Megacities of over 10 million population are a phenomenon not seen before in human
history. Among 19 Megacities, 14 are in developing countries and 11 are in Asia. Dhaka
represents one of the most extreme examples of rapid Megacity growth having a mere
129,000 at the start of the 20th century, 417,000 by 1950 and more than 12 million in
2001.
How can a city be governed that has increased 30 times in size over a persons lifetime?
This thesis makes a case for integrated Metropolitan Regional Governance (MRG) of the
Extended Metropolitan Region of Dhaka.
The growing problems of Asian Megacities in general and Dhaka in particular are
outlined, showing how governance has developed in a sectoral and national way rather
than being place oriented. This has fractured and become totally inadequate as a means
of solving the deep environmental, social and economic problems of the Megacity.
The governance issues of Megacities are traced to the primary problem of the need for
integrative functions in strategic and statutory planning as well as development
facilitation of the Extended Metropolitan Region (EMR). Ten core principles of
Metropolitan Regional Governance are established. Without this, the Megacitys
functions of infrastructure, investment, housing, environmental management,
employment etc. are not coordinated or prioritised in ways that lead to common good
sustainability outcomes.
The ten principles are applied to four Asian Megacities Metro-Manila, Tokyo, Bangkok
and Jakarta to confirm their relevance and application before applying them to Dhaka.
The problems of Dhaka are outlined then an analysis of Dhaka governance options is
attempted based on the ten core principles of MRG. Four possibilities are analysed and
a way forward is suggested combining the options.
The proposed structure will build on the present system with greater responsibilities for
strategic planning, statutory planning and development facilitation. It will also build up
municipalities through a more transparent and engaged local planning process and create
partnerships for infrastructure development.
The proposed governance structure would use the dynamism of the Megacity to create
sustainable solutions and hope for the future of the city. The key to implementation will
be finding the political solution to make such painful change, and training professionals
in the broad integrative skills of urban sustainability and community engagement that are
required for the region as well as the participation and partnership skills at local level.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/221837 |
| Date | January 2006 |
| Creators | s.talukder@murdoch.edu.au, Sirajul Haq Talukder |
| Publisher | Murdoch University |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | http://www.murdoch.edu.au/goto/CopyrightNotice, Copyright Sirajul Haq Talukder |
Page generated in 0.0013 seconds