Urbanization and Sustainable Development in Bangladesh

Abstract

In recent years sustainable development has gained quite a lot of popularity, specially in international circles. Sustainable development and urbanization are related inseparably. A mentionable number of researches have been done on urbanization but a few have done on the relation between urbanization and sustainable development in Bangladesh and abroad. In this research, we have tried qualitatively to answer the question- is urbanization in Bangladesh heading towards sustainable development or not from 1991 to 2011. To meet the desire to know, a model has been developed and applied in three urban areas of Bangladesh chosen as representative. The main thrust of the study is to seek an answer to the following question- are the social, economic and environmental impacts of rapid urbanization in Bangladesh during the period 1991 to 2010 convenient? This dissertation is done by statistical and demographic analysis from collected primary and secondary data. Primary data have been collected from field survey by questionnaire including 'closed' and 'open ended' questions from respondent (households) of the selected study areas. The secondary data have been collected from related published and reported materials including books, articles, research reports, official documents, theses and dissertations. Opinions have also been taken from the civil society to analyze the causes and effects of the impact of urbanization. In this dissertation, the impact of urbanization on social characteristics like- dependency, educational facilities and literacy rate, female literacy, health care and maternity services, family planning activities, migration, population density, traffic jam, social consciousness, religious affair, social recreational facilities, drug addiction, prostitution and 'law and order situation' have been examined. Here it has also been analyzed the impact of urbanization on economic characteristics like­financial classification, employment, women employment, consumption pattern, housing pattern, sources of drinking water, electricity facility, communication and transport, financial institutions, 'land value, land ownership (without dwelling unit) and house ownership' and 'livestock, poultry and fishery resources' as well as the impact of urbanization on environmental characteristics like- flora and land use, sanitary facilities, sewerage systems, pollution and slums. Both statistical and demographic analysis of the collected data have confirmed that urbanization moves mainly parallel to economic development, with a lower scale to social development and adversely related to environmental development in the study areas. To avoid unfavourable impacts of urbanization on social, economic and environmental components it has suggested not declaring any municipal area as on political assignment and taking steps for increasing awareness among people about sustainable development.