life quality poorly. Therefore this paper would fetch a course where the deficiency on urban services would be evaluated under a common arena considering the psychological aspect of citizen, thereby priority interventions could be ascertained for enhancing the life quality of urban areas.

Background: COVID-19 pandemic outbreak is an unprecedented shock throughout the world, which has generated a massive social, human, and economic crisis. Identification of risk factors is crucial to prevent the COVID-19 spread by taking appropriate countermeasures effectively. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the potential risk factors contributing to the COVID-19 incidence rates at the district-level in Bangladesh. Method: Spatial regression methods were applied in this study to fulfill the aim. Data related to 28 demographic, economic, built environment, health, and facilities related factors were collected from secondary sources and analyzed to explain the spatial variability of this disease incidence. Three global (ordinary least squares (OLS), spatial lag model (SLM), and spatial error model (SEM)) and one local (geographically weighted regression (GWR)) regression models were developed in this study. Results: The results of the models identified four factors: percentage of the urban population, monthly consumption, number of health workers, and distance from the capital city, as significant risk factors affecting the COVID-19 incidence rates in Bangladesh. Among the four developed models, the GWR model performed the best in explaining the variation of COVID-19 incidence rates across Bangladesh, with an R2 value of 78.6%. Conclusion: Findings and discussions from this research offer a better insight into the COVID-19 situation, which helped discuss policy implications to negotiate the future epidemic crisis. The primary policy response would be to decentralize the urban population and economic activities from and around the capital city, Dhaka, to create self-sufficient regions throughout the country, especially in the north-western region.

Medical waste (MW) poses serious threats to environmental and public health. Throughout the world, existing challenges of medical waste management (MWM) have been heightened in the Covid-19 situation due to an increase in the massive amount of MW. Even before the pandemic, MWM has always been a concern in Bangladesh. The objectives of this research are to review the related national policy initiatives and guidelines in Bangladesh in comparison with the international guidelines, to evaluate the present scenario of the MWM system, and to explore the scope of Impact Assessment (IA) in improving the system. From the analysis, it has been found that several national guidelines have been formulated during this pandemic covering important issues related to the MWM system, which is commendable. Some of these guidelines comply with international guidelines, but there are inconsistencies among these. However, neither the previous MWM policy tools nor these guidelines are implemented accordingly. In this pandemic, an IA framework has also been published in Bangladesh, which is praiseworthy. Although no evidence could be found on its implementation either. Therefore, it is necessary to take initiative for the implementation of this IA framework. Thereby the policy makers will be able to identify the gaps prohibiting the implementation of the MWM policy tools and guidelines. This will enable them to take corrective actions accordingly to improve the MWM system by enhancing the preparedness and capacity against any possible future situations like pandemic overwhelming the MW situation in Bangladesh.

Metropolitan regions are increasingly facing the challenges of a growing number of intercity commuting trips. Yet existing literature on this topic, particularly in the context of developing countries, is limited. This study focuses on the travel behavior of intercity commuters in the Dhaka Metropolitan Region. A binomial logit model is used to examine the mode choice between bus and rail, based on survey data collected from daily commuters who travel to Dhaka City from its nearby urban centers. The results show that commuters' sociodemographic characteristics (such as income and professional status, whether a student or not), mode attributes (such as travel time, travel cost, and additional transfer), and level of importance that is attached to transit service quality (such as comfort, seat availability, and reliability) significantly influence the mode choice decision of commuters. In addition, the model examines the predicted mode share for improved transit scenarios. Finally, this study highlights the implications of these findings for Dhaka's transportation policy.

Adequate, easy, and equitable access to urban facilities is a fundamental human right. To ensure adequate access to urban facilities, it is paramount important to urban planners to achieve equity in the distribution of such facilities. This study thus attempts to measure an integrated spatial accessibility measurement framework that contributes to the evaluation of geographic variation of spatial accessibility to urban facilities in Dhaka city corporation (DCC). This study measures integrated spatial accessibility index for urban facilities using GIS based techniques network analysis, spatial join, and summarize incorporating supply and demand for urban facilities, the travel distance or time that users are willing to cover to reach such facilities, and the interaction of residents across geographic boundaries. The obtained results indicate that there exist a variation in spatial accessibility to urban facilities. The central part of DCC area (16 wards) was found to retain higher spatial accessibility to urban facilities while the periphery was mostly covered by the wards (50 wards) with low spatial accessibility scores. Urban facilities are distributed in such a way that three-fourth of total population have low spatial access to those facilities. Modelling results implicate these areas should get more priority in allocating particular types of urban facilities in future. Research findings of this study could be a useful reference to help urban planners to analyze, investigate, and adjust the distribution of urban facilities in a more equitable manner.

The demand for electricity is increasing fast in Bangladesh to sustain rapid economic growth. The largest share of electricity in Bangladesh is produced by fossil fuel powered electricity generation plants. Though solar energy has high potential in Bangladesh due to favorable geographical location, very little initiative has been taken to develop the solar energy sector. At present, the Bangladesh government’s approval criteria for site selection of solar energy parks does not have any scientific basis. Consequently, the present study was undertaken to develop the site selection criteria for solar parks in Bangladesh. Delphi method with AHP was used to determine the criteria and its weightage for site selection of solar energy park. Two rounds of questionnaire for the Delphi method were conducted: in the first, the criteria list was formulated, and in the second, the weightage of the criteria was finalized. The finalized criteria were: land cover (i.e., vegetation, water bodies, build up area, bare land), land slope, surface solar irradiance, land surface temperature, and location of power sub-stations. Among these, land cover and location of power sub-stations were found to have the highest significance for determining suitable locations for solar energy parks in regard to Bangladesh.

Pedestrian road-crossing strategy is one of the most important pedestrian road-crossing behaviors. The safety of the pedestrians often depends on it. Among the road-crossing strategies, rolling gap crossing strategy is the riskiest one. The objective of this research was to explore the factors that influenced pedestrians’ decision to cross the road by rolling gap crossing at intersection. Data regarding road-crossing strategy of the pedestrians, their characteristics, their road-crossing behavior, intersection geometry, and traffic environmental condition were collected through videography survey method, on-site observation, and secondary source from six intersections of Dhaka, Bangladesh. A binary logistic regression model was developed in this study by using the collected data. Results of the developed model showed that seven statistically significant factors strongly influenced pedestrians’ decision to cross the road by rolling gap crossing at intersections. These factors were intersection control type, median width, vehicle flow, available gap on the road, age group of the pedestrians, their crossing group size, and their behavior of crosswalk usage. The results of this study would help the policymakers to take proper interventions to alleviate pedestrian safety problems.

Dhaka, the capital and megacity of the developing country Bangladesh, has experienced a sharp rise in motorcycle users in the last decade, especially after the introduction of ridesharing services. Therefore, the morbidity and mortality rates of motorcycle crash injuries have also increased and become one of the major safety concerns. However, there is scant empirical evidence on motorcycle crash severity in the context of developing countries. Hence, this study was conducted to identify the factors that influenced the severity of motorcycle crashes in Dhaka. A binary logistic regression model was developed using motorcycle crash data of Dhaka over the period of 2006–2015 to identify the contributing factors of motorcycle crash severity. The model output showed that eleven factors significantly increased the probability of fatal motorcycle crashes. These factors were crashes occurring on weekends, during the rainy season, during dawn and night period, at non-intersections, on straight and flat roads, on highways, hit pedestrian type crashes, crashes involving motorcycles with no defect, crashes with heavier vehicles, crashes involving motorcyclists not wearing helmets, and drivers with alcohol suspicion. These findings would help to formulate prevention strategies to reduce the injury severity of motorcycle crashes in the developing countries.

Pedestrians are the most vulnerable road users and their risky behaviours make the situation worse. This study aimed to assess the crash risk associated with various pedestrian groups and their road crossing behaviours at intersections in Dhaka, Bangladesh. A two-stage, multi-criteria decision-making approach—analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS)—was used for risk assessment. In the first stage, five risk assessment criteria: nearest vehicle speed, nearest vehicle type, vehicle flow, interrupted by vehicle, and minimum gap were identified from the literature, and these criteria were weighted by the AHP. In the second stage, risk associated with various pedestrian groups and their road-crossing behaviours were quantified and ranked by the TOPSIS. The results indicate that male and young pedestrians had higher risk among pedestrian groups. Furthermore, an oblique crossing type, a running crossing pattern, mobile phone usage while crossing, carrying medium-weight baggage, a rolling gap crossing type, high crossing speed, and cross by using conflict zone were found as the riskiest behaviours. Besides, using crosswalk while crossing, single-stage and two-stage crossing types, perpendicular crossing type, and group crossing were found to be the safest behaviours.

Although the rate of road crashes and their severity is relatively higher in developing countries, there is still a lack of research on pedestrian-vehicle crash severity in these contexts, particularly in Bangladesh. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the contributing environmental, road, and vehicular factors that influenced pedestrian—single-vehicle crash severity in Dhaka, a megacity and the capital of Bangladesh. A binary logistic regression model was developed in this study by analyzing a data set of pedestrian—single-vehicle crashes involving casualties in Dhaka from 2010 to 2015. The model identified seven significant factors influencing pedestrian-vehicle crash severity. Significant factors increasing the likelihood of fatal crashes included crashes during adverse weather, dawn/dusk period, night period (where street light was absent), off-peak period, crashes where road divider was unavailable, road geometry was straight and flat, and crashes those were occurred by heavier vehicles. Besides, crashes at three-legged intersections were less likely to be fatal. Both similarities and differences were found among the significant factors influencing pedestrian-vehicle crash severity in Dhaka from the findings of the developed countries. The findings of this study would help transport engineers and planners to design safer roadways for both pedestrians and vehicles.

Purpose Bangladesh is one of the most flood-prone countries in the world. A number of research works have identified that the flood scenario will be aggravated with climate change context in Bangladesh. In 2014, Bangladesh had prepared municipal level master plan for 222 municipalities with a view to planned urban development. But climate change-induced flood has not been considered in master plan, which poses a question toward the sustainability of the plan. Ullapara Municipality of Sirajganj district has been selected to conduct the research. This study aims to evaluate how infrastructure in proposed master plan will be exposed to climate change-induced flood. Design/methodology/approach The methodology of this study follows geographic information system (GIS)-based flood exposure analysis of selected infrastructure. These infrastructures include transport infrastructure, educational infrastructure, health infrastructure and other urban facilities. Climate change-induced flood for the year 2040 has been used for flood exposure analysis. Findings It is evident from the flood exposure analysis that about 33.99% roads will be exposed to 1.5 m–2 m inundation level; seven primary school, six secondary school and four colleges would be highly exposed to 2.0 m–2.50 m inundation level; four health facilities would be exposed to 1.0 m–2.0 m inundation level because of future climate change. This inundation scenario for long duration will lead to dysfunction of concerned infrastructure and, in turn, undermine the stability of a socioeconomic system of Ullapara Municipality. Originality/value As the master plan is not fully implemented till now, there is scope for intervention for considering climate change-induced flood to make the plan sustainable.

Urban redevelopment is a critical process that needs to apporach issues from different angles with the intention to arrive at one single point: sustainability. Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, with a density of 28,000 people/km2, is currently having a tough time to give its people access to urban facilities. Old Dhaka, the 400-year-old part of the city, has very distinctive characteristics: historical buildings, wholesale trade, a dense urban pattern, narrow roads, low standard of urban utilities. This study attempted to describe persisting problems and expectations of the local people in this area, to be considered during redevelopment. This study followed the method of Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA). First, the existing development pattern and business zones were determined based on a historical timeline, a transact walk, a social and resource map, and a mobility map. The pair-wise ranking method was used in several focus group discussions to prioritize the problems. After prioritizing, a cause-effect diagram was created for the top problems. Then, after a rigorous SWOT analysis, several strategies were formulated from the point of view of historical conservation, development pattern, and the existing chemical industry. The importance of this study is that it is a real-time study and that it has some general implications for similar future cases, such as prioritizing the most persistent problems, thinking with empathy while dealing with old, traditional areas and to ensure local safety, livability and business performance simultaneously in the case of commercial areas. The results of this study are useful for local policy makers as they provide a valuable blend of technical analysis and local people's feedback.

Land use change in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, has been documented in several studies. In recent years, development outside Dhaka Metropolitan Development Plan (DMDP) area is thriving and large chunks of agricultural land and wetlands have been converted with the growth of real estate projects. However, information on urban expansion around the boundary of DMDP is very limited in literature. In this context, our research selected a study area outside DMDP jurisdiction, where private real estate developers are operating large-scale projects. This research aims to identify the land development activities that resulted in changes in the agricultural and wetland. This chapter explores the spatial proponents to this change, and investigates the existing institutional and legal frameworks. Remote sensing and satellite imagery were used to trace land use change. Besides, different participatory research tools were employed to explore causes associated with this change. A comprehensive quantitative-qualitative analysis was carried out to analyze the data. Proximity to Dhaka’s CBD, connectivity to major transportation network and availability of vast tract of undeveloped land were identified as the key issues that attract real estate developments. Increased selling price and low yield from existing land use were found as root causes for booming land sale. Besides these push and pull factors, this study identified the limitations of the local government policy initiatives responsible for this unplanned development. Detailed findings of the study are expected to contribute in formulating physical planning and policy strategies for sustainable development.

To ensure adequate access to urban facilities, it is important for urban planners to achieve equity in the geographical arrangement of such facilities. For the evaluation of vertical spatial equity in the geographical organization of urban facilities, there is a requirement to examine whether and to what degree the variation in spatial accessibility to urban facilities corresponds to the variation in aspatial accessibility for such facilities. While no studies so far measure vertical spatial equity in accordance with ‘need’ and ‘demand’ based approaches of equity with a focus on both spatial and aspatial accessibility. Therefore, this paper attempts to measure an integrated spatial accessibility index for the evaluation of geographic variation in spatial accessibility to urban facilities, and then, seeks to integrate spatial accessibility and aspatial accessibility in one framework to evaluate vertical spatial equity in the geographical arrangement of urban facilities. This paper measures integrated spatial accessibility index for urban facilities following the concept of 2SFCA method incorporating supply and demand for urban facilities, the travel distance or time that users are willing to cover to reach such facilities, and the interaction of residents across geographic boundaries. Aspatial accessibility to urban facilities is defined through demographic-demand index and social-need index for those facilities. Spearmen correlation coefficient, spatial analysis models (local spatial autocorrelation in this case), and overlay are used to assess the association between spatial accessibility and aspatial accessibility to urban facilities. The results indicate there exists a variation (inequality) in spatial accessibility to urban facilities in the case study area (DCC). Urban facilities are inequitably distributed within DCC, as high-social-need areas and high-demographic-demand areas have low spatial accessibility to such facilities. These areas should be prioritized in distributing urban facilities in the future, and thus, it can help urban planners to achieve an equitable distribution of urban facilities.

