Rural
areas at strategic locations slowly transform into congested urbanized
areas and finally, into large cities. Men in thousands or millions rush
in for the purposes of living, working and earning. Along with these
provisions they need many other services and provisions for survival and
better living. The urban planning and development authorities
comprising of urban planners, engineers, and architects are there to
meet their needs. In addition to fulfilling the needs and aspirations of
the dwellers, quite often the urban authorities are subjected to
pressure from other corners like political leaders and affluent
manufacturers. The pressure from these two groups mostly results in
growth of built-forms in open land and vertical expansion of buildings.
In some countries such trends result in congestion, lack of open space
and growth of high-rise urban slums. In such cities the urban
authorities endeavor to solve the transport problem by introducing more
vehicles which causes in traffic jam along with time and cost spent for
this purpose. As a solution, some urban authorities introduce fly-over,
over-head vehicular road etc. which turn the city further congested. The
above story is true for almost all the cities of the world. However, in
order to keep our discussion precise and specific, we shall study the
cases of Dhaka city of Bangladesh only.
When the above mentioned problems reach an advanced stage, the urban authorities endeavor to solve those in all possible ways they find around. Their endeavors, however, run in a specific direction relating to widening or extension of roads, re-designing built-form, introduction of new transport vehicles etc. Also there are endeavors to satisfy the needs and aspirations of the owners of land and built-form by changing or manipulating the existing laws and bye-laws of urban growth through the ‘Urban Design Professionals’.
In the extremely short body of this article we shall try to show some of the constraints and limitations of the above mentioned endeavors. Also, we shall present an alternate proposal, which may be called “Environmental up gradation of congested cities through administrative planning”.
Various endeavors to solve urban problems :
Master Planning : The job undertaken to ensure that the future dwellers would find little problem in the planned urban areas is known as “preparation of master plan”. At first various areas of the city mentioned as ‘Zone’ were designated for specific activities like residential zone, industrial zone, commercial zone, healthcare zone etc. However, new situations like
(i) the technological advancement capable of changing the environment of various use areas, (ii) vast accommodation potentiality of the multi-level built-forms etc. soon nullified the idea of ‘pure zones’.
As a consequence all the zones in fact turned to mixed zones. In case of old cities that did not grow in accordance with such plans, the job of master planning is substituted by phase-wise demolition, clearing and remodeling. The fact is, in spite of utmost care and foresightedness, master plans cannot keep face with the needs of the future. As policy, master plans are prepared to fulfill the demands of the future, say 20 or 25 years ahead of time. In these days the scientific and technological developments take place so rapidly and abruptly that most of the master plans fail to fulfill the demand after even ten years. Then plans in various areas are manipulated to meet the local needs. Also, dominating factors like transport, business, industry etc. altogether interfere with the previous master plans.
Urban Design Practice : In the above situation, some developed countries prepare master plan only to serve as “structural plan”. The structural planning is done in order to ensure infra-structural facilities and supply of utilities to the users. In addition, the urban authorities appoint urban designer professionals who work as facilitators for the dwellers. These professionals invite proposals for changes, extensions or reconstruction of built-forms from the owners. Then they perform the “Environmental Impact Assessment” (EIA) due to such changes and advise the dwellers accordingly.
The practice of the urban design professionals is usually found to serve the need of the owners. However, it is quite doubtful how far this practice fulfills the needs of the dwellers. The truth is most of the urban dwellers are rent payers and there is no mechanism to incorporate their needs and aspirations in the act of the urban design professionals.
Practice Under The Influence Of The Agents With Vested Interest : While full-fledged Master Planning program have already failed, in some countries agents with vested interest exert pressure on the Urban Authorities to take up such policies as may be helpful in their financial interest. These are demolition of old areas, re-development of demolished areas, fringe area development, changes in the modes of transport etc. Thus practice does not in general look at the interest of the dwellers and not even to the sustainability of the projects. Quite often large projects are taken knowing fully well that those would not work for a long time or that the people would react against those. The obvious reason for taking such ‘non-intelligent’ projects is, demolition of those for another solution might serve their further interest.
