Abstract
The continued expansion of Dhaka means that within the next 20 years, it will become one of the most populated megacities in the world. Considering the importance, to its development, of understanding the nature of its pattern of growth and evolution, we examined that growth over a period of 400 years. The dynamics of Dhaka’s urbanisation along with its trajectory over this period are discussed in this chapter. The pace of urbanisation was found to be increasingly rapid after independence from Pakistan in 1971. This rapid pace has caused a number of multifaceted problems, including severe environmental degradation. Issues associated with the urban planning process in Dhaka have been reviewed along with the major plans developed over the past 65 years. The chapter concludes with a critical and comparative analysis of those plans.
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Notes
- 1.
In 2008, for the first time in human history, every second citizen lives in an urban settlement. Some researchers therefore labelled the crossing of the 50 % threshold in 2008 as the ‘urban turn’ (Butsch et al. 2009).
- 2.
(1) The name might originate from Dak tree (Butea frondosa) which was believed to cover this area once; (2) it also could be the dhak or drum used when Islam Khan launched the city as capital; (3) the derivation could also be from a Prakrt dialect called Dhaka; (4) lastly, the name is also similar to ‘Davaka’ – a name found inscribed in pillar dated from Gupta Kingdom (Islam 2007).
- 3.
Written by a famous traveller named Alauddin Isfahan alias Mirza Nathan. This is a trusted source that provides sufficient foundation to Bengal history during the Mughal regime (Islam 2007).
- 4.
Thana is a small administrative subdivision and is the lowest tier in police administration. It is also known as the third lowest tier in the hierarchy of local government. Currently, there are 522 thanas in Bangladesh of which 10 are located within the administrative confines of the Dhaka Metropolitan Statistical Area (BBS 2003).
- 5.
The previous name for Dhaka.
- 6.
The term clumsy is used by Thompson (2008) to describe a solution in which no single stakeholder gets all that they desire, but all stakeholders get some of what they desire.
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Ahmed, S.J., Nahiduzzaman, K.M., Bramley, G. (2014). From a Town to a Megacity: 400 Years of Growth. In: Dewan, A., Corner, R. (eds) Dhaka Megacity. Springer Geography. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6735-5_2
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