The popularization of sustainable development has contributed to the promotion of the urban compactness idea. Since the 1990s, research has generally led to the advocacy of cities that are spatially compact, with a mix of uses. Dhaka has been dealing with some burning issues mainly related to land use management, which gives rise to the shortage of livable space along with environmental degradation and economic instability. Sustainable land use management requires proper study of existing spatial structures. Majority of the previous research focused on indicators that measured compactness or the sprawling nature of urban area at City or Metropolitan scale. This research has quantified neighborhood level spatial structures to study the compactness of the development. For measuring the spatial distribution of the development, the study has taken five variables-density in terms of floor use, residential to employment ratio, the percentage of the built-up area by buildings, the degree of equal distribution measured by Gini Coefficient, and the degree of clustering measured by Moran's I Coefficient. In the case of spatial structure, the Gini represents the degree to which the distribution of the development is concentrated or dispersed over the urban area while Moran's I will measure the degree of clustering or the three-dimensional pattern of the development. Each of the studied neighborhoods (ward) has been divided into 100*100 square grid cells which defines the sub-area for analysis, where each grid cell contains the information of total floor space available for residential and employment use used as a proxy variable of the population. The study found that residential spaces in the wards have more even distribution, with more continuous or random scattering behavior, while employment spaces are clustered in a few sub areas producing monocentric urban form in Neighborhood scale. The study focused mainly on two wards, similar study covering all the wards would give the spatial structure of the whole city, which will be the ultimate need of the policymakers or planners to prepare better land use control plans as well as land use development plans.

Bangladesh is a disaster prone country. Disasters like cyclone, storm surge, flood, drought etc. recurrently occur in this country due to its locational disadvantages and public ignorance regarding impacts of disasters. As a result, this country demands the improvement in both physical and social infrastructure planning sectors. Disaster risk communication plays a vital role in this case. In this paper; the role, present practices and prospects of disaster risk communication system in Bangladesh have been reviewed and comparisons have been carried out with other countries. From the study it has been found that, Bangladesh is comparatively in a weak position in case of pre, during and post disaster risk communication phases; whereas the other countries are so advanced in this regard. Community preparedness program is not undertaken in a proper way and hence, destructive losses and damages are taken place due to disaster in the country. Warning system in Bangladesh, performance of Emergency Operation Center is also not up the mark. Analyzing the findings of the study; some recommendations have been proposed in the context of Bangladesh which may be helpful in improving the disaster risk communication in Bangladesh.

Involuntary resettlement and quality of life are one of the important themes of research. Real estate is considered as one of the most lucrative sectors of business, and land market is extensively controlled by influential groups of private real estate developers. Because of high land price in central city areas of Dhaka, the majority of the land developers are attracted in the fringe areas of this city where vast tracts of wetland and agricultural land are available at lower price. In many cases, local people are exploited by the developers and forced to sell their land. The relocation of these local people in different areas of the country can be identified as involuntary resettlement of people. The objective of this study is to explore the quality of life of the relocated people in their present and previous locations from socioeconomic perspectives. This study is based on the information collected from relocated families who had to move from their original residence because of four land development projects of Dhaka. Approximately, 3,920 families were identified as relocated families from these project areas. About 350 relocated household heads were surveyed by a prestructured questionnaire. This research used snowball sampling for the questionnaire survey. A set of indicators were studied to assess and compare the present and past status of the socioeconomic condition of relocated families. Data were collected on housing condition, services, social network, occupation, income and expenditure, landownership, etc., for fulfilling research objective. It was found from the research findings that over all socioeconomic condition of the relocated people have been degraded from their previous status. At present, about 67.7% of the local people who were the owner of land in previous locations do not own any land at present. Similarly, local peoples’ occupation structure was changed significantly at their current location. Their housing condition and access to utility facilities are also deteriorated. Social network plays a vital role to enhance the quality of life of people. According to the respondents, they had lost their social network as they moved out from their original location.

This article discusses the trajectory of project implementation in the development of the Hatirjheel lake area in Dhaka, which involved forced relocation and socio-economic deprivation for most project-affected people. It raises questions over the extent to which such processes need to be seen as state-induced violations of basic justice, asking whether more justice-focused management of such projects is becoming an unrealistic expectation in an increasingly crowded Bangladesh. The article discusses the socio-political dynamics and community-related issues affecting different stakeholders during the implementation of the project. Despite the official presence of participatory planning techniques, the forceful imposition of the development plans and the drastic ramifications of forced land acquisition are shown to have violated basic principles of good governance. It is suggested that less violent and more inclusive approaches are possible despite resource scarcities and that lessons can be learned from such experiences for the future.

Ethical and professional dimensions of planning practice deal with the art and science of urban planning, in its many aspects. Ethics in planning are the values, standards, and philosophies that planners live by. Ethical planning helps planners establish codes of professional behaviors, and collectively ethics which translated into institutional, government policies and programs. In Dhaka, planning practitioners struggle with three priorities, i.e. environmental protection, economic development and social equity in the context of a fast paced urbanization and limited resources. In this chapter, we explore how the ethical issues of planning were perceived by the professionals, academics, civil society, media, government and politicians during the preparation, monitoring and implementation of Detailed Area Plan (DAP) of Dhaka Metropolitan Area.

Sustainability of transport system depends on a range of services and impacts produced by transport which can be indicated by several factors like mode choice, affordability, equity, accessibility, pollution, safety and efficiency. To address the increasing congestion problem and demand of mobility carsharing service was introduced in urban areas through focusing sustainability. Uber is a ridesharing service catered for an easy, comfortable, and convenient urban travel experience. It was launched in Dhaka in 2016. As a new alternative mode is available to the city dwellers, many of them are using it. The study intended to identify the Uber users as well as to understand their use pattern and preferences from sustainability perspective. For this study data were collected through in person questionnaire survey of Uber users at several potential points of users by random sampling method. The study has used descriptive approaches to investigate the issues. Results show that Uber is mostly used by the people of middle to high income younger age group due to its better accessibility and safety. Due to higher fare structure low to middle income people can not avail this service which is a negative point for Uber as far as sustainability is concerned. Uber trips are found most likely to be shifted from CNG and Taxi. Uber has no impact to change private car ownership status and car use. In some cases Uber has diverted trips from non-motorized modes. It is clear from the observation of this study that Uber is providing service to a particular segment of the population with less sustainability concern of urban transport in Dhaka.

The compliance behavior of pedestrians at controlled intersections is an important determinant of the number of crashes involving pedestrians at those intersections. The objective of this study was to explore compliance behavior of the pedestrians at vehicular traffic signals and traffic-police-controlled intersections in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Two types of compliance behavior were examined: compliance with vehicular traffic signals and traffic police direction, and compliance with crosswalk. First, factors influencing each compliance behavior of pedestrians were identified from the existing literature and correlation test results. With those identified factors, two discrete choice models were developed: a multinomial logistic (MNL) model for explaining the compliance behavior with vehicular traffic signals and traffic police direction, and a binary (BLR) model for exploring the compliance behavior with crosswalk. The results of the MNL model showed that compliance behavior was significantly associated with intersection control type, gender, crossing group, baggage handling by pedestrian, and vehicle flow. Whereas, the BLR model showed that compliance with crosswalk was significantly influenced by age of the pedestrians, compliance with intersection control direction by pedestrians, and vehicle flow. These findings would help the policy-makers to take countermeasures to alleviate traffic safety related problems.

Pedestrian crossing speed and waiting time are critical parameters for designing traffic signals and ensuring pedestrian safety. This study aimed to carry out microscopic level research on pedestrian crossing speed and waiting time at intersections in Dhaka. To fulfill this aim, crossing-related data of 560 pedestrians were collected from three intersections in Dhaka using a videography survey method. Descriptive and statistical analyses were carried out, and then two multiple linear regression (MLR) models were developed for these two parameters by using the collected data. From the results, 1.15 m/s was found to be the design pedestrian crossing speed. Results also show that the crossing speed of pedestrians was associated with intersection control type, gender, age, crossing type, crossing group size, compliance behavior with control direction, and crossing location. In case of waiting time, findings show that pedestrians did not want to wait more than 20–30 s to cross the road. Furthermore, the waiting time of the pedestrians varied with intersection control type, gender, age, minimum gap, waiting location, and vehicle flow. Findings of this study will help to alleviate traffic safety problems by designing an effective intersection control system.

In Bangladesh, there is no such provision for assessment of users' priority in rural road development works. This study attempts to show the significance of this issue by assessing users' priority for different types of rural road development works. Users' priority varies from socioeconomic characteristics of rural areas. Due to this variation, priority assessment is not the same for all upazilas which should be an important consideration in rural road development projects. In other Asian countries like India, Nepal, users' participation in rural road development projects is regarded as a crucial part. But in Bangladesh, there are no such initiatives for users' participation in planning, implementing and monitoring rural road development projects. For this reason, rural road development projects are not properly assessed the users' demand .This study explores such issues through the assessment of users' priorities which should be considered for sustaining the rural road development works and thus helping them to contribute a lot in the rural economy.

A growing body of research shows positive association between parks and physical activity, but very few studies have investigated the characteristics of users and how the activities vary according to different user groups. The purpose of this study was to investigate the socio-demographic profile of the users, their activities and motivation of visiting the park. Total 400 users of Ramna Park were surveyed in face to face interview in different time periods. The participants were asked to provide information about their socio-economic profile, frequency and purpose of visit, mobility and activity patterns in the park and level of satisfaction about different facilities. At a random selection of the sample, we found larger proportion of male visitors than female visitors with a majority in the age group 40-60 years. The park has a large catchment area which extends beyond the range of walking distance and the frequency of visiting the park was found closely associated with the proximity of the users. Besides, no significant association was found between the proximity and duration of staying in the park. An overwhelming majority of the visitors come to the park for health purpose mainly for walking, jogging and physical exercise. The findings suggest that the purpose of visiting the park significantly varies according to the gender and age group of the respondents. The visitors were also asked about their satisfaction level and problems they usually faced based on their individual perception. Most of them raised their concerns for poor toilet facility and waste management.

About 60% of the trips are made on foot in Dhaka city but the pedestrians are the most vulnerable group among the road users. It is identified that more than 48% of reported road accidents and 72% of reported fatalities were pedestrians in Dhaka Metropolitan City. Among them, a large percentage of pedestrian crashes occurred in the intersection area. This study attempted to analyse the existing scenario of three accident-prone intersections of Dhaka city- Sonargaon-Panthapath, Jatrabari, and Shapla Chattar and redesign the intersections to ensure pedestrian safety. For the study, geographic elements were analysed and traffic studies were conducted for both vehicles and pedestrians of the intersections. Each of the legs of the intersections was incorporated in the study to know about the actual existing traffic scenario and problems of the intersections. After that, opinions of the stakeholders were collected regarding the redesign of the intersection. It was found that the geographical condition of the intersections was very poor. Sidewalks and roadways were mainly occupied by illegal hawkers, illegal parking, ticket counters. Besides, the roundabouts and central islands were not well-designed to control the vehicular and pedestrian traffic. So, these three intersections were redesigned by considering their land use, traffic flow, surroundings and the available standards. Overall pedestrian safety is expected to improve at those intersections if the proposed design is implemented.

Hazards like cyclone, storm surge, flood, drought, landslide, building collapse, fire etc. recurrently occur in Bangladesh due to its locational disadvantages and public ignorance regarding impacts of hazards. In this study, multi hazard assessment has been conducted and based on this result multi hazard zones have been delineated for Chittagong division of Bangladesh in case of 2013. Here the Chittagong division was selected as study area due to its geographical vulnerable location and witnessing situation at different hazards. The year 2013 has been considered as the study period because of occurrence of recurrent and various types of hazards at Chittagong division in a single period according to data. Assessment and zoning has been conducted separately both for natural and manmade hazards because of their different characteristics. Historically, Chittagong division is attacked by different hazards like cyclone, flood, landslides, fire etc. almost in every year. It has been observed from the study that Chittagong district is the most susceptible district because of multiple types of hazards. This district is vulnerable for both natural and manmade hazards. Noakhali district is also in a vulnerable state in case of natural hazards. Specific policies for specific locations may improve the scenario. This kind of hazard assessment should be incorporated in local level planning in order to develop community resilience and adaptation.

City cores, widely known as central business districts, are the most important part of a city that is also considered as economic center or business administration point. Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, is a mega city with ever-increasing population. Its gradual development pattern on the north has induced the growth of many cores. Being a small city with many cores, Dhaka possesses a unique characteristic that allows the functional area of these cores to hold characteristics of their own. This study aimed to find out the characteristic of these cores by identifying the functional area. Different studies mentioned Motijheel, Karwan Bazar, Gulshan–Banani, Mohakhali, and Mirpur as the city cores. The objectives of this study are to delimit the functional area of these cores by kernel density analysis on the basis of land-use concentration and compare the characteristics on the basis of space use, structure height, accessibility, and space rent. An updated GIS database of year 2016 has been used for this study. Kernel density and space index has been used in delimitating and determining the boundaries. Comparison of these cores has brought out their characteristics. These characteristics have showed that each of the cores has their own distinctive natures and properties. Therefore, these cores cannot be administered in a unified way. Considering this, the cores have been delimitated using observation on the basis of their characteristics. Development pattern of these areas needs to be monitored according to the present spatial condition of the city.

