Abstract
This article applies a stated preference choice model to assess trade-offs that residents of two squatter settlements in Dhaka, Bangladesh might consider if they were given choices for relocation to flood-free areas. The respondents were asked to choose repeatedly from a set of choice cards, which displayed different configurations of financial incentives for relocation, such as free or inexpensive land, loans or nonrepayable grants, and provisions for temporary or permanent employment opportunities. The survey results indicated that despite extensive experience with flood problems, many residents of Mirpur and Vasantek found that certain configurations of economic incentives were not attractive enough for them to relocate to flood-free areas. At the same time, they would prefer a reduction in the risk of flooding at their current location. The economic incentives that would best assist in increasing voluntary relocation of residents from their current locations included free land, nonrepayable grants (Taka 20,000), and long-term employment opportunities. Further, differences in geographic location (i.e., Mirpur vs. Vasantek), income levels, and membership in neighborhood communities were linked with the tendency of residents to stay at their current location.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
BBS (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics) (2004) Compendium of environmental statistics of Bangladesh. Ministry of Planning, Government of Bangladesh,
Ben-Akiva ME, Lerman SR (1985) Discrete choice analysis: Theory and application to travel demand. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA
Blaikie P, Brookfield H (1987) Land degradation and society. Methuen, New York
Blaikie P, Cannon T, Davis I, Wisner B (1994) At risk: Natural hazards, people’s vulnerability, and disasters. Routledge, London
Breffle WS, Rowe RD (2002) Comparing choice question formats for evaluating natural resource tradeoffs. Land Economics 78(2):298–314
Crouch GI, Louviere JJ (2000) A review of choice modeling research in tourism, hospitality, and leisure. Tourism Analysis 5:97–104
Greene WH (1998) Limdep, version 7.0: User’s nanual. Econometric Software Inc., Plainsview, NY
Haider W, Rasid H (2002) Eliciting public preferences for municipal water supply options. Environmental Impact Assessment Review 22:337–360
Haque CE, Zaman MQ (1993) Human response to riverine hazards in Bangladesh: A proposal for sustainable floodplain development. World Development 21(1):93–107
Hasan A (2002) Informal settlements and urban sustainability in Pakistan. In: Bradnock R, Williams G (eds.), South Asia in a globalizing world: A reconstructed regional geography. Pearson Education, Harlow, UK. pp 251–269
Islam N (1992) Urbanization in Bangladesh: Recent trends, In: Islam N, Choudhury SI (eds.), Bangladesh geographical research. Department of Geography, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh (in Bengali). pp 184–201
Layton DF, Brown GM (2000) Heterogeneous preferences regarding global climate change. Review of Economics and Statistics 82(4):616–624
Louviere JJ, Woodworth G (1983) Design and analysis of simulated consumer choice or allocation experiments: An approach based on aggregated data. Journal of Marketing Research 20:350–367.
Louviere JJ, Hensher DA, Swait JD (2000) Stated choice methods: Analysis and applications. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Manski CF (1973) The analysis of qualitative choice. Doctoral dissertation, Department of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
McFadden D (1974) Conditional logit analysis of qualitative choice behavior. In: Zamembka P (ed.), Frontiers in econometrics. Academic Press, New York. Pages 105–142
Morey ER, Buchanan T, Waldman DM (2002) Estimating the benefits and costs to mountain bikers of changes in trail characteristics, access fees, and site closures: Choice experiments and benefits transfer. Journal of Environmental Management 64:411–422
Morrison ER, Bennett J, Blamey R (1999) Valuing improved wetland quality using choice modeling. Water Resources Research 35(9):2805–2814
Mustafa D (2005) The production of urban hazardscape in Pakistan: modernity, vulnerability, and the range of choice. Annals of the Association of American Geographers 95(3):566–586
Odemerho FO (1993) Flood control failures in a third world city: Benin City, Nigeria—Some environmental factors and policy issues. GeoJournal 29(4):371–376
Palm R (1981) Public response to earthquake hazard information. Annals of the Association of American Geographers 71:389–399
Raktoe BL, Hedayat A, Federer WT (1981) Factorial designs. John Wiley and Sons, New York
Rasid H (1982) Urban flood problem in Benin City, Nigeria: Natural or man–made? Malaysian Journal of Tropical Geography 6:17–30
Rasid H, Mallik AU (1996) Living on the edge of stagnant water: An assessment of environmental impacts of the construction-phase drainage congestion along the Dhaka City Flood Control Embankment, Bangladesh. Environmental Management 20(1):89–98
Rasid H, Odemerho FO (1998) Assessments of urban flood problems by residents of slums and squatter settlements: Benin City, Nigeria vs. Dhaka, Bangladesh. Arab World Geographer 1(2):136–154
Thurstone LL (1927) A law of comparative judgement. Psychological Review 34:278–286
Train KE (2003) Discrete choice methods with simulation. Cambridge University Press, New York
White GF (ed.) (1974) Natural hazards: Local, national, global. Oxford University Press, London
Acknowledgments
Financial support for this study was provided by a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC Grant No. 410-96-0227). The door-to-door interviews were conducted by Khan Manjur Morshed. James Handley (Department of Geography and Earth Science, University of Wisconsin–La Crosse) drafted Figure 1.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Rashid, H., Hunt, L.M. & Haider, W. Urban Flood Problems in Dhaka, Bangladesh: Slum Residents’ Choices for Relocation to Flood-Free Areas. Environmental Management 40, 95–104 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-006-0233-7
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-006-0233-7