In the transport sector, underground tunnels or overhead roads are introduced for mass transportation. The tunnel-transportation leaves the environment of the city clean at the cost of excessive use of energy for maintenance. On the other hand, overhead roads go on slashing the city, tarnishing its charm and turning it into concrete jungles. Also, both the systems create traffic congestion or jamming at their junctions and terminal points.
In the above context where no planning and urban design solution has been found to work efficiently, we present our proposal titled “Administrative Planning Policy”.
The proposal of administrative planning policy :
In a nut shell the policies to be followed in the Administrative Planning Policy comprises of the following :
(01) Fragmenting the city in a number of smaller units with perceivable boundary, preferably with roads. The size of the unit will be based on the walking limit of men.
(02) Enclosing the area physically by constructing operable gates at all the entry roads and lanes.
(03) Finding out the missing essential amenities in the unit on the basis of available amenities and those needed by the dwellers.
(04) Declaration of reduced-tax policy for the entrepreneurs interested in establishing the missing amenities.
(05) Encouraging the formation of a local administrative and maintenance body by dwellers’ representatives.
Implementation of the policy in Dhaka city :
We know the implementation of such a policy depends upon numerous local factors. In an international scale that might make the discussion complicated. In order to avoid that complexity we shall discuss the implementation procedure of this policy in Dhaka city of Bangladesh. For this purpose we present here a precise discussion on the history, urban problems etc. of Dhaka city.
Brief History : Established some six hundred years ago as a number of rural villages with vast expanse of paddy fields, Dhaka is now the largest and busiest city of Bangladesh. It is the capital city with population over 90 million. While the grew in the normal process of ‘organic growth’ in 1959, a firm named “Spencer and Minoprio” prepared the master plan of the Dhaka, the then provincial capital of the province East Pakistan of the country, Pakistan. There were endeavors to build up the city following that master plan, but with little success. What happened in reality was the gradual expansion of the city towards the north in a situation where the river Buriganga stopped its expansion on the South and low lying areas did the same on the East and West. A significant change in master plan came in 1965, when ‘the second capital’ of Pakistan was proposed in Monipuri para firm (later named Sher-e-Bangla Nagar). The master plan of this area and architectural designs of some of the buildings were done by architect Louis I. Kahn. During the colonial rule ( 1757-1947 AD) the British used non-plastered and red-painted bricks in some of their buildings. Louis Kahn re-introduced the same in some buildings of the second capital and the same later initiated a new trend in the arena of Architecture of Bangladesh. In 1971 Bangladesh became independent and Dhaka became the capital of the independent country. By this time concrete glass and elevators rendered new look to the built-forms of the city. The residential buildings rose up to 23 stories, commercial and institutional buildings up to 33 stories and transparent shopping malls revealed the internal activities day and night. On the road large-bodies vehicles and numerous smaller vehicles of latest design were the new introductions.
Urban Problems: In spite of all the richness seen in built-forms and roads, in Dhaka city there are numerous problems. The dwellers are the best persons to express their problems. Some of these problems are :
(i) Amenities: The dwellers do not find essential amenities like, children’s school, emergency health-care centre, vegetable shop, monetary institutions etc. within walking distance. So, they have to depend on vehicles which are costly and hazardous.
(ii) Transportation: The dwellers have to depend on transport for reaching the amenities. However, there is neither enough nor suitable transport vehicles for their movement. Those with cars face problem due to traffic congestion. Also they suffer from noise, exhaust gases and accident-propensity of the vehicles.
(iv) Social interaction: The essential and unavoidable social culture of the people of Bangladesh is intimate social bonding. Neither the design of the city nor that of the residential built-forms could ensure the same. The verandah’s, which the people of this region used to establish and maintain social relation, is extinct in the low-rise buildings and ineffective in the high-rise apartments. Shade of the tree, premise of the pond or well etc. which were earlier used for maintaining social interaction are absent in the urban scene. The roads with their quick moving vehicles, smoke and sound in fact can not act as social promenade.