This paper explores the conceptualization of Urban Green Space (UGS) within India’s urban planning process. In doing so, the context of the Smart Cities Mission (SCM), which is a flagship programme for urban transformation in the country, is chosen. We identified four key elements of UGS planning in the literature – quantity, accessibility, multifunctionality, and connectivity. Using this as a framework for analysis, we reviewed the national SCM guidelines and plans of four cities – Gwalior, Bhagalpur, Chandigarh, and Udaipur – in depth. We find that multifunctionality does not feature in the planning of UGS, and the notable absence of a connected, strategic vision suggests the need for strategic-level planning and assessment that goes beyond the project level in India.

Current research is carried out with an intention to present an optimization approach for the urban land-use allocation problem by generating Pareto optimum solutions considering two objectives—maximizing compatibility among adjacent space uses of a study area without compromising the area’s total land price and maximizing the price of plot of each individual owner. Considering the non-linear characteristics of the objective functions, a multi-objective evolutionary algorithm approach called Non-Dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm-II (NSGA-II) is applied to obtain Pareto optimal land-use allocation subject to different set of constraints. The objective functions are tested over a case study area of Dhaka, Bangladesh. The resulting NSGA-II model produces 24 Pareto optimal solutions of land-use allocation, allowing tradeoff between maximizing compatibility and land price from one solution to other. This research also expresses the potential of the model to aid the policymakers and city planners of development authorities by providing alternative land-use plans, and thereby predicting the consequences of any plan before practical application.

The paper initially provides a succinct overview of physical growth and socio-cultural distinctiveness of Dhaka (the capital city of Bangladesh) - shaped by its primacy in the national and regional hierarchy for more than 400 years. The paper primarily assesses the challenges that Dhaka is currently facing. It is Bangladesh's most unequal city. Despite a historical legacy of formal and civic committee based planning experience, it has remained an organically developed city without effective interventions from planning and implementing agencies to make it more liveable for the poor. Transport policy and interventions are antagonistic towards rickshaws, walking and cycling. The mega city has neither efficient public transport nor mass transit. It only has insufficient urban water transport. Informality of living and jobs are highly ingrained in its everyday lifeline, mainly contributed by the bosti dwellers for whom land use distribution and land ownership are much disproportionate, skewed and unjust. Although they are the majority, service and infrastructure provisions including housing, health, transportation, and safety remained highly compromised for them. With ‘systemic invasion’ of its land around rivers, lakes and other water-bodies and wetlands by the ‘elites’, the city is becoming less liveable. It is more prone to floods as it currently has no formal adaptation, disaster risk reduction or prevention policies, practices or initiatives in place.

Street crime, like mugging and vehicle theft, are the significant crime problems in every developing city of the world. The study area for this research is Dhaka city, which is experiencing an situation of increasing street crime. This research focuses on the relationship between spatial planning and street crimes and tries to recommend different strategies for prevention of crime and violence in the streets of Dhaka city by proposing urban design and infrastructure planning. The study tries to assess the relationship from macro to micro level through different spatial and physical planning components. For the detail level study, four Thana (police station) areas have been selected from Dhaka City Corporation area (DCC) according to their physical layout and other characteristics. In this level, the relationship is studied through the association between spatial layout and different physical planning factors like land use along with some elements of streetscape. Space Syntax methodology was applied to assess the impact of spatial configuration in occurrence of street crime with the selected four study area. In the micro level the study reveals that different types of land use with different design elements lead to change in public activity spaces which have impact on occurrence of street crimes. For the overall research the street crime data (both macro and micro level) of mugging and vehicle theft were collected from the police authority and some insecure places are identified by the local people through field survey. It is expected that the outcome of this research will unveil the impacts of spatial planning on occurrence of street crimes in a city.

Earthquake risks in cities are compounded due to unplanned development in high-risk areas. To address this issue, Risk-sensitive landuse planning (RSLUP) has been considered very important in recent years. It is the process of mainstreaming disaster risk reduction and management parameters in landuse planning is termed as Risk-sensitive Land Use Planning (RSLUP). This research aims to propose a methodology to integrate earthquake risk sensitivity in landuse planning (RSLUP strategies) for a local level area at the development phase. For this purpose, Uttara Residential Model Town (URMT) (third phase), Dhaka, Bangladesh has been selected as the study area considering its earthquake risk for exposure to a potential earthquake. The area is in the process of development. So there is still scope to integrate risk sensitivity in the proposed landuse plan. This research has been carried out in two steps. Firstly, assessment of the earthquake risk sensitivity of the proposed landuse plan of the study area on the basis ofbased on the risk themes: macro-form risks, risks in urban texture, risks in land-use incompatibilities, risks in hazardous uses, special risk areas, risks in building stocks, open space scarcity risk, and risks in critical facilities. Secondly, formulate RSLUP strategies to be incorporated in the proposed plan addressing the assessed risks accordingly. Here, a combination of analytical and participatory approaches has been applied to ensure applicability as well as acceptability. This research will may guide policymakers to understand the importance and application of RSLUP and thereby take necessary steps for this purpose to mainstream RSLUP in the process of landuse planning and thereby to increase earthquake resiliency of an area.

Loss and damage in an area after an earthquake is increased due to complex nature of awareness, knowledge and perception influencing vulnerability of exposed communities. In this regard, the objectives of this research are firstly to understand the existing condition and distinction among people’s earthquake awareness, knowledge and their actualized perception in relation to their personal contexts and social capital and secondly to explore how such distinction influences earthquake vulnerability of the community. Bangladesh is highly vulnerable to earthquake, where Mymensingh municipality is located in high earthquake hazard prone zone. In this regard, Ward no. 14 of Mymensingh municipality has been considered as the study area. For the purpose of this research, questionnaire survey of 700 sample households in the study area was carried out. The study reveals that in spite of lower participation in earthquake-related program, most residents are aware of earthquake vulnerability of the area. But such awareness encompasses very limited knowledge. In spite of such lack of knowledge, most of the residents have better perception and are willing to work as a volunteer. In contrary, people, especially the owners, are in denial of their own vulnerability. The awareness, knowledge and perception is higher among educated people and people having social interaction. The findings of this study should be considered to design awareness raising and capacity building programs to ensure their success with participation of local people and thereby implement community-based disaster management in the study area. This study has opportunity to be replicated in other areas of Bangladesh as well as other countries with necessary modifications considering respective contexts and other hazards.

A liveable environment is the right of all human beings as well as all other beings. Parks and Greenspaces provide that for us. Khulna city is a rapidly growing city and the parks and open green space are not sufficient for the people living there. Khulna is the third-largest city in Bangladesh having a population of 1.4 million (BBS, 2011). According to Bangladesh Government’s Standard, the minimum land requirement for a park has been set to 1.5 acres per 10000 people. (GoB, 2004) To maintain that standard, Khulna City needs at least 210 acres of park and open space but only has 54.0 acres. (Islam, W. et al. 2012) So, existing parks are not sufficient for fulfilling the minimum govt. the standard for parks. Additional parks are required to fulfill the need. In the Open space proposal (Chapter 8) of KDA Master Plan 2001-2020, a total of 2008.00 acres of open space was proposed in which 234.70 acres of land was proposed for Metropolitan and Community Level Parks in total KDA jurisdiction area including Khulna City but most of them are not yet implemented. (KDA, 2001) It may not be possible to fulfill all the demands for parks and open spaces at a time but this study intended to find out a suitable site for a park in Khulna city to help to minimize the problem to some extent.

CO2 emissions from urban traffic are a major concern in an era of increasing ecological disequilibrium. Adding to the problem net CO2 emissions in urban settings are worsened due to the decline of bio-productive areas in many cities. This decline exacerbates the lack of capacity to sequestrate CO2 at the micro and meso-scales resulting in increased temperatures and decreased air quality within city boundaries. Various transportation and environmental strategies have been implemented to address traffic related CO2 emissions, however current literature identifies difficulties in pinpointing these critical areas of maximal net emissions in urban transport networks. This study attempts to close this gap in the literature by creating a new lay-person friendly index that combines CO2 emissions from vehicles and the bio-capacity of specific traffic zones to identify these areas at the meso-scale within four ranges of values with the lowest index values representing the highest net CO2 levels. The study used traffic volume, fuel types, and vehicular travel distance to estimate CO2 emissions at major links in Dhaka, Bangladesh's capital city's transportation network. Additionally, using remote-sensing tools, adjacent bio-productive areas were identified and their bio-capacity for CO2 sequestration estimated. The bio-productive areas were correlated with each traffic zone under study resulting in an Emission Bio-Capacity index (EBI) value estimate for each traffic node. Among the ten studied nodes in Dhaka City, nine had very low EBI values, correlating to very high CO2 emissions and low bio-capacity. As a result, the study considered these areas unsustainable as traffic nodes going forward. Key reasons for unsustainability included increasing use of motorized traffic, absence of optimized signal systems, inadequate public transit options, disincentives for fuel free transport (FFT), and a decline in bio-productive areas.

Fire, with its sudden appearance and destructive character, causes property losses and sometimes death and injury within a short time. High density of population and structures make the urban areas more vulnerable to fire hazard. In this context, fire incidents are very common in Dhaka city and the city is experiencing huge economic loss due to the increasing trend of fire incidents. These incidents are spread through different land use categories and the frequency of incidents also varies in these categories. This paper focuses on the distribution pattern of fire incidents of Dhaka Metropolitan Area according to different land use categories and structure types. The hot spots have been identified on the basis of density of fire occurrences using Kernel Density tool. The result of the research will help the policy maker in executing proper land use zoning as well as ensuring fire safety so that the loss due to fire incidents can be controlled.

Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh is one of the most populated megacity in the world and the population growth in this city is extremely high. To support growing food demand of increasing population, food supply should be secure and sustainable. On the other hand, with the pace of urbanization built-up areas are increasing; hence supply of roof space is also increasing. Rooftop farming can provide solution to increased food demand and also can promote a sustainable and livable city. Local fresh and safe food can be ensured through roof gardens in Dhaka city. The aim of the study is to explore the present practice and challenges of rooftop farming that was encountered by practitioners. Mirpur and Mohammadpur areas have been selected as study areas. Two practitioners are interviewed and 60 non-practitioners are surveyed. Results show that rooftop farming can support environment by improving air quality, reducing carbon in the atmosphere and can benefit society by reducing storm water management cost. One of the significant findings from the non-practitioner survey is that maximum people are willing to practice rooftop farming and want to provide at least 50% of roof space for rooftop farming. Finally some recommendations have been suggested to improve rooftop farming practice and encourage more people to practice rooftop farming in future.

Transport system provides one of the basic infrastructures and acts as a prerequisite for socioeconomic development of a country. To ensure a cost-effective, environment friendly and safe freight transport, choosing the best mode of transport is necessary. Dhaka and Chittagong are the two major metropolitan cities of Bangladesh. Dhaka is the main commercial center and administrative capital of the country. Chittagong is the primary sea port, accounting for about 90%of imports and exports. Dhaka and Chittagong are linked by roads, inland waterways, air and railway to provide various transport options. But air transport is more expensive compared to surface transport. Road and railway links handle most of the container cargo traffic in this corridor, though both of these modes of transport have serious capacity constraints. Inland water transport system has also some problems due to port facilities, lack of storage capacity and many others. This study is conducted to compare efficiency and cost for freight surface transport along Dhaka-Chittagong corridor which can be helpful to choose feasible way of freight transport on this corridor.

This research investigates the impact of cyclone Sidr on six regional economic systems of Bangladesh. The study uses secondary data on direct damages and corresponding changes in consumer spending and public/private investment expenditure. It employs input–output modeling and simulates the changes in national and regional output, income, and employment due to cyclone Sidr. Our findings indicate that coastal regions of Bangladesh—Barisal, Chittagong, and Khulna—are more vulnerable to cyclone disaster than are other parts of the country. The cyclone-induced loss of output is highest for Chittagong Division and income and employment losses are greatest in Barisal Division. The most affected sectors are housing services, agriculture, construction, and industrial activities. But sectoral losses vary widely across the regions. This research also finds that the present state of consumer spending and investment expenditure is not great enough to handle cyclone-induced output, income, and employment losses. It argues that investment decisions must consider regional patterns of output, income, and employment losses in different economic sectors to ensure cyclone-resilient development in Bangladesh.

This study investigates existing users’ attitudes towards public transport from two perspectives. First, the effects of accessibility to various destinations and ease of access to terminals on public transport users’ attitudes are determined. Second, the contribution of social norm, as an information source, in the formation of users’ attitudes is assessed. A user-preference survey was undertaken in Auckland, New Zealand, at two terminals. Data were analyzed using ordinal and logistic regression models. Findings showed that residential density and quality of the built environment, particularly safety, have an effect on the number of pedestrians who access a terminal. Accessibility to various destinations, “reaching work/education,” and “reaching other suburbs” in both data sets were statistically significant for existing users’ satisfaction with the current system. The findings also show that negative experiences of others have an adverse effect on existing users’ intentions to continue ridership. Overall, the results showed that to retain existing patronage, the ease of access to terminals and connectivity to various destinations need to be of a high standard.

Fast pace of urbanization and poor econoroy followed by inequitable distribution of resources bave created severe housing problems in Dhaka city, particularly for low and middle income population. With limited resource and capacity, the government bas contributed very little to address the housing problem, particularly for middle income group. A number of site and service schemes were the major focus of government which mostly beoefitted a privileged group of the society. In response to failure of the public sector, the Formal Private Sector Housing emerged as a doroinant force to cater to the housing demand of the resideoiB of Dhaka. Construction of apartment buildings bas becoroe a viable solution to meet the growing demand for resideotial accommodation in the limited land of Dhaka. Real estate business started in Dhaka in the late seventies and by the 1990s the business bad started to flourish and expand at a fast pace. At the beginning, the target groop of the developers were the upper income group of the society. But recently the private housing companies bave shifled their focus to middle incoroe group who are the largest segment of population (about 50 percent) of Dhaka city. Though real estate developers bave a coromitment to meet the housing demand of middleincome people, the question arises how far the cost matches with the affordability of the middle income group. This research reviewed the government policies and projects for housing the middle incoroe groop. It also explored the affordability of the middle-incoroe group to meet the housing cost developed by the private sector. The research bas stodied the cost of housing and existing modes of payment for housing. Findings have compared with the targets groups' income and affordability. A questionnsire survey bas been conducted on 180 middle-incoroe households located in four different middle-income areas who bave plans to boy an apartment in the near futore. Officials of 20 developer companies (about 10% of total developers who are engaged in construction of aparbncnt buildiogs) were also interviewed to understand their perspective on the middle-incoroe gmup. In conclusion, the gap between the housing market and the aspiration of the middle incoroe bas been portrayed. The study also suggested some measures to address the housing issue of middle income gmup.

