Urban Research in Bangladesh: Review of Recent Trends and an Agenda for the 1990s

THIS BOOK IS a collection of 14 papers reviewing the urban research that has been conducted in Bangladesh since the 1960s, and arises from a sub-regional workshop that took place in Dhaka in 1991 as part of the Global Urban Research Initiative (GURI). Bangladesh has a population density of 764 per square kilometre but is still predominantly rural, and the first paper outlines the country’s experience of urbanization and describes the principle themes of its urban research to date. Urban studies in Bangladesh have been directed, in the main, at Dhaka; initially historical, then geographical, urban research broadened steadily throughout the 1970s and 80s to encompass issues of squatter settlements, rural to urban migration, housing provision and urban poverty. An agenda for research in the 1990s is suggested in the first paper which sets out the subjects explored in the ensuing chapters. The second paper relates to urban history research, and reviews five academic works. Popular historical studies, published only in Bengali, are also discussed, along with contemporary studies of town planning and finance. The third chapter is a review of research concerning the patterns and processes of urbanization in Bangladesh, and chapter four describes the structures of urban administration and finance in operation, now and historically. The following paper outlines the systems of urban governance in place in Bangladesh, and evaluates research to date. In conclusion the author suggests that future research should focus on the participation of the poor in urban politics, the relation between urban and national politics and between urban politics and urban environmental services. Chapter six offers an overview of the Bangladeshi economy, and looks at land and labour markets, housing finance, urban-rural income differentials and urban poverty, while discussing the research related to those fields. The seventh paper discusses urban poverty, its measurement and causes. The social and economic organization of urban society is the theme of chapter eight. The ninth chapter reviews demographic indicators, migration behaviour and the studies pertaining to them in the Bangladeshi context. The ratio of males to females living in Bangladeshi cities has declined from 163:100 to 122:100 since 1951, and chapter ten is concerned with the evolution of gender problems and the major themes of urban research on gender issues in Bangladesh. Chapter 11 sketches the deterioration in urban environments and infrastructure and discusses research on these and urban health issues. The twelfth paper reviews research on urban transport in Bangladesh and considers network and movement analyses, traffic management studies and related policy and planning approaches. The penultimate chapter discusses the challenge faced by urban planners in Bangladesh, describes planning practice and organization, and suggests a more flexible and integrated approach for the future to make good past failures. The final paper is a brief overview of urban land and housing studies in Bangladesh.