(v) Sports and health care : The vacant spaces are continuously being occupied by influential persons for the construction of income-generating built-forms. Thus there is no vacant space, field or park for the people for exercise, sports or casual meeting. The moving vehicles do that allow those activities to take place there. The specialists of health love to establish their clinics at commercially important locations, such that people have to move to far away places for treatment.
Steps In Implementation: The implementation of the policy in Dhaka city may involve only 5 steps, like :
Step 01 : Creating Wards: A plan of Dhaka city might show agglomeration of buildings separated by network of roads. In Dhaka city the smaller administrative units are known as WARD. From now on we shall use this term to denote what we meant by ‘fragment’ or unit in our previous discussion. Now more or less square-shaped WARD’s may be chalked out in this plan with roads on all sides. Let us say, the easy walking-limit of men in Bangladesh is 2 kilometers. In that case the length of each side will be about 1.5 km to 2 km.
Step 02 : Enclosing The Ward : The entry roads towards each WARD will have to be arranged with operable gates.
Step 03 : Finding Out The Missing Amenities : A questionnaire survey will be conducted in order to find out the amenities needed by the dwellers of the WARD. At present the following list may be taken as granted :
(a) Educational institutions (Children’s school, High School, College, University).
(b) Commodities (Vegetables-rice-meat shop complex, Grocery, Stationary, Cloth shop etc.), (c) Financial institution (Bank, ATM machine etc.),
(d) Healthcare and emergency (Trauma centre, General physician, Dentist, Ophthalmologist, Ear Nose Throat specialist, Child specialist etc.),
(e) Maintenance (Repairing shops for domestic appliances and gadgets),
(f) Professionals (Lawyer),
(f) Hostels (for working men and women, male and female students etc.),
(g) Religion and recreation (Community centre, Prayer house etc.),
(h) Multi-storied car park etc.
Then an inventory with the number of such amenities will be prepared. On the basis of these two, the list for the new amenities to be established will be finalized. In order to eliminate monopoly the minimum number of amenities for commercial items (like, Vegetables-rice-meat shopping complex, grocery etc.) and professionals/ specialists (like, Dentist, Lawyer etc.) should be two.
Step 04 : Administrative Policies For Providing The Missing Amenities: Issuing license and tax-reduction : In the present situation in Dhaka city the private entrepreneurs establish items which they find profitable, ignoring the need of the dwellers, such that they have to move far away places in quest of those. After the finalization of the amenities, the urban authorities would issue license for the establishment of the non-existent items. The authority may introduce reduced tax-rates in order to encourage such entrepreneurs.
Step 05: Local Administration And Management : In order to take care of the wellbeing and welfare of the dwellers of the WARD, there will be an administration body formed with a number of elected representatives. This body will look after the use of public land and roads within the WARD. They would finalize which of the gates shall remain for which time. They may decide to hold public functions, sports, games etc. on the roads after establishing control over the entry roads.
Advantages of the policy :
In Dhaka city the administrative planning policy might be advantageous in various sectors like : (i) Transport, (ii) Sports, health care and social interaction etc.
(01). Amenities And Transport: We have chalked out 11 amenities for which minor children and adults need to go out and use vehicles. Such uses involve financial cost, risk of accident, loss of time etc. If these essential amenities can be made available within traffic-free zone of the proposed administrative unit or ward, then a consider portion of the travel may be eliminated. FIG. 01 below shows a comparative picture of travel-requirement in the present situation and after the implementation of administrative planning.