In this study, we establish a correlation between GA-based optimization of green spaces and air pollution reduction thereby presenting the contribution of greeneries in lessening air pollution. In this context, we first used the grid-wise spatial distribution of CO2 in Dhaka city using geographic information systems (GIS). Then, assess how many different sizes of trees are required to plant optimally in multi-variant green space locations obtained from genetic algorithms (GA)-based heuristic optimization. Next, we quantify carbon reduction capacity of different sizes of trees considering basal area of trees and standing woody biomass. Carbon sequestration has shown to vary significantly with the types of green spaces. More predominant effect was found with local parks. We found that different sizes of trees in optimal multi-variant green spaces could sequestrate up to 1,745,848 ton of carbon per year. In addition, we emphasized from GA-based sitting of green spaces that indeed adequate and optimal locations of green spaces in an urban setting can effectively reduce air pollution.

The distribution of public facilities and their spatial equity is an important matter to be considered while planning public facilities. However, most of the studies in the literature have taken into consideration only a single type of facility while leaving other facilities unconsidered. In this paper an integrated spatial index for public facilities has been developed integrating GIS and spatial analysis models. The index measures the spatial equity based on the accessibility of 6 different types of public facilities for 5247 unions and 476 sub-districts of Bangladesh. Spatial autocorrelation techniques have been applied to understand the spatial pattern of accessibility. In fact it helps to understand the characteristics of spatial equity both for disaggregated and aggregated levels. It has been found that variation accessibilities to the facilities across the space are significant. Distribution of some facilities are spatially clustered to some particular areas means those areas are in an advantageous position in terms of accessibility while other areas are in a backward condition. The proposed index and the spatial autocorrelation will help to identify which areas should receive more priority in allocating particular types of public facilities in the future.

Worldwide, land cover change is monitored by conventional land cover mapping techniques using satellite imagery. Index method ends with assigning positive values to indicate vegetation, wetland and built-up area. However, not all positive values up to a certain threshold specify desired land cover and might indicate other covers erroneously. Therefore, a threshold value must be determined above which land covers are mapped more accurately. In this research, we employed an improved land cover mapping technique to extract vegetation, wetland and built-up area using semiautomatic segmentation approach. We used double-window flexible pace search technique not only for built-up features but also for vegetation and wetland mapping to increase the accuracy. Study is based on Landsat Thematic Mapper images of 1989, 1999 and 2010 with spatial resolution of 30 m. Integration of simple recoding of derived index images prior to threshold identification entails increased accuracy. Accuracy assessment of land cover mapping is done using high-resolution Google Earth satellite image which substitutes expensive aerial photography and time-consuming ground data collection. Error matrix presents 82.46, 96.83 and 90 % user’s accuracy of mapping built-up area, vegetation and wetland, respectively. Trend analysis discloses an average loss of vegetation and wetland by 2,664.6 and 5,328.8 acres per year, respectively, in study area from 1989 to 2010. Expectantly, future land cover mapping in similar researches will be greatly assisted with the diligent technique used in this study.

The process of urbanization in most of the developing countries of Asia has witnessed two parallel tracks—planned and ad hoc. Spatial planning has been exercised in existing and evolving cities with an aim to create cities that offer healthy living conditions and nurture growth and prosperity. However, in parallel to planned development, cities are also experiencing ad-hoc growth to accommodate housing and other land uses. Most Asian cities face the challenges of high population density, vulnerability to disaster, and lack of good governance. Like many other Asian cities, Dhaka is exposed to frequent hydrometrological disasters. Thus, it is important to evaluate the present development pathways of Dhaka from a disaster resiliency perspective. This chapter describes examples from recent floods which have had an effect on Dhaka and build a case for integrating disaster risk reduction (DRR) considerations from the very beginning of city development. This chapter also analyzes the integration of flood resiliency in the development plans and the status of implementation of flood management policies in Dhaka.

Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world under the context of climate change. Each year thousands of migrants arrive in Dhaka City, the capital of the country, mainly forced by events such as floods, cyclone and riverbank erosion. Such group of migrants has been termed as “climate-induced” migrants in this research. The city also received other types of migrants who are not driven by climatic factors; rather their reasons for migration are purely opportunistic. This group has been termed as non-climate-induced migrants. The paper deals with the climate-induced and non-climate-induced migrants in Korail slum of Bangladesh who had arrived in Dhaka after 2006. This research attempted to analyse whether there are any differences in the characteristics, experiences and future aspiration between these two groups in spite of living in the same slum located in the capital of Bangladesh. Questionnaire survey, focus groups and key informant interview were the methods of data collection. Independent sample t-test and Chi-square test have been conducted to analyse data. Results revealed significant differences between the two groups in terms of income and savings, educational level, access to credit, contacts in the city, family structure, pattern of migration and relationship with the place of origin. The study revealed that if not properly planned, migration cannot be a suitable adaptation option.

Khulna, the third largest metropolis of Bangladesh has been identified as one of the 15 most vulnerable coastal cities under climate change and it is believed that this scenario will be exacerbated with time by cyclone, saline water intrusion, submerging of low-lying areas, and tidal and urban floods, etc. The city accommodates around 1.3 million people. The poorly drained city is approximately 25m above mean sea level. Climate change effects, especially sea level rise and flooding which is a major concern for the development of the city, was not considered when the structure plan 2000-2020 was prepared. The first objective of the research is to analyze the land use policies under Structure Plan and second is to assess the potential flood damage using secondary data, namely Digital Elevation Model of Flood for 2020 and stage-damage functions for different major land uses with Geographic Information System grid-based approach. It was found that climate change would cause damage to property depending on type of land uses. Maximum damage estimated for residential sector is 49% and next to commercial and other sector (39%). Minimum damage is estimated to industrial sector after agriculture use. Proposed commercial land uses are recommended to review for relocation in flood free areas. This research would provide a better understating of the future flood risk and facilitate the decision makers to review the existing and proposed land uses for taking mitigation and prevention measures.

As Dhaka city is at risk of earthquake and fire hazard, ward 29, an old part of Dhaka city has been selected for vulnerability assessment of both hazards in this study and social vulnerability has been included in the assessment as it has become an important issue in the recent years. The methodology of three different vulnerability assessments and the way of combining the results of the assessments to develop composite vulnerability score of the study area has been described. A sample of 350 buildings has been analyzed by a visual screening method FEMA-RVS for earthquake, a methodology developed by ADPC [1] for fire hazard and a methodology developed by World Bank [24] for social vulnerability. The composite vulnerability score has been developed by incorporating earthquake and fire hazard as well as social vulnerability condition of the study area and represented in form of map produced using ArcGIS 10 showing buildings of different vulnerable categories. The study area is relatively more vulnerable to fire hazard than earthquake. As it is one of the most densely populated wards in Dhaka city, social factors have compounded the overall vulnerability to higher scale. Most of the buildings are vulnerable to both earthquake and fire hazard considering social impacts. Thus ideal mitigation planning to reduce risk is almost impossible here without involvement of community people. By warning them of their own risk and making them resilient through awareness programs and training, disaster risk in the study area can be reduced effectively.

In this paper, we investigate the effects of submergence due to heavy rainfall and river over-flow on rice production in the coastal Barisal region of Bangladesh. Our study uses plot level data to compare rice yields of cultivars in high and low submergence prone areas and to analyze variation in yield when high-yielding varieties (HYVs) versus local eeds are used. Results suggest that rice yields are, on average, some 10% lower in ‘high submergence areas' relative to ‘low submergence areas'. Both depth of submergence and duration have a negative effect on yield, with local varieties of rice seemingly better adapted to submergence. The widely grown Aman variety of rice faced an average of nine days of submergence in 2010, with 31% plots under 1-3 meters of water for 3-7 days. We forecast that an additional 13,564 hectares or 61% of total cropped Aman area in Barisal is likely to be inundated for 3-7 days in 2050 due to sea level rise and increased storm surge events. Correspondingly, given current levels of technology, we can expect a production loss of 10,856 tons of Aman in the future. The study recommends the introduction of submergence tolerant rice cultivars and low-cost water control technologies as adaptation options against climate change.

Based on secondary data, this research investigates induced effects of flood disaster scenarios on national and regional output, income and employment through Input–Output model. It traces direct damages and corresponding change in consumer spending and public/private investment during Floods of 2004 and 2007, and estimates the interaction of various economic sectors for six regions of Bangladesh. The study finds that though direct flood damages devastate the economy of Bangladesh, the nation ultimately overcome the adverse impacts by changing consumer behavior and employing diversified investment options. The results indicate that Dhaka, Rajshahi and Sylhet are more vulnerable to flood disasters compared to coastal regions, i.e. Barisal, Chittagong and Khulna, of Bangladesh. Dhaka and Rajshahi faced major output loss, while Sylhet faced noteworthy income and employment loss due to flood disasters. The study finds Barisal as the least affected region. Loss of output and employment is maximum for agriculture sector for any region and most importantly such higher order effects are unrecoverable through current state of public/private investment. Present state of consumer spending and public/private investment, however, have helped industry and construction sector to recover from flood damages. The study recommends to explore alternate employment opportunities against output, income and employment loss of agriculture sector. It urges to consider regional variation while taking different measures to tackle flood disaster.

It is nearly 450 years old forest, forest of buildings reaching for the sun like the mangroves of south western coastal area. Although its urban infrastructure is the most developed in the country, Dhaka suffers fromurban problems such as pollution, congestion, and lack of adequate services due to the rising population. The civilized tenants now find it challenging to adopt with most of the parts of the city emerged in a quite natural way. Ward-45 of Dhaka Metropolitan city is a point charge taken into account for the predominating facts which now affects largely on living standards. Though it has become hard to cope up the growth of city with its limited resources, people aspires for the package of standard living with some relocations and renovations. This study has been conducted based on mainly primary data. This study will express the surveyed data on the socio-economic profile of the population in Ward-45, perceptions and visions of residents regarding amenities,infrastructure, and redevelopment and of the upcoming future. Land use plan of a particular area is not only a design of an area, but also a comprehensive development approach. This approach integrates the development with environmental and transport planning, economic and culture development as well as community development. Development pattern of an area can promote sustainability through efficient use of urban space and resources for the improvement of living standard and infrastructure. To ensure a sound life in a sound area these problems should be solved with proper planning and maintenance.

Migration is defined by the movement of people or groups of people from one place to another. As rural areas lack proper facilities and services, people tend to migrate to urban areas in hope of better standard of life. This causes various problems in urban areas. These problems can only be reduced if sufficient facilities are provided in the rural areas. This study attempts to find out the facilities and services required by both the local and non-local people living in the rural areas. The findings from the study are based on data collected through questionnaire surveys. The findings reflect the level of satisfaction of people with various facilities. Also it reflects the priority of services and facilities that are the most required by the local and non-local respondents. A lot of variation was revealed regarding requirements of the local and non-local people among the five districts (Moulvibazar, Bogra, Bagerhat, Pabna, Kishoregonj) under inspection. Based on the analyses, the study recommends some important facilities that should be provided to keep the people away from moving to major cities. If facilities and services of priority are provided then people will find the places more comfortable for living and the interest to migrate will reduce.

In this paper, we use genetic algorithm based optimization models for urban land use allocation. We consider a multi-objective function for the planners, which simultaneously maximizes land prices and reduces incompatibility among adjacent land uses for an area. Land price of each and every plot of real estate developer is also optimized in response to the rules set by city development authorities. The differences in opinions of these two stakeholders are highlighted for a case study area of Bangladesh. The ultimate goal is to look for a computationally easy and efficient tool for generating and evaluating feasible land use plans to facilitate the allocation decision.

The level of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission in Bangladesh is very low compared to other countries of the world but it is appallingly affected by the vulnerability of climate change. The emission of GHG from Bangladesh was 126.6 MtCO 2 eq (metric tons carbon dioxide equivalent per capita) in 2010 which accounted to 0 .3% of global total GHG emission. This study aims to identify the sources of GHGs from agriculture, forestry and livestock sector in Bangladesh and proposes some ideas to mitigate emission from these sources. Emission from flooded rice fields, enteric fermentation, manure management, burning of agriculture residues, biomass burning are some imperative sources of GHGs. The actions for mitigating GHG emission involve midseason drainage, off-season incorporation of rice straw, substituting urea with ammonium sulphate, replacement of roughage with concentrated feed, use of dome digester, tillage and residue management, practice of bio-fuel instead of fossil-fuels, high efficiency fertilizer application and artificial and participatory woodlot plantation. The proposals prefer bottom-up approaches incorporating all possible stakeholders and intend to reduce substantial quantity of GHGs from the specified sectors.

This paper investigates relationship between the distribution patterns of the schools and the human development index value of the respective study areas. In this study 50 upazilas have been selected out of 460 upazilas in Bangladesh. The distribution patterns of the primary and high school in each selected upazila have been analyzed through the "Nearest Neighbor Analysis" method. Then the value of Human Development Index (HDI) for each upazila has been determined. Finally a positive correlation between those two indices has been determined. This research can assist the policy makers to take proper decisions while selecting locations for schools keeping the broad view in mind which is development of that particular area.

Background: Ecological Footprint assessment helps to identify what activities are having the biggest impact on nature and opens up possibilities to reduce our impact and live within the means of ‘one planet’. It provides measurement of collective consumption of the population whether they are exceeding the earth’s ecological limits or not. The introduction of ecological footprint has been very necessary for the context of Bangladesh especially in Dhaka, where the unplanned consumption pattern of the population is producing a very unsustainable situation. Objective: This study intends to introduce this new concept through calculating the Ecological Footprint Account (usually 90% of it consists with Carbon Footprint/Emission Account) of the prestigious residential area Dhanmondi, which is one of the major resource consuming area of Dhaka city. Method: A blending of ‘component’ and ‘direct’ method has been used. Questionnaire survey (in 240 HH) has been conducted to gather information about the consumption pattern for different components (i.e. energy, food, service etc.) in the households for the year 2011. Biocapacity of Dhanmondi RA is also measured from the bioproductive lands available within the area. Following the generated results, sustainability analysis has been done. Results: An enormous gap between demand (1.19 global hectare/person) and supply (0.02 global hectare/person) of natural resources has been observed from the scrutiny. Conclusion: Natural gas consumption for domestic purpose has been found as the main motive behind the high footprint figure compared to the national average followed by Electricity, Food and Transportation. Biocapacity has been discovered as very petite amount because of unplanned urban agglomeration.

Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh, is one of the fastest growing megacities in the world. With the rapid growth of population and high urbanization rate, Dhaka is bound to expand the borders to accommodate the growing need of space. But this expansion is already taking its toll in the form of environmental degradation and social injustice hampering the geographical sustainability in the process. This study proposes a controlled and well-planned development in the eastern fringe of Dhaka City (comprising of Badda, Satarkul and Vatara) to meet up the challenge of future accommodation requirements. The area being geographically vulnerable with lots of agricultural lands, water bodies and retention ponds, the prime concern is to ensure the geographic sustainability of the area and use all the natural features as a vital tool in the process of development. As a planning technique, Land Readjustment Scheme is applied in this regard. This report contains all the measures and proposals regarding the natural features of the study area as well as the whole process of the development scheme including a financial proposal to recover the cost of the development to make this plan financially viable. Finally, the outcome of the study shows that it can be well implemented as all the objectives are fulfilled to the fullest.

Urban population in Bangladesh is increasing day by day because of rural poverty and hope for a better living condition in the urban areas. With the increase of urban population, a gradual decrease has been occurred in the urban facilities and opportunities. Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh has become unlivable mainly because of indifference, mismanagement and wrong planning continuing over the years in an uninterrupted sequence. The authorities have failed to create a situation where the citizens can live in minimum comfort both within and outside their homes. They suffer most because of the lack of necessary infrastructures, power and gas supply being highly erratic, water crisis being most common during summer, and drainage and swear system being under-developed. Nearly onethird of the population lives having no basic amenities of life (Zahid, 2010). There are a number of studies available on services offered by urban governments (Hossain, 2006). But there is a little work especially in case of Dhaka focusing on people’s sufferings due to mismanagement of these services. Most of the researches conducted in Dhaka focused on the distressed low income group living in slums that cover 15% of the total citizens in Dhaka (Asian Development Bank, 2008). The suffering of the low middle and middle income group (the dominant income group of Dhaka city) has always been overlooked in most of the researches because of focusing on the low income group. But the extent of sufferings is different between these two groups. Where the Low income group generally suffer from health and environment related problems (Podymow et al, n.d), the middle income groups, also experience an adverse impact on their day to day life due to lack of necessary utility services. These differences are particularly evident in case of Dhaka due to its unplanned growth and inhabitants’ extremely divergent living standards (Bertuzzo, 2009). Capital Dhaka is considered as the mirror of Bangladesh. If Dhaka remains energy starved, it creates wrong image for the entire country. But for various reasons, Dhaka city suffers greatly from power load shedding, gas rationing and water crisis that affect Dhaka every now and then (Saleque, 2008). Gas, water and power supply have influence on the citizen’s daily life cycle and activities. If any interruption occurs, people try to handle it by occupying alternative sources and compromising their daily schedule. The poor urban management and planning have led to a very high extent of informality in its dwellers’ routines (Bertuzzo, 2009). People compromise their daily schedule, because these problems are infrastructure based and they can do a little in solving these problems.

Travel Demand Management (TDM) techniques mainly focus on reducing the number of single occupant car trips and encourage people to use more efficient and sustainable modes such as buses, cycles, and walking. Travel plan is being used as a Travel Demand Management tool around the world in recent times. Medium to large organisations have started to develop travel plans for their employees with a view to modifying their travel behaviour. If the commuting behaviour of a large number of employees could be changed through travel plans it could have a huge impact on reducing congestion and road transport related pollution. Universities can attract a large number of trips from the students and staff. On many issues universities act as a role model. If the universities can modify the travel habits of students and staff through travel plans, they can not only have positive effects on the city road network and environment but also encourage other organisations to follow suit. This study critically reviews the travel plans of a few universities around the world from sustainability perspectives. It critiques the basis of adopting policies and attempts to find the common as well as unique features of the measures with a view to identifying the best practices. Travel plans are still a new concept and there are hardly any guidelines on preparing them. This research would help universities to modify or develop effective travel plans and lead others to adopt sustainable practices.

Wetlands act as natural sponges that trap and slowly release waters over time and help in controlling floods. At the same time, they retain water and provide time for infiltration of water for groundwater recharge. But these intangible benefits are not properly assessed in developing countries. The significant problem is that such benefits cannot be evaluated as the same way as the market goods. In this context, nearly 11 sq. km area of the western flood plain of Dhaka is selected as the study area. To evaluate the flood control function of the site, Damage Cost Avoided Method is applied. And to evaluate the ground water recharge function at first total recharge quantity in a year is estimated than the quantity is valuated. Finally, the estimated value of these indirect use benefits of the site amounts to USD 0.13 million per sq. km in a year.

Urban and rural communities in a country are sometimes confronted with many problems which are well understood by the community residents itself. A Community Based Organization (CBO), in this regard, can play the major role to solve these problems by selfinitiative participatory approach. Community Based Organization (CBO) is such a non-profit institute which operates within a community to provide the local services and is usually run by the local people of that community. Rather depending on local/central government, the community itself can solve certain problems with the assistance of local people and CBOs. In such backdrop, this research was intended to unfold the role of CBO in improving the urban community through Participatory Reflection and Action (PRA) method. The study is based on an urban CBO of Lalbag Thana in South Dhaka, Bangladesh. This research was intended to identify the major problems, their causes and effects on the study area and possible solutions of those problems through active participation of both CBO and its people. Several PRA tools were employed to obtain the objectives. Sewerage and drainage problem, poor water quality and water supply, narrow and poor condition of access roads etc. were the major problems. Effective solutions came forth from the locality for solving those problems such as: provision of water extraction pump and reservoir, drain cover and street dustbins and enforcement of building bye-laws etc. Whilst having the potential, the CBO was found inadequate to implement the solutions due to lack of resource mobilization. However, success of this research is a clear indication that community improvement is possible through mobilization of CBO and ensuring public participation.

Qualitative and quantitative assessment of the quality of major parks in mega city Dhaka have been conducted. Four incommensurate factors: environment, safety and security, landscape and aesthetic value have been considered to qualitatively and quantitatively assesses the quality of the parks. From qualitative analysis it is found that, some parks (located in highly classified residential area of the city) are superior in safety and security and landscape design whereas other parks (located remote from residential area) are inferior in safety and security and environmental factor. It is necessary to address factors of each park lacking behind to ensure better quality of parks. To quantitatively assess the quality of parks, we formulated a new index value calculation to rank all parks in terms of all factors. It is found that the quality of all the parks are dispersed. In addition, investigation of universal accessibility of the parks and direct park user’s opinion has been accumulated to supports findings of this analysis. Based on the major findings of this study a number of recommendations have been provided for the improvement of the quality of parks in Dhaka city such as involvement of local community and establishment of office for the park authority inside the park can be helpful in the quality maintenance of the parks. The findings of this paper can enhance the existing knowledge of city planners a step forward with a-priori knowledge to ensure quality of parks in further city planning.

In city's smart roadway system, the effectiveness in accessibility of traffic to various part of the city is heavily determined particularly by the traffic volume. Hence, traffic congestion in roads significantly impedes the accessibility, resulting in declining livability. Evidently land use and traffic are inveterately interrelated; thereby change in land use has deterministic impacts on traffic volume. An overly populous megacity Dhaka is confronted with escalating traffic volume day by day. In addition, concomitant land use pattern surrounding its roadways is also changing significantly. Careless unplanned development of land uses in Dhaka city has resulted in perpetual traffic congestion along with pollution, thereby aggravating its sustainability. In this context, this paper addresses the impact of land use change on the traffic volume of Dhaka city. We first identified and quantified the land use and traffic volume change from 2007 to 2012 based on the study route. Next, we conducted Geographic Information System (GIS)-based assessment on the impact of land use change on traffic volume and traffic Peak Hour Factor (PHF). Land use and traffic volume data are collected by field survey and from secondary sources. Analyses are done employing dedicated ArcGIS and spreadsheet tools. The results show that from 2007 to 2012 the traffic volume in the study route increased on an average by 30.75%. Furthermore, the PHFs are much lower in 2012 indicating more variation in traffic flow distribution. These phenomena can be attributed to land use change around the vicinity of the study route where residential and commercial use increased and mixed use decreased. The obtained results thus have an implication on increasing congestion and pollution as well as downscaling livability. … Read more

With the surge of human population, the need for transportation of goods and people also concomitantly increases, resulting in urban air pollution through emission from motorized traffic especially in developing countries. The extent of environmental pollution in an urban setting is significantly influenced by the pollutants of vehicular fuel combustion. Many effective measures are required in cities to sequester carbon thereby helping to reduce automobile pollution. Roadside greeneries can serve as ecological elements which reduce the concentration of pollutants from vehicular emissions by their direct involvement in absorbing vehicular emitted carbon. In this context, in this study an attempt has been taken to assess contribution of roadside greeneries in absorbing vehicular carbon dioxide emission. A case study has been conducted on arterial roads of mega city Dhaka to quantify the vehicular carbon emission and correlate it with roadside trees to absorb the emitted carbon dioxide. It is noted that in Dhaka city, carbon dioxide is accounted for more than ninety percent of air pollution. To achieve our goals, two busiest arterial roads (namely Mirpur Road and Rokeya Shoroni Road) were taken into account to quantify vehicular carbon emission as well as assess carbon absorption by roadside greeneries. Carbon absorption by different sizes of trees has been quantified using the amount of woody biomass. In addition, absorption by grass-shrubs-herbs has been quantified by the area they cover. The results thus obtained show that indeed the road with more side greeneries absorbs more vehicular emitted carbon dioxide. It is therefore evident that plantation of more roadside trees is an effective measure of reducing air pollution and consequently turning a city to become healthier and more suitable for living.

Bangladesh is confronted with a big challenge to mitigate the significant impact of climate change. Due to the climate change, Bangladesh has already experienced average maximum temperature rising, minimum temperature decreasing, rainfall, relative humidity and cloud coverage decreasing resulting frequent and severe floods, tropical cyclone, extensive river bank erosion and drought. This paper focuses mainly to identify the spatial and temporal changes of climatic variables namely temperature, rainfall, humidity and cloud coverage of Bangladesh using data from Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD), Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) and Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARC) at 32 stations and also find out the adverse impacts of climate change especially on natural disasters of Bangladesh. To determine the climatic variability an inclusive meteorological estimation was carried out for the period of 2007-2011 and the results were compared with the period 1987-1991. The results of the climatic variability show that the average maximum temperature is increasing at a rate of 0.03°C per year but the annual minimum temperature is decreasing at a rate of 0.003°C per year. On the other hand, the annual rainfall, relative humidity and cloud coverage decreased by 0.63 mm, 0.013 percent and 0.007 respectively per year. For these climatic changes during the period 1970 to 2013, one hundred thirty four (134) major and minor cyclones hit the coastal regions of Bangladesh and almost two-third (88) of them hit in the period of 1992-2013 which is very alarming for our survival. On the other hand, it shows that the intensity and frequency of extreme flood events have significantly increased and the most extensive floods in the period 1954-2012 occurred after 1986 (1987, 1988, 1998, 2004, 2007) are considered by hydrologists to be at a size expected only once in every 20 years. The floods of 1987, 1988, 1998, 2004 and 2007 and cyclones of 1991, 1997, 2007 and 2009 are direct impact of climate change in Bangladesh.

Health is one of the basic needs of human being, which is achieving significant importance globally and locally particularly in the city's perspective. Mega city Dhaka is highly confronted with extremely poor living environmental conditions and lack of basic amenities, inadequate healthcare facilities, and outreach of services. Unfortunately, there is lack of policy adaptation and implementation with regard to the spatial dimension of planning for health facilities. Moreover, the health facilities are distributed disproportionately, rather than in an equitable manner. Many poor people do not have access to the healthcare centers in the city. However, it is estimated that, the expected growth of population will put greater pressure on the already inadequate health services. Therefore, it requires examining the spatial distribution of hospitals and providing optimal locations of new hospitals. This study analyzes the existing locations of hospitals in a part of the city and find out suitable locations for providing new hospitals.. This study considers multiples criteria including distances from existing hospitals, roads, educational institutions, industries and water bodies to determine suitable places for new hospitals. To perform this study, the spatial analyst and geo-processing tools of geographic information systems (GIS) were employed. Finally, the suitable locations have been presented in a map, which implicates that the total area of suitable locations for new hospitals in the study area is 10.95 acres comprising 0.48% of the study area. This study thus provides decision makers with suitable sites for new hospital allocation to adequately cover the hospital needs in the study area.

Green spaces can facilitate sustainable urban environment in a number of ways: Purifying air and water, filtering noise, and stabilizing the microclimate. Therefore, city planners have to design optimal sites to provide new green spaces. The present study addresses the genetic-algorithm-based multiobjective modeling of optimal sites for multitype green spaces considering multiple objectives. A new model has been developed and applied to identify the optimum sites for green spaces, particularly parks and open spaces (POSs). We considered six criteria: population, air quality, noise level, air temperature, water quality, and recreational value, including barriers for placing new POSs. The model thus developed was applied to Dhaka as a case study. The spatial functions of GIS are used to quantify, analyze, and represent the six objective criteria of our model. The modeling results show a successful optimization of locations for new POS. In addition, a suitability analysis is performed to find locations of various POSs using GIS. This study provides an indication of how to site multitype green spaces to make a sustainable urban environment.

