Colonial legacies and contemporary urban planning practices in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Baffoe, G. and Roy, S. (2023) Colonial legacies and contemporary urban planning practices in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Planning Perspectives, 38(1), pp. 173-196. (doi: 10.1080/02665433.2022.2041468)

Abstract

Effective urban planning is said to be crucial for ensuring liveable, equitable and viable urban areas progress towards sustainability. This study combines a review of the relevant literature, key informant interviews and field observations to explore contemporary planning practices in Dhaka, Bangladesh. We problematize ineffective urban planning practice in Dhaka as a prime expression and reproduction of colonial planning, which manifests itself through institutional bureaucracy and centralization, technocracy, and ad hoc planning. We argue that these imprints have rendered planning institutions weak and fostered dependency on imported ideologies and practices. The situation, we further argue, not only stifles local planning creativity but also makes the planning profession unattractive. Apart from limited local innovations and political aspirations for meeting global development targets, urban planning and city management have followed a reductionist approach under neoliberalism. With little to no social resonance, attempts at creating ordered spaces are, instead, contributing to increased spatial fragmentation and segregation, informality, and widespread urban poverty. To promote urban sustainability, this paper urges the contextualization of colonial ideologies and practices against the social, political and economic realities of urban Bangladesh.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: This research was conducted as part of the GCRF Centre for Sustainable, Healthy and Learning Cities and Neighbourhoods (SHLC) activities. SHLC is funded via UK Research and Innovation as part of the UK Government’s Global Challenges Research Fund (Ref: ES/P011020/1).
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Baffoe, Dr Gideon
• Authors: Baffoe, G., and Roy, S.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Urban Studies
• Journal Name: Planning Perspectives
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• ISSN: 0266-5433
• ISSN (Online): 1466-4518
• Published Online: 22 March 2022
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2022 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Planning Perspectives 38(1): 173-196
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License

Project Code	Award No	Project Name	Principal Investigator	Funder's Name	Funder Ref	Lead Dept
300882		GCRF Centre for Sustainable, Healthy, and Learning Cities and Neighbourhoods (CSHLH)	Ya Ping Wang	Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)	ES/P011020/1	S&PS - Urban Studies