Out of the 12 items listed above, it is seen that we can eliminate the need for movement of the dwellers in 7 cases. These 7 cases are High School, University, Work place of the wage earners, Physicians for referral disease, and Shopping for specialized items. Probably there is no scope to eliminate vehicular journey to these items, unless of course any unit is fortunate enough to have a university or high school inside their unit. In Dhaka city the people often complain for non-availability of transport vehicle. On the other hand, when the number of such vehicles are increased those create traffic jam because of scarcity of roads. In the congested city now there is almost no scope for creating more roads. In such a situation, if the needs of transport for 7 items out of 12 can be eliminated, then there is every possibility that the present contingent of vehicles might prove sufficient.
(02) Sports And Health Care : Lack of open space is the common scenario in Dhaka city. After each change of government, political leaders and those in power manage the urban authorities to grab vacant land used as playground, park or breathing space. In Dhaka city the roads are busy from 6.00 morning to 12.00 in the night with vehicles like cycle, motor wheeler, three wheeler (Rickshaw), motorized three wheeler, car, scooter, motorized three wheeler, car, bus, push cart, truck etc. In such a situation the dwellers do not get the any space for children’s play, sports, exercise or jogging. However, the internal roads would to turn to excellent space for such activities as soon as the operable gates are provided near the entrances.
(03) Social Interaction And Bondage : The lack of open space deters the scope of interaction, exchange of ideas, social mixing etc. As soon as operable gates come into operation, the internal roads with seating benches, planted trees, podium etc. may create amicable environment for social mixing and even for holding cultural functions and celebrations.
Conclusion :
As of today there exists no policy that can ensure urban development in order to satisfy the dwellers. The most intelligent and logical approach to create pleasant and efficient cities was the preparation of Master Plan. We now know that this policy does no more work mainly because the needs of the city and of the people change beyond the planners’ foresight. The Urban Design Practice satisfies the needs of the owners and large scale demolition and reconstruction that of the influential persons engaged in business and construction. In such a context one should be over expectant about the success of the proposed “Administrative Planning Policy” presented above. However, this policy has got certain advantages over the others. Some of these are :
(01) Its cost of implementation is extremely less. The cost involved is that for the entrance gates only. Even the cost of the growth of new amenities is to be borne by the private sector. (02) It serves the physical, sports, recreational and cultural needs of all the dwellers.
(03) It may help the dwellers to organize and work for themselves and the community.
(04) It may help to create better livable environment inside.
(05) It may help to coagulate social bondage.
The need of vehicles inside the unit will be less because most of the distance will be within walking limit. The operable entry gates would compel the vehicle drivers to drive cautiously and that would ensure a safer place for the dwellers. The administrative body of the unit may like to construct sitting benches, lecture podium, green park etc. in their own interest. They may arrange festivals or celebrations by imposing vehicles on certain days of the year or certain hours of the day.
In these days urban development has turned to the money-making-act of some influential persons and political leaders. Costly policies benefit the concerned personnel of the Urban Authorities also. By that consideration, the proposed policy of “Administrative Planning Policy” would be of no help to them. But whom it would benefit are the dwellers. After the dwellers can live peacefully, at less cost and get the scope to discus among themselves about their needs, the need of their city and of the country, they may probably raise such issues like “retaining and highlighting the culture and heritage of the city”, “increasing the prestige and honor of the city” etc. If one endeavors to find out one ‘good’ reason to reject the “Administrative Planning Policy” it might be, “this policy does, in no way benefit those influential men who consider urban development as an excellent money-making act”.
When the above mentioned problems reach an advanced stage, the urban authorities endeavor to solve those in all possible ways they find around. Their endeavors, however, run in a specific direction relating to widening or extension of roads, re-designing built-form, introduction of new transport vehicles etc. Also there are endeavors to satisfy the needs and aspirations of the owners of land and built-form by changing or manipulating the existing laws and bye-laws of urban growth through the ‘Urban Design Professionals’.
In the extremely short body of this article we shall try to show some of the constraints and limitations of the above mentioned endeavors. Also, we shall present an alternate proposal, which may be called “Environmental up gradation of congested cities through administrative planning”.