Greenery is one of the important ingredients for urban planning with a sustainable environment. Increas-ing parks and open spaces (POS) to offer a greater diversity of green spaces have substantial impact on itsenvironment in many mega cities around the world. However, any place cannot be a potential site for POSdue to multi-objective modeling nature of POS planning. In this paper, an intelligent multi-objective con-tinuous optimization model is thus developed for locating POS with particular emphasis on greeneriesthat will potentially benefit and facilitate the planni ng of a sustainable city. Three environmentally inc-ommensurable factors analyzed with the help of geographic information systems (GIS) namely air-quality,noise-level, and population-distribution have been considered in the model and a genetic algorithm (GA)is used to solve the continuous optimization problem heuristically. The model has been applied to Dhakacity as a case study to find the optimal locations of additional POS to make it a sustainable city by ame-liorating its degraded environment. The multiple obj ectives are combined into a single one by employinga dynamic weighting scheme and a set of non-dominated Pareto optimal solutions is derived. The ob-tained alternative non-dominated solutions from the robust modelling approach can serve as a candidatepool for the city planners in decision making for POS planning by selecting an alternative solution whichis best suited for the prevailing land-use pattern in a city. The model has successfully demonstrated toprovide optimal locations of new POS. In addition, we found that locations of POS can be optimized evenby integrating it with land cover and uses like lakes, streams, trails (for simplicity which were consideredas a barrier constraint in the model) to rejuvenate added beauties in a city. The obtained results thus indi-cate that the developed multi-objective POS location model can serve as an effective tool for urban POSplanning maintaining sustainable environment.

Climate change has some conspicuous adverse impacts on food production. Bangladesh is confronted with a big challenge to cope up with the significant impact of climate change. In this context, an attempt has been made using GIS to analyze the impacts of climate change on Gross Domestic Products (GDP), rice cultivated area, food production and availability, crop production due to temperature and CO2 rise, and ultimate food security due to natural calamities. This study includes the prevailing data on food sector, socio-economic and demographic information. Statistical and GIS analyses manifest that the contribution of agricultural sector in GDP was reduced by 13.56 % from fiscal year 2003-04 to 2010-11 and arable lands of the country were declined especially for major rice of type-1 (Aus) and type-2 (Aman) by 64.24 % and 6.5 %respectively in spite of significantly increasing over all cultivated area due to increased cropping intensity of high yielding variety rice type-3 (Boro). On the other hand, the domestic production of different types of cereal and non-cereal crops was increased except wheat and pulses which reduced respectively 29.22% and 172.69% from fiscal year 1995-96 to2009-10. Besides, due to temperature rise wheat, Aus and Boro production reduced by 27%, 61% and 62% respectively and due to climate change induced calamities, on an average almost 409077.5 metric tons food production are lost and 23.62 million hectares of agriculture lands are degraded every year. In addition, per capita consumption of people has found to be decreased due to the high population pressure and climate change induced different natural calamities. These results thus can support decision makers, concerned authorities and general citizens to realize the current food security aspects of Bangladesh and the government can undertake effective measures to ensure the food security.

Smart waste management in a city is significantly manifested by the optimal distribution of waste collection points (dustbins). Evidently, inadequate number of dustbins coupled with improper management may trigger pollution to a great extent. Waste collection using insufficient street dustbins is a widely used way of solid waste management in Dhaka city. Yet an uncomforting scenario of air pollution is prevailing in different wards of Dhaka. The reasons can be put forth as inadequate and unequal distribution of municipal dustbins, improper management including waste overflow and the lack of awareness in usage among the people. In this context, an attempt has been made in this paper to obtain a quantitative analysis between existing dustbins and their serving population. This study first analyses the spatial distribution of dustbins in some areas of Dhaka city employing average nearest neighbor functions of GIS. Interestingly, the spatial distribution of the existing dustbins has shown to be predominantly in clustered pattern. Next, an optimal number of additional dustbins were calculated. An additional number of 20 and 8 dustbins are required in areas (wards) # 34 and # 35 in Dhaka city. We also examined the extent of pollution caused by the existing dustbins using spatial analyst functions of GIS. It is found that all the dustbins are burst with wastes and causing pollution to the ground surface and air. The results thus obtained would help to understand the present scenario of the waste management of Dhaka city and to optimally place the required number of dustbins to prevent further pollution to environment.

In this paper, a model of green urbanism (GU) incorporating the concept of planting trees and greeneries has been proposed. The GU model attempts to address challenges encountered by dynamically changing cities around the globe due to the increasing events of urban greeneries transforming into built-up areas. A framework is designed to develop a greenery-based conceptual model (GBCM) towards attaining a sustainable healthy livable (SHL) environment. The model is applied to mega city Dhaka as a case study considering its adopted greenery-based urban strategies and methodologies to deal with both social and economic aspects. In this context, we first revisit the present state-of-the-art of greeneries in Dhaka, then examine whether Dhaka is a SHL-city and finally, an attempt has been taken to revive Dhaka as GU to bring a sustainable healthy environment. The model has confirmed that greenery is the prime factor of green urbanism which could bring a number of fundamental environmental benefits such as reduction in energy use, pollution, waste generation, emission of greenhouse gas, impacts on climate and occurrence of natural disasters. The model thus developed has an implication on how city planners can adapt a priori approach to ensure sustainable health of populations combating unprecedented social, economic and environmental challenges of unsustainable, unhealthy, and unlivable (3U) cities due to insufficient greeneries.

This study addresses both qualitative and quantitative assessments of the quality of major parks of Dhaka. Four incommensurate factors namely environment, safety and security, landscape and aesthetic factors have been smartly chosen to measure the quality of the parks by formulating new index values. Index value of each factor has been calculated for all the parks. It is shown that the quality of all the parks considered are dispersed. In addition, investigation of universal accessibility of the parks and direct park user’s opinion has been accumulated to concretize the results. Based on the major findings of this study a number of recommendations have been provided for the improvement of the quality of parks in Dhaka city. Involvement of local community and establishment of office for the park authority inside the park can be helpful in the quality maintenance of the parks. The findings of this paper will enhance the existing knowledge of city planners a step forward with a-priori knowledge to ensure quality of parks in further city planning.

This paper addresses both quantitative and qualitative assessment of the relationship between the land surface temperatures (LST) and land cover (LC) changes in Dhaka Metro Area (DMA) using Landsat TM/ETM+ data over the period from 1989 to 2010. The LC map was prepared using supervised classification methods. On the other hand, using the calibration of spectral radiance and emissivity correction LST has been derived from the thermal band of Landsat TM/ETM+. To establish the relationship between LST and LC, GIS based spatial simulation has been conducted. The changing of LST is found to be directly correlated with LC transition. LST has shown to increase in areas with growing urban developments. In contrary, the amount of Vegetation (NDVI) is negatively correlated with LST. The trend of LST and LC transitions indicates that LST will be abruptly increased in near future. The urban LST maps, the analyses of thermal-land cover relationships and the spatial simulated results thus obtained could be used as strategies for quality improvement of urban environment and a smart solution to the reduction of Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect.

In this study, an advanced hybrid genetic algorithms is formulated and applied to the optimal location of high schools in a rural area of Bangladesh. The advanced hybrid algorithms consist of genetic algorithm and alternating location allocation algorithm. The model is applied to Nakhla Upazila (a sub-district area) of Bangladesh as a case study. First, the genetic algorithm is used to generate optimum locations of high schools and then coded with the traditional alternating location allocation heuristic thus avoiding very long computation time. Obtained simulation results indicate that existing high schools are not well distributed and they are far from residential areas. The developed hybrid algorithm based model successfully shows the best locations of high schools in the Nakhla Upazilla minimizing the total amount of travel distance from the different zones of Nakhla Upazila to the school sites and thus provide a safe travel for children. The results have an implication for a good urban planning in context of placing schools optimally within walking distance of a neighborhood The model thus developed can be applied by planners as a useful tool for any location analysis.

Housing problem is one of the most acute problems in the mega-city Dhaka. A recent study of Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) showed that house rent in the city has alarmingly increased to about 350 % during the last 22 years (1990–2012) while the increase was 15.83 % higher in 2011 than in 2010. As a result fixed income city dwellers comprising both middle and lower middle class households are in great trouble to tackle the real-world problem of house rent in the city. This research thus conducted an extensive study to find the potential factors affecting the house rent by investigating relationship of increasing house rent with a number of important factors namely zonal variations of external appearance of the buildings, surrounding land use type, road distance from house, availability of open space, presence of utility facilities, type of structure, total number of flats, and average area of each unit flat are considered. A survey of 360 different areas on ten different zones of Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) area is conducted. Using the proposed prioritizing factors through weighted index method, it has been found that owners consider size of the unit as the main factor of determining the house rent. Social status plays the least role before determining the house rent. Increase of house rent in different interval of time has no relation with the distance from the main roads. Rather structures being distant from main road increase higher rent. Increase in price of utility services and daily necessary commodities are the prime reasons behind the house rent increase. Owners claim that house rent increase become a must when there is an increase in price of water supply, gas etc. Owners of the apartment mainly increase the house rent for their own accountability. Presence of house owner organization may reduce the abrupt and irregular increase of house rent. Building and structural condition is found to be the most influential factor for hiring residence in Dhaka city for the tenants. Accessibility and mobility along with social and community facilities are the next two criteria for choosing the residence. Accessibility is one of the most important factors for incensement of house rent. Safety and security, Proximity of educational institutions and social status also plays important role in this context. Though traditionally road distance and structure types are considered as the major factors determining the house rent, in contrary other factors namely size of the unit and presence of utility services are found to be the most dominant factors.

In this paper, a model of green urbanism (GU) incorporating the concept of planting of trees and greeneries has been proposed. The GU model mainly attempts to address challenges encountered by dynamically changing cities around the globe due to the reduced number of urban greeneries transforming into built-up areas. A framework has been designed to develop a greenery-based conceptual model (GBCM) towards attaining sustainable healthy livable (SHL) environment. The model is discussed in terms of greenery-based urban strategies and methodologies to deal with the social and economic contexts particularly in Dhaka city. In this context, we first revisit the present state-of-the-art of greeneries in Dhaka, then examine whether Dhaka a SHL-city and finally, an attempt has been taken to revive GU in Dhaka to bring a sustainable healthy environment. The model has reconfirmed that greeneries are the roots of adopting green urbanism which could bring a number of fundamental environmental benefits including reduction in energy use, pollution, waste generation, emission of greenhouse gas, impacts on climate and occurrence of natural disasters etc. The model thus developed has an implication on how city planners can adapt a priori approach to ensure sustainable health of populations combating unprecedented social, economic and environmental challenges that make cities unsustainable, unhealthy, and unlivable (3U-cities) due to insufficient greeneries.

Dhaka the capital city of Bangladesh has merely been nourished with any planning guidelines or stringent development control policy since its inception. As a result, the city has been developed with lots of deprivation resulting in numerous problems such as traffic congestion, water logging, sewerage and drainage problem, water supply, gas and electricity problem, crime, unhygienic environment and many others. The old city of Dhaka (Strategic Planning Zone, SPZ 3), the most densely populated and congested area of the city inhabited by almost a million people, possesses 15% of the total population living in the city’s urbanized area (Urban Area Plan (1995-2005)). Occupying only 7% of the gross built-up area, it exhibits densities well in excess of the normal gross urban densities of 323 ppa, in localised areas with net residential densities in excess of 2000 ppa (Urban Area Plan, 1995-2005). Despite increasing congestion, a paucity of social and community facilities, inadequate and poorly maintained infrastructure and ever-increasing costs for ever-diminishing space, the evidence of existing trends suggests that the old city will experience a continued influx of population and densification well into the future. Various collective initiatives, measures and researches undertaken to address various problems with their tentative remedies have stumbled in various times due to lack of proper institutional set up, non-conformal policy implementation with local settings, lack of community efforts, lack of political stability and the last but not the least, ignoring people’s participation in problem identification, their perception regarding intensity of any particular problem and possible remedies that are likely to be enforceable and preferred by the local inhabitants. Old Dhaka signifies a lot by offering a contrast with the new Dhaka, but the existing situation can never support the future growth unless the old city is brought under long term sustainable policy framework. So an informative study based on the application of participatory methods can reveal an authentic and clear picture reflecting the state of mind and perception of the inhabitants of Old Dhaka regarding the intensity and magnitude of their problems and possible remedies felt by them.

Planning mobilities in contemporary cities, particularly in developing countries, increasingly focuses on promoting motorised transport (MT) at the expense – side-lined if not banned – of non-motorised transport (NMT). As NMT serves the needs of a range of users, decisions of this kind are highly politicised favouring some forms of mobility, and interest, over others; this raises concerns about justice in access to transport. To planners and decision-makers the question of just mobilities - a concept developed in this research combining literature mainly on social justice and mobilities - poses a range of challenges: equitable distribution of direct/indirect benefits and burdens, fair process of decision making and execution in introduction or restriction/ban of any given transport mode or infrastructure, justification of motivations in political terms. Apart from redressing weakness in sustainability studies on mobility and transport, the proposition provides a broader framework to look into the distribution of existing and potential human mobilities, process and associated motivations (politics). The framework is used to explore the impact of a planning intervention – rickshaw bans/restrictions in Dhaka, Bangladesh - on the users at household level. Around one million rickshaws – a human pedalled tri-cycle usually carrying two persons – shared more than onethird of the total of 19.58 million trips in Dhaka in 2009. The volume of passengers transported (7.6 million person-trips/day in 2009), is equally astonishing; close to double the highest number of passengers (4.4 million) carried by London Tube in a single day during the 2012 Olympics. Yet in the name of increasing mobility rickshaws are being restricted/banned in Dhaka roads, particularly since 2002. The study hypothesis is that the withdrawal of rickshaws from the roads is a manifestation of unjust mobilities in the (transport) planning; devised by biased studies and plans, and fuelled by vested motivations. While short and medium distance travellers, women, school going children and their guardians, aged and sick members of the household and non-work activities are adversely affected by the decision; long distance activities, work trips and car-users are benefitted. This research also reveals a cross-sectoral, informal and productive global to local coalition against NMT in an uneven geography of power relations and multiple interests; which is also contextual and relevant to cities in developing countries in Asia and elsewhere in the globe. Apart from reviewing a broad range of theoretical and empirical literature, the research collected information on individual and household mobility patterns, on the effects of the ban/restriction and on potential modal options and preferences using a combination of questionnaire surveys, semistructured interviews and focus group discussions.

