published_or_final_version / Architecture / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

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Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1982. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH. / Bibliography: p. 82-83. / by Aminul Haq Khan. / M.S.

This thesis explores urban poverty and the adaptations of the urban poor in the slums of the megacity of Dhaka, Bangladesh. It seeks to make a contribution to understanding and analysis of the phenomenon of rapid mass urbanisation in the Third World and its social consequences, the formation of huge urban slums and new forms of urban poverty. Its focus is the analysis of poverty which has been overwhelmingly dominated by economic approaches to the neglect of the social questions arising from poverty. This thesis approaches these social questions through an ???urban livelihood framework???, arguing that this provides a more comprehensive framework to conceptualise poverty through its inclusion of both material and non-material dimensions. The study is based on primary data collected from slums in Dhaka City. Five hundred poor households were surveyed using a structured questionnaire to investigate the economic activities, expenditure and consumption, access to housing and land, family and social networking and cultural and political integration. The survey data was supplemented by qualitative data collected through fifteen in-depth interviews with poor households. The thesis found that poverty in the slums of Dhaka City was most strongly influenced by recent migration from rural areas, household organisation, participation in the ???informal??? sector of the economy and access to housing and land. Almost half of the poor households in the study locations were identified as ???hardcore poor???, that is having insufficient income for their physical needs. The remainder were found to be ???absolute poor???, those who experienced poverty and vulnerability but varied in their levels of income and consumption. This level of poverty was also characterised by their social, cultural and political marginalisation. In summary, the urban poor remain very much dependent on their household and social networking, the main social capital they use to adapt to life in Dhaka City. Overall, the urban poor in this study experience the highest level of poverty and vulnerability in their everyday life. The thesis argues that the experience of poverty in the megacity of Dhaka for these households follows the pattern of urbanisation without development, the very opposite to their expectations and aspirations.

The purpose of this research is to investigate the contribution of basic services namely water supply, electricity, sewerage, telephone, roads and drainage network etc. for urban living in Dhaka. In the last three and a half decades, Dhaka’s urban basic services governance has been functioning scantily because of supply shortage, sub-standard quality, lack of inter-operator coordination, resource constraints etc. Fragmented governance of urban services – which allowed functioning of several independent special purpose providers in the city - has been argued to be the key contributor by the concerned local researchers, academics, politicians, user groups etc. The same have professed integrated governance of these basic services under the single institutional canvas of a general-purpose metropolitan government headed by elected leadership as the potential remedy. The research is aimed at examining the prospects of metropolitan government for rendering improvements in this connection. In the process, the research investigated the institutional capacities of the selected service providers based on secondary information, carried out questionnaire interview on sampled users to gauge on their level of satisfaction with the present service governance. The above two investigations examined the effectiveness, equity, efficiency and responsiveness of the existing arrangement as in broad terms, these determines the governance performance. Additionally, the research reviewed cases of metropolitan government from overseas to learn how the arrangement can contribute in this regard. Investigation results from Dhaka align with the assertion that fragmented mode of governing urban basic services have caused the surfacing of the present ailing status. Review of overseas experiences revealed that metropolitan government arrangement has been quite successful in improving governance problems of urban services similar to Dhaka. Based on the results, the current research favors the establishment of a general-purpose metropolitan government in Dhaka with sole powers over urban basic services delivery and management. The research also suggests that key considerations for enacting such a governance arrangement needs to reflect on the prospects of consolidating functional and areal jurisdictions, financial affairs of urban basic services under its single institutional framework. The research is significant in context of Dhaka as well as Bangladesh in way that it crafts scope for conducting further examination on issues related to the strengthening of urban local government bodies, tentative functional domains and prospects of implementing metropolitan government in other Bangladeshi cities. / published_or_final_version / Kadoorie Institute / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