Various endeavors to solve urban problems :
Master Planning : The job undertaken to ensure that the future dwellers would find little problem in the planned urban areas is known as “preparation of master plan”. At first various areas of the city mentioned as ‘Zone’ were designated for specific activities like residential zone, industrial zone, commercial zone, healthcare zone etc. However, new situations like
(i) the technological advancement capable of changing the environment of various use areas, (ii) vast accommodation potentiality of the multi-level built-forms etc. soon nullified the idea of ‘pure zones’.
As a consequence all the zones in fact turned to mixed zones. In case of old cities that did not grow in accordance with such plans, the job of master planning is substituted by phase-wise demolition, clearing and remodeling. The fact is, in spite of utmost care and foresightedness, master plans cannot keep face with the needs of the future. As policy, master plans are prepared to fulfill the demands of the future, say 20 or 25 years ahead of time. In these days the scientific and technological developments take place so rapidly and abruptly that most of the master plans fail to fulfill the demand after even ten years. Then plans in various areas are manipulated to meet the local needs. Also, dominating factors like transport, business, industry etc. altogether interfere with the previous master plans.
Urban Design Practice : In the above situation, some developed countries prepare master plan only to serve as “structural plan”. The structural planning is done in order to ensure infra-structural facilities and supply of utilities to the users. In addition, the urban authorities appoint urban designer professionals who work as facilitators for the dwellers. These professionals invite proposals for changes, extensions or reconstruction of built-forms from the owners. Then they perform the “Environmental Impact Assessment” (EIA) due to such changes and advise the dwellers accordingly.
The practice of the urban design professionals is usually found to serve the need of the owners. However, it is quite doubtful how far this practice fulfills the needs of the dwellers. The truth is most of the urban dwellers are rent payers and there is no mechanism to incorporate their needs and aspirations in the act of the urban design professionals.
Practice Under The Influence Of The Agents With Vested Interest : While full-fledged Master Planning program have already failed, in some countries agents with vested interest exert pressure on the Urban Authorities to take up such policies as may be helpful in their financial interest. These are demolition of old areas, re-development of demolished areas, fringe area development, changes in the modes of transport etc. Thus practice does not in general look at the interest of the dwellers and not even to the sustainability of the projects. Quite often large projects are taken knowing fully well that those would not work for a long time or that the people would react against those. The obvious reason for taking such ‘non-intelligent’ projects is, demolition of those for another solution might serve their further interest.
In the transport sector, underground tunnels or overhead roads are introduced for mass transportation. The tunnel-transportation leaves the environment of the city clean at the cost of excessive use of energy for maintenance. On the other hand, overhead roads go on slashing the city, tarnishing its charm and turning it into concrete jungles. Also, both the systems create traffic congestion or jamming at their junctions and terminal points.
In the above context where no planning and urban design solution has been found to work efficiently, we present our proposal titled “Administrative Planning Policy”.
The proposal of administrative planning policy :
In a nut shell the policies to be followed in the Administrative Planning Policy comprises of the following :
(01) Fragmenting the city in a number of smaller units with perceivable boundary, preferably with roads. The size of the unit will be based on the walking limit of men.
(02) Enclosing the area physically by constructing operable gates at all the entry roads and lanes.
(03) Finding out the missing essential amenities in the unit on the basis of available amenities and those needed by the dwellers.
(04) Declaration of reduced-tax policy for the entrepreneurs interested in establishing the missing amenities.
(05) Encouraging the formation of a local administrative and maintenance body by dwellers’ representatives.
Implementation of the policy in Dhaka city :
We know the implementation of such a policy depends upon numerous local factors. In an international scale that might make the discussion complicated. In order to avoid that complexity we shall discuss the implementation procedure of this policy in Dhaka city of Bangladesh. For this purpose we present here a precise discussion on the history, urban problems etc. of Dhaka city.