This paper presents techniques of assessing the present state of water supply situation, sanitation condition and drainage system of an area by using Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) method. South Begunbari Slum, Dhaka has been selected as the study area for this study. Several participatory planning tools have been adopted in course of the study for determining the present scenario of the previously mentioned utility facilities in the selected study area. Finally some recommendations have been specified to develop the overall condition. Local people’s participation has been ensured to the maximum limit during the study. Bottom-up approach of planning through PRA method has been demonstrated here. Existing scenario, local peoples vision and assessment of the prescribed needs with regards to the country standard has been also performed.

Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, has undergone rapid urbanization in an unplanned manner over the years. The high growth rate of urban population has made the city unable to cope with the changing situations of urban life. This large proportion of urban community is bestowed with various types of problems throughout their daily life. This paper provides an overview of the existing problems at community level in an urban area through PRA (Participatory Rural Appraisal) approach. In this research, an attempt has been made to investigate the physical and social characteristics of the community, activities of the Community Based Organization (CBO), its relationship with other institutions and stakeholders, existing problems of the community, the underlying causes and effects of those problems etc. Finally some internal and external factors reflecting the prospects and limitations of the community, possible solutions of the problems have also been discussed in this research. CBOs are nonprofit groups that work at a local level to improve the standard of life for residents within the community. A CBO can hold a great role for the overall improvement of a community and can also be used as means to route information and other resources for improving the living conditions in a community. The CBO of Monipuripara residential area of ward no. 27 of Dhaka City Corporation North, named “Monipuripara Kallyan Samiti” has been selected for this study. Different PRA tools have been used (i.e. social and resource map, time line, pair-wise ranking, cause-effect diagram, Venn diagram, SWOT analysis) to identify and evaluate the problems, obstacles, prospects and solutions toward a self-sustained and convenient community as a whole. The research identifies that the community leaders of the study area and Monipuripara Samabay Samiti (an organization, providing microcredit facility) have great influence on the CBO. They take almost all decisions in CBO considering others’ opinion. It is revealed from the local residents that the community faces several problems among which traffic congestion, increased number of roadside hawkers and inadequate community services are severe. Key Informant Interview has been also conducted to verify the identified problems and cause-effects of those problems. Throughout the research the mass people and the CBO of this locality have been facilitated to share, enhance and analyze the knowledge of their own neighborhood. However, the community itself affirms possible solutions for the associated problems and some recommendations have also been drawn by the facilitators considering the strength and weakness of the community to reach to a credible conclusion.

Despite the advancement of technology in the recent past, the global scenario still remains grim in water supply as not all the inhabitants of the world have access to safe drinking water. Dhaka city is now facing tremendous challenges to fulfil the water demand of its inhabitants. Groundwater table depletion is increasing at an alarming rate. This study mainly focuses on the potential of a rainwater harvesting system in Kazipara area of Dhaka city. The study area has typical characteristics of an unplanned, congested development with a small plot size of Dhaka city. That is why this area has been chosen. Residents of this area face both water crises in dry summer and water logging in monsoon. It has been calculated that the potential of rooftop rainwater harvesting is 4,02,096.34 cubic meter water/year which can meet about a 66% demand of water for toilet flushing and cleaning purposes used by the residents of Kazipara all year round. If a rainwater harvesting system is used every buildings of the study area then 2,872.12 cum/hr surface runoff would be reduced during a rainfall event of 15 mm/hr, which means 61.71% of surface runoff would be reduced from the current surface runoff. As a consequence, water logging problem can be decreased in Dhaka city. Keywords: rainwater harvesting, feasibility, potential, willingness to install rainwater harvesting system.

Most of the slums in Dhaka lack in safe water supply and sanitation facilities. This study was performed in a slum situated near Mohammadpur embankment known as Shopon’s slum. Participatory rural appraisal method was used to collect information and analyze the WatSan problems of the slum. It is built on low lying marsh land and stagnant water. Water supply is illegally obtained from municipal connection and insanitary hanging latrines are used. According to the analysis lack of property rights, financing, lack of space and low elevation are the main reasons for water-sanitation problem of the slum. Resulting effects are inconvenience, long waiting time, disease outbreak, water logging etc. After considering standards set by DPHE and slum dwellers demand, a submerged septic tank system based sanitation plan and a legal water supply with storage tank and collection points for the community is proposed. PRA tools were proved to be helpful for this purpose.

Dhaka is one of the fastest growing megacities in the world with high pace of population growth. Most of the urban poor are living in the slums areas in a very inhuman condition which leads to the overall degradation of urban environment. But these poor people contribute significantly to the urban economy through their services in different sectors. Housing for poor is one of the crucial factors which needs immediate attention but both public and private sector has failed to address this issue. This paper focuses on understanding the socio-economic and living condition of the slum people. Among the 4,900 slums in Dhaka city, five slums were selected and a questionnaire survey was conducted on 150 households. Findings reveal the substandard housing condition of the slum dwellers though they are paying on an average 11 tk/sq. ft. rent which is comparable to the house rents paid by many high/middle class residents of Dhaka. Finally an on-site upgradation plan for the slum has been developed in consultation with the slum dwellers. It is found that the slum dwellers are willing to pay more for a better living. It is also possible to recover some portion of the valuable urban land occupied by the existing slum dwellers. Finally a framework was developed for implementation and management purpose to make the whole upgradation scheme a feasible project and also for the participation of the slum people in this scheme

Ahsan Manzil, situated on the left bank of the river Buriganga, is one of the most significant heritage sites of Bangladesh. This site is one of the major sources of recreation for the inhabitants of Dhaka, particularly for the dwellers of the congested Old Dhaka. But the conservation of this invaluable heritage site and its management have always failed to receive proper attention of the concerned authorities. The current research mainly focuses on visitors' characteristics and preferences for Ahsan Manzil and people's willingness to pay for the attributes offered by this place. Selected socio-economic variables concerned with the tourists are tested for association with the frequency of visit using chi-square analysis. The priority attributes for visitors in choosing the Ahsan Manzil are analyzed using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). Then some policy suggestions have been made in the study.

Municipalities in Bangladesh are always facing a shortage of funds. The process of financing urban local governments is always being reformed; nevertheless, a large share of their revenue is generated by taxation (Taleb 2004). And though the structure of local tax systems varies greatly from country to country, local government generally relies on property taxes (Bird and Slack 2004). In most developing and transition countries, the property tax is often poorly administered (Bahl and Martinez-Vazquez 2008). As a result, the tax is generally very unpopular because the tax base is often determined in ways that are not transparent to or understandable by the general public, thereby undermining the legitimacy and fairness of the tax (Bahl and Martinez-Vazquez 2008). Property taxes also are unpopular because of the "inherent arbitrariness in the process of assigning values to individual properties" (Bird 2006). Property taxes, one of the main sources of internal revenue of the urban local bodies of Bangladesh, were imposed under the Pourashava Ordinance of 1977 (Ahmed 1986). Because the property tax is based on the annual valuation of lands and buildings, the entire process of determining the property tax is dependent solely on assessment of lands and buildings in Bangladesh. At present, the annual rental value (ARV) method is used for assessing property tax in Bangladesh. Under this system, the collection rate is about 55 percent. There are complaints about the assessment/ reassessment of the existing tax base (World Bank 1997). Also, the potential of this source is seriously undermined by the weaknesses in both the assessment and collection processes (Taleb 2004). An often-cited reason for poor collection is that the existing system lacked transparency and objectivity. (Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation 2003). Because of the subjectivity and corruption in the existing assessment system, international financial agencies (e.g., the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank and such other organizations) are now showing less interest in investing in Bangladesh municipalities (LGED 1999).

Dhaka possesses a glorious history of 400 years since it started journey on the left bank of River Burignanga. There goes a saying that, the pre-Mughal Dhaka consisted of 52 bazaars and 53 lanes. The main settlement in this period was limited in between the River Buriganga and Dholai Khal with its center near Bangla Bazar. During the Mughal (1606-1764) reign Dhaka further flourished in the commercial sector and it covered the area presently known as old Dhaka. The Chawk (square) was the main market place of Mughal Dhaka. Till today, it is one of the major wholesale areas of the city and vibrant in a transformed physical and social context. The spatial expansion of Dhaka and formation of new Dhaka started in British period. It was expanded in size and was developed in commerce, administration and industrial sector. Dhaka experienced several inclusions of commercial centers during the Pakistan period (1947-1971) both in planned and unplanned manner. The commercial land development in Dhaka had undergone rapid changes since the independence of Bangladesh. Ribbon commercial development, initiated in the 1960s, became a popular addition to the city fabric. By the early 1980s, private developers started to enter the land market of Dhaka and commercial land development projects are primarily dominated by them. An analysis of commercial land use pattern of Dhaka reveals a long historical background of the growth of Dhaka in relation to the physical, socio-political and cultural context. Dhaka City Corporation area has been considered as the study area. This study aims at describing and analyzing the commercial land use trend of Dhaka from a spatio-temporal perspective. This paper also intends to analyze the contemporary commercial land use pattern of Dhaka city and its associated consequences. The distribution pattern and nature of commercial land uses of Dhaka over time has been studied from urban planning standpoint. For this purpose, land use maps of different periods, have been collected and GIS database have been developed for the preparation of necessary maps. The transformation of Dhaka from a monocentric to a polycentric city has been discussed here in detail. Urban spatial structure indicators such as density profile, average distance per person to Central Business Districts (CBD) have been used to understand the nature and spatial structure of these commercial cores of Dhaka. Necessary land use related data have been collected from Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) and Detail Area Plan (DAP). Several secondary sources have been utilized to collect old land use maps of Dhaka. The historic and concurrent trends of development of commercial land uses in Dhaka as discussed in this paper unveiled various issues regarding the growth of Dhaka and its sustainability.

Land-use allocation is a multiobjective optimization problem as it involves multiple stakeholders with conflicting goals and objectives. In this paper we optimize both land price and incompatibility among adjacent land uses of an area and try to solve the problem with a widely used heuristic approach called the genetic algorithm. The goal is to look for an effective, computationally easy, and efficient tool for land-use planners to use in generating and evaluating feasible land-use plans to facilitate the decision-making process. The model is demonstrated through a case study of the capital city of Bangladesh.

Earthquake is a risk that needs to be addressed in a more concerted way. The historical seismicity and recent tremors occurred in Bangladesh and adjoining areas indicate that the country is at high seismic risk. The existing urban trend and urbanization process of Bangladesh have caused increased vulnerability to natural disasters like earthquake. Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh is the hub of commerce, economy, education, politics etc. and accommodates a large population. According to a report published by United Nations IDNDR-RADIUS Initiatives, Dhaka and Tehran are the cities with the highest relative earthquake disaster risk. Seismologists believe a strong earthquake will strike Dhaka in the near future. It is acknowledged that the unplanned development with the existence of extreme population density, old dilapidated unreinforced masonry buildings, narrow road network, close proximity of adjacent buildings, irregular building shape and others have made older part of the city more vulnerable to any imminent earthquake. In any disaster risk reduction plan the major concern goes to the preparedness level of the local community as loss due to any hazard multiplies in a less aware community. In this paper the social vulnerability of household individuals to risk from earthquake is assessed for the older part of Dhaka City. The methodology starts by selecting social vulnerability indicators from the literature and then collects the relevant data needed for the analysis by a household questionnaire survey. Through analyzing different indicators the present status of the community regarding earthquake risk, their awareness level, past earthquake experiences and instant responses, perception about the vulnerability of the residing building as well as community is found. Finally a “Pressure and Release Model” is established for the study area to identify the root causes that make community vulnerable to earthquake and consequently try to find out some solutions in minimizing the risk at time. This model has provided direction to reduce the pressure and attain a comparatively safer condition for the community.

Bangladesh possesses a rich early heritage involving two great religions, Hinduism and Buddhism. These two beliefs, with their political patronization, developed an architectural vocabulary expressing their spiritual desire and aspiration. Later, when Muslims invaded India, they brought a different architectural approach, evident in their secular and religious structures all over the Indian subcontinent. Muslims built mosques with the use of imported features modified by local culture, climate, tradition, materials, and technology. From that period through the present, mosques in Bangladesh have developed a unique style in terms of architecture. The notion of mosque architecture has been changing over time, according to the desires of the ruling class and the common people as well. This study presents tangible evidence of the changing morphology of mosque architecture, and identifies the influencing factors that initiated the development over the ages.

Water logging has been disrupting livelihoods of about one million people in Bangladesh during past two decades. South-west Bangladesh is prone to water logging due to the vulnerable geographical setting and climate change. The worst hydro-geophysical vulnerability has been found in Keshabpur Thana of Jessore District where most of the land is waterlogged for over seven years. The researchers tried to identify people’s unique coping strategies under such adverse environmental condition. Necessary data were collected through questionnaire survey, Focus Group Discussions (FGD) and Participatory Vulnerability Assessment (PVA) tools. About 270 households of the study area were surveyed. Major findings revealed the constraints towards reducing people’s vulnerability such as climate change, poor coordination among stakeholders, limited institutional initiative of coping etc. Accordingly researchers tried to put some necessary recommendation such as promoting agricultural and institutional coping immediately in the study area.

Based on two case studies in Dhaka (Bangladesh) and Lahore (Pakistan), this paper attempts to illustrate how the emerging cultures and spaces are continuously either negotiated or contested (Shakur, 2008). Historic Mughal city of Lahore (Pakistan), once the cultural capital of Asia, has expanded speedily over time. A prominent example of such a case would be Anarkali, a vibrant bazaar from the 17th century. Anarkali has adapted the modern living in a disorganised manner. Even today the inner you go to these galli mohalla, the richer the environ gets as a lot of old residents have still kept on with the indigenous aspects. A thousand miles away in the east but in a similar cultural setting of Lalabagh (in old Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh) is considered as one of the prime icon of Mughal architecture in Bangladesh. The magnificent fort, since 1678 experienced changes in socio-political and cultural contexts. The surrounding built environment has significant visual impacts on the inside space characteristics of the conserved fort. As a result, contradiction among the old and new, complexity between the space uses and the incongruity between architectural language raises question regarding appropriateness of this historic structure in its present milieu.