As the role of the cities has gained currency in the sustainability discourse since 1990s, improvement of livability has been emphasized alongside with environmental conservation to enhance urban sustainability. Many developed countries increase urban density purposely to pursue better livability and environmental sustainability. Contrarily, cities in the developing countries densify haphazardly without any policy directives. Dhaka is a case in point. The goal of this pioneering study is to formulate recommendations for improving Dhaka’s planning system and policy in order to enhance its livability, by investigating the livability of Dhaka’s dense urban neighborhoods. To achieve this goal, this study addresses three research questions: what are the density attributes of Dhaka; how livable is Dhaka’s urban neighborhoods under a dense environment; and how have the urban planning system and policy influenced the density of Dhaka? The literature related to density, livability and sustainable urban forms was reviewed to establish the analytical framework. To examine the density attributes, this study investigated population density, building density and housing form mix. For the livability of the dense neighborhoods, it investigated public facilities and services provision, and the sense of community and safety. Further, the planning strategy, land use planning, planning and building regulations and land policy were examined to identify their influence on density and livability. Five neighborhoods from the planned and unplanned areas were selected for case studies, involving a questionnaire survey, interviews, field observation and documentary analysis. This study found that as a low-rise city, Dhaka’s extremely high density implies a very compact urban form. The planned areas are of relatively lower population density but have taller buildings and greater distance between buildings than in the unplanned areas. High density was also found in congruence with the Bangladeshi culture. Across the neighborhoods, the community facilities, safety and dwelling space standards were satisfactory. However, the provision of and accessibility to public transport, open space and sense of community were less satisfactory. The neighborhoods of the planned areas were more livable. Nonetheless, in the neighborhoods of the unplanned areas, the greater use of street corners fostered social contacts and safety feeling. The absence of density zoning and land subdivision controls, the ineffective land use planning mechanism, violation of the planning standards and building regulations have led to uncontrolled population growth exceeding infrastructure capacity. The lack of planning vision and the weak institutional capacity of the planning authority mainly accounted for these problems. This study recommends introducing land subdivision restrictions, density zoning, and scientific designation and formulation of land use zones. Strengthening of the institutional capacity of the planning authority is also important for enabling effective enforcement of planning tools, regulations and standards. By comparing the planned and unplanned areas, this study also recommends that planning and building controls should be effectively enforced to ensure greater distance between buildings. Open spaces should also be located within walking distance and more street corners should be planned to enhance the sense of community and safety. / published_or_final_version / Urban Planning and Design / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Urban Planning and Environmental Management / Master / Master of Science in Urban Planning

This thesis explores urban poverty and the adaptations of the urban poor in the slums of the megacity of Dhaka, Bangladesh. It seeks to make a contribution to understanding and analysis of the phenomenon of rapid mass urbanisation in the Third World and its social consequences, the formation of huge urban slums and new forms of urban poverty. Its focus is the analysis of poverty which has been overwhelmingly dominated by economic approaches to the neglect of the social questions arising from poverty. This thesis approaches these social questions through an ???urban livelihood framework???, arguing that this provides a more comprehensive framework to conceptualise poverty through its inclusion of both material and non-material dimensions. The study is based on primary data collected from slums in Dhaka City. Five hundred poor households were surveyed using a structured questionnaire to investigate the economic activities, expenditure and consumption, access to housing and land, family and social networking and cultural and political integration. The survey data was supplemented by qualitative data collected through fifteen in-depth interviews with poor households. The thesis found that poverty in the slums of Dhaka City was most strongly influenced by recent migration from rural areas, household organisation, participation in the ???informal??? sector of the economy and access to housing and land. Almost half of the poor households in the study locations were identified as ???hardcore poor???, that is having insufficient income for their physical needs. The remainder were found to be ???absolute poor???, those who experienced poverty and vulnerability but varied in their levels of income and consumption. This level of poverty was also characterised by their social, cultural and political marginalisation. In summary, the urban poor remain very much dependent on their household and social networking, the main social capital they use to adapt to life in Dhaka City. Overall, the urban poor in this study experience the highest level of poverty and vulnerability in their everyday life. The thesis argues that the experience of poverty in the megacity of Dhaka for these households follows the pattern of urbanisation without development, the very opposite to their expectations and aspirations.

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 331-404) Attempts to contribute toward greater understanding of the urbanization process in Bangladesh. Focuses particularly on the rural-urban migration process, explaining the causes of mobility and stability and the consequences flowing from that movement for the wellbeing of migrants and their families.