Spatial polarization and geo-spatial inequality occur in case of development around the world. Importance of location and space for development is yet to receive attention in policy agenda of Bangladesh. This study is an attempt to assess the spatial variation in educational attainment and educational facilities at regional levels in Bangladesh. Regional variations in educational attainment have been assessed with respect to some selected indicators like literacy rate of 7 years and above, adult literacy rate, school enrolment rate, school attendance and student-teacher ratio. Relationship between poverty and educational attainment has also been assessed to find out the impact of poverty on education at regional levels in the country. In particular, this study has highlighted spatial variations in education facilities like number of primary school, secondary school, college through identifying developed and lagging regions in the country. Location Quotient (LQ) Analysis, Gini index, Composite Analysis have been used to identify the spatial variations in education at regional levels in the country. These findings may be helpful for government and policy makers to adopt necessary policies and strategies for education to ensure balanced development of the country at regional strata in Bangladesh.

After the devastating flood of 1988, the government adopted a program under FAP-8B to protect Dhaka city from flooding. It included two-part coordinated action plan, namely FAP-8A & FAP-8B. The project “FAP-8B” covered 136.5 sq. km of western part of Dhaka and the primary objective was to provide a relatively flood free and secured living environment. Proposals of FAP-8B focused on construction of retention ponds with pumping facilities and rehabilitation of 21 major natural canals having a total length of 78.6 km. The FAP-8B project started in 1991 and completed by 1997. This paper studied the land use changes within the designated retention pond areas and canals in the FAP-8B area through interpretation of satellite images and data on physical features. The study used satellite images of the years 1989, 1999, 2004, 2007, RS (Revenue Survey) maps and land use maps of Detailed Area Plan (DAP). Findings of the study revealed that proposed 4.5% retention pond areas of FAP-8B has been encroached by various land use activities and at present only 1.79% retention pond areas are left. Encroachments of natural canals are also alarming. It is found that 34% area of 13 natural canals has been filled up by developers, private individuals and others. Between 1989 and 2007, area of wetland was reduced from 22.15% to 12.17% in the west Dhaka. The results suggest that without government intervention to save the remaining retention areas and canals, it would be difficult to uphold the flood control functions of FAP-8B project.

Bangladesh has had a long history of malaria occurrence. During the British era, malaria mapping was first initiated by Bentley in 1916; the west central part of the country being moribund had the greatest concentration of malaria. There-after, during the Second World War large-scale anti-malaria activities were carried on using DDT. By the 1970s malaria incidents declined. It was wrongly thought that the disease has been eradicated. Malaria infected people from India, particularly Assam, and adjacent hilly areas brought the disease to Bangladesh, showing migration diffusion. By 1984, it was identified that there was a positive correlation between forested areas and high Annual Paradise Index areas. During the resurgence and post-resurgence periods the country was divided into several divisions based on convex growth pattern of malaria belying vector resistance to DDT and other insecticides.

Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, is experiencing incessant process of urban expansion but mostly in an unplanned manner. To accommodate the growing population and various urban uses the city is experiencing vertical expansion in the inner city areas and horizontal expansion by encroaching the peripheral land. The Dhaka Metropolitan Development Plan (DMDP) 1997-2015 proposed strategies of Urban Consolidation to optimize the city growth in the established urban areas by vertical expansion and through infill development on vacant land. But there is no such organized program undertaken to implement the consolidation strategies stated in the DMDP. This explorative study is an attempt to find the potentiality of urban consolidation process in Dhaka. The research aims to investigate the qualitative and quantitative status of available amount of vacant and underutilized land for redevelopment to ensure the optimum utilization of the scarce urban land.

In this paper, we present a multi-objective model with a promising application for facility location planning. The genetic algorithm (GA)-based multi-objective optimization model (GAMOOM) developed here is applied to the particular problem of obtaining optimum locations for urban parks and open spaces (POSs) by considering four incommensurable objectives: the provision of POSs near (1) densely populated areas, (2) areas with polluted air, (3) noisy areas, and (4) areas without POSs. The model is executed using real datasets collected from the city of Dhaka (as a case study). To assess the impact of each objective, computational results obtained from each objective function were compared. The second objective (air pollution) has been shown to have a significant impact on locating POSs compared to that of the other objectives. The results obtained using a composite objective function (by combining all objective functions) indicate that the model can successfully provide optimum locations for new POSs. This study also clearly demonstrates the importance of using a dynamic weighting scheme to convert all objective functions into a composite one. The model developed here has been found to incorporate an operator to successfully generate non-dominated Pareto optimal solutions and a Pareto front. The alternative solutions obtained here act as a candidate pool from which decision makers may choose the best solution according to their preferences or determinant criteria. The outcome of this multi-objective GAMOOM model consequently does have implications for how POSs should be designed and managed by planning authorities in order to maintain not only a sustainable environment, but also a better quality of life in the city.

One of the most important ecosystems of earth is wetland. It provides enormous services to the human being and the environment. But a significant amount of wetland has already been lost along with agricultural and industrial revolutions. Changing social, economic and political contexts of the regions often have devastating impact on the wetland. All over the world, scientist and professional are now become aware of the adverse impact of loss of wetland and thus come up with strategies and policies to save remaining wetlands of this blue planet. Like many other cities, Dhaka as one the most fast growing mega city of the world is also expanding by exploiting its natural resources and paying little attention to her ecological and social values. The recent trend of development in Dhaka has become an alarming threat for her remaining wetlands which has a close association with the life, livelihood of her people and natural setting of the city. The private land developers has filled out large tract of wetlands in the fringe areas of Dhaka despite of enactment of various environmental acts and policies and significantly deviated from the policies stated in the structure plan of the city. In this backdrop, this research designed from a realization that policy makers, environmentalist and inhabitants of Dhaka are all aware and concerned about the loss of wetland in the city and its adverse impact but there is absence of comprehensive research work which can give a clear perspective regarding the process, trend and context of loss of wetland in Dhaka Metro Area. The issue of loss of wetland is the outcome of interaction on number of forces. A clear understanding of these forces is a prerequisite to undertake programs to save remaining wetlands of Dhaka. This study primarily focused on three broad objectives: (i) To study the nature and process of loss of wetland in Dhaka Metro Area and associated consequences; (ii) To understand the social and economic forces related with the conversion of wetland; (iii) To assess the role of institutions and planning practice in Dhaka Metro regarding the conservation of wetland. Several research works has documented the loss of wetland in different parts of the city up to the year 2001. This research calculated the loss of wetland in Dhaka Metro Area over the period 1989-1999-2005. Findings portray the alarming Wetlands of Dhaka Metro Area: A Study from Social, Economic and Institutional Perspectives.....

Dhaka city is the home of more than five million and is one of the most densely populated cities of the world. Dhaka City Corporation is responsible for providing various services to its citizen with its limited resources. 'Citizen Report Card' is one of the new methods to measure the performance of civic services provided by urban government. This study used this method to measure the performance of waste management, mosquito control and certification service offered by Dhaka City Corporation in some selected wards of Dhaka City. The performance of each of these services is ranked using The Urban Governance Indicator value. The study concluded that citizen of Dhaka ranked the waste management and certification service as fair while mosquito control service was identified as poor. The paper ended with a discussion on possible improvement of quality of services.

In this paper, we present a new multi-objective location model for urban parks and open spaces (POSs) planning. We developed a Genetic Algorithm (GA) based multi-objective optimization model (GAMOOM) to derive optimum locations of POSs by considering four incommensurable objectives with the provision of POSs near: 1) densely populated areas, 2) air polluted areas, 3) noisy areas, and 4) areas without open spaces. The success of the model is presented through its application as a case study on Dhaka City. Obtained results indicate that the model can successfully provide optimum location of required POSs. The findings from this study also signify that optimum location of POSs obtained by utilizing only the second objective is substantially different than that of others. Moreover, there is also difference in optimum location of POSs by taking into account only the third objective when compared with others. Therefore, considering single objective cannot give optimum results for good POSs planning. So, it is verified that POSs should be planned by optimizing multiple objectives instead of single objective. The outcome of this multi-objective GAMOOM model does have an implication on how POSs should be designed and managed by the planning authority for not only sustainable environment but also better quality of life in a city.

Dhaka is bound and crisscrossed by a network of rivers, canals and large tracts of flood plains. However, this megacity is growing in an unsustainable manner and jeopardizing the social and environmental values. Citizens and management authorities are alarmed with the rapid rate of depletion of wetlands resulting in an increase in the frequency of floods, drainage problems, loss of agricultural activities, and destruction of aesthetically pleasant environments. The planning, development and management of Dhaka involves multiple government agencies. In addition, a large number of non government organizations and environmental groups are working relentlessly. Dhaka Metropolitan Development Plan (DMDP 1995-2015) contains policies on conservation of the flood plain and detention areas, and the enactment of the Water Body Conservation Act has strengthened the legal aspects for securing wetlands. However, a rapid rate of loss of wetlands demonstrates that the pertinent institutions have failed to protect them. This research aims to identify the underlying reasons for the institutional weaknesses. The barriers for application of planning and legal tools are viewed from three perspectives; (i) institutional shortcomings and weaknesses in protecting wetland loss, (ii) level of coordination among the different institutions both in the public and private sectors, (iii) nature and strength of external forces that impede the desired course of improvement.

We proposed new genetic algorithms (GAs) to address well-known p-median problem in continuous space. Two GA approaches with different replacement procedures are developed to solve this problem. To make the approaches more efficient in finding near-optimal solution two hybrid algorithms are developed combining the new GAs and a traditional local search heuristic. The performance of the newly developed models is compared to that of the traditional alternating location-allocation heuristics by numerical simulation and it is found that the models are effective in finding optimum facility locations.

There are very few successful e-government projects in developing countries. Most e-government projects within developing countries employ high-technology intervention whereas citizens are not ready for this. There are successful projects which took a low end route. This paper examines one such project to find out the reasons behind its success. The research concludes that stakeholders' participation is the driving factor for success. The major issue is not IT, but an understanding between the citizen population and their complimentary governmental entity, which acts as the critical factor for triumph in e-government.

In response to the increased rate of urbanization, RAJUK (Rajdhani Unnnayan Kartripakkhya), a capital development authority in Bangladesh, initiated a project adopting the state-of-the-art spatial approach to growth as a strategy in its capacity as the executive body responsible for the preparation and implementation of the Dhaka Metropolitan Development Plan (DMDP). In recognition of the importance of the plan and in order to increase its implementability, public participation was considered one of the most significant features in the DMDP. Further, public participation was considered an inevitable part of the consideration of planning standards, including recommendations at each stage from Structure Plan (SP) to Detail Area Plan (DAP). By nature urban planning is a complex mix of socio-economic and political phenomena which involves many theoretical aspects and at the same time there are associated multifaceted factors in its implementation. In the past there have been many efforts at planning and managing the urban areas in Dhaka, yet in most cases these efforts were focused on planning without consideration of the rapid changes taking place in socioeconomic contexts, the strength and capacity of the public agencies concerned, or of the resources required. This paper is an assessment of the extent of inclusion of the public voice in the form of participation in the DAP, which is a reality on the ground. The DAP is an ongoing project, and based on a survey and interviews in the field this paper is an endeavour to identify the differences between theoretical practices as outlined in the DMDP and the actual situation.

E-government changed the way government thinks and functions. All over the world, government tried to get the benefits of e-government. Some of the efforts were successful and some failed. The paper made a comparative study between policy and practice of e-government in Bangladesh and India. The paper identified the causes of success in India and failure in Bangladesh. At the end, suggestion has been provided, so that Bangladesh could learn from the experience of India.

This paper describes the preparation of a GIS-based Interactive Map of Dhaka City (IMDC), incorporated with two new functions -one to search a specific named feature with automated map extent updates to maximize the display of target feature and the other to activate hotlinks to graphics and text descriptions of features. First a digital map was prepared from a paper base map and then the map was integrated with a graphical user-friendly interface consisting of different buttons, tools and documents. The developed functions were associated with new button and tool. PC ARC/INFO and ArcView were used as the basic GIS software because of their wide availability and use. By applying the first function the user can easily locate any feature on the interactive map. The second function will help the user to view images and information associated with a specific feature. The interactive map promises wide range of use in diverse applications and provides numerous options to produce productive results.

Even though access to affordable housing is a basic requirement for human well-being, the majority of people in most developing nations occupy the most rudimentary forms of shelter. As a developing nation, Bangladesh is no exception to this rule. The differences in the quality of housing between developed and developing nations are tremendous; in terms of floor area per person, the city average for Dhaka was 40 sq. ft in 1990 compared with over 650 sq. ft. in Washington, DC (Pacione, 2001). The failure of government housing programs to provide affordable housing has forced the majority of the poor population to live in unsanitary conditions. However, the initiative of the Grameen Bank's housing program (GBHP) is legendary and has been helping to alleviate these living conditions. The GBHP has proved that even without collateral, a bank can still build up good relations with the poorest of die poor and grant them credit, and this is a cost-effective way to build decent housing. The success story of micro-lending project of Grameen Bank is well-known worldwide, but little is known about GBHP. Hence, it is essential for urban geographers, especially for practitioners who are working towards providing affordable housing for the poor, to learn about GBHP. The purpose of this paper is thus to examine the rate of success of GBHP in Bangladesh and what impact it has had in providing affordable housing for people who live under the poverty level.

The 1998 flood in Bangladesh was an unprecedented event of its kind in terms ofduration, inundation of areas and damages. In Dhaka City alone, more than 70%of the city area was inundated and about 60% city population was underinundation for about 10 weeks – the longest time in memory. The cityexperienced colossal loses in housing, infrastructure, industry, commerce andeducation sectors. The total damage was estimated at Taka 2.0 billion or US$41.0 million. The experience of the 1998 flood suggests that the city has to besaved from recurrent floods by adopting both structural and non-structuralmeasures for flood mitigation. Since structural measures are very expensive andtime-consuming, non-structural measures such as flood damage zoning may provide a basis for planning disaster mitigation in the city. Considering this, the present study has attempted to delineate the 1998 flood affected city wards intothree flood damage zones based on composite damage value derived from fivesectors of the city. These flood damage zones are: low, moderate and high. The planning implications of this zoning exercise are – direct development at safer places of the city, and formulation of land use policies and planning standards toguide development in low and moderate flood damage zones so that the citysuffers minimum damages from future floods.