Brief History : Established some six hundred years ago as a number of rural villages with vast expanse of paddy fields, Dhaka is now the largest and busiest city of Bangladesh. It is the capital city with population over 90 million. While the grew in the normal process of ‘organic growth’ in 1959, a firm named “Spencer and Minoprio” prepared the master plan of the Dhaka, the then provincial capital of the province East Pakistan of the country, Pakistan. There were endeavors to build up the city following that master plan, but with little success. What happened in reality was the gradual expansion of the city towards the north in a situation where the river Buriganga stopped its expansion on the South and low lying areas did the same on the East and West. A significant change in master plan came in 1965, when ‘the second capital’ of Pakistan was proposed in Monipuri para firm (later named Sher-e-Bangla Nagar). The master plan of this area and architectural designs of some of the buildings were done by architect Louis I. Kahn. During the colonial rule ( 1757-1947 AD) the British used non-plastered and red-painted bricks in some of their buildings. Louis Kahn re-introduced the same in some buildings of the second capital and the same later initiated a new trend in the arena of Architecture of Bangladesh. In 1971 Bangladesh became independent and Dhaka became the capital of the independent country. By this time concrete glass and elevators rendered new look to the built-forms of the city. The residential buildings rose up to 23 stories, commercial and institutional buildings up to 33 stories and transparent shopping malls revealed the internal activities day and night. On the road large-bodies vehicles and numerous smaller vehicles of latest design were the new introductions.
Urban Problems: In spite of all the richness seen in built-forms and roads, in Dhaka city there are numerous problems. The dwellers are the best persons to express their problems. Some of these problems are :
(i) Amenities: The dwellers do not find essential amenities like, children’s school, emergency health-care centre, vegetable shop, monetary institutions etc. within walking distance. So, they have to depend on vehicles which are costly and hazardous.
(ii) Transportation: The dwellers have to depend on transport for reaching the amenities. However, there is neither enough nor suitable transport vehicles for their movement. Those with cars face problem due to traffic congestion. Also they suffer from noise, exhaust gases and accident-propensity of the vehicles.
(iv) Social interaction: The essential and unavoidable social culture of the people of Bangladesh is intimate social bonding. Neither the design of the city nor that of the residential built-forms could ensure the same. The verandah’s, which the people of this region used to establish and maintain social relation, is extinct in the low-rise buildings and ineffective in the high-rise apartments. Shade of the tree, premise of the pond or well etc. which were earlier used for maintaining social interaction are absent in the urban scene. The roads with their quick moving vehicles, smoke and sound in fact can not act as social promenade.
(v) Sports and health care : The vacant spaces are continuously being occupied by influential persons for the construction of income-generating built-forms. Thus there is no vacant space, field or park for the people for exercise, sports or casual meeting. The moving vehicles do that allow those activities to take place there. The specialists of health love to establish their clinics at commercially important locations, such that people have to move to far away places for treatment.
Steps In Implementation: The implementation of the policy in Dhaka city may involve only 5 steps, like :
Step 01 : Creating Wards: A plan of Dhaka city might show agglomeration of buildings separated by network of roads. In Dhaka city the smaller administrative units are known as WARD. From now on we shall use this term to denote what we meant by ‘fragment’ or unit in our previous discussion. Now more or less square-shaped WARD’s may be chalked out in this plan with roads on all sides. Let us say, the easy walking-limit of men in Bangladesh is 2 kilometers. In that case the length of each side will be about 1.5 km to 2 km.
Step 02 : Enclosing The Ward : The entry roads towards each WARD will have to be arranged with operable gates.
Step 03 : Finding Out The Missing Amenities : A questionnaire survey will be conducted in order to find out the amenities needed by the dwellers of the WARD. At present the following list may be taken as granted :
(a) Educational institutions (Children’s school, High School, College, University).
(b) Commodities (Vegetables-rice-meat shop complex, Grocery, Stationary, Cloth shop etc.), (c) Financial institution (Bank, ATM machine etc.),
(d) Healthcare and emergency (Trauma centre, General physician, Dentist, Ophthalmologist, Ear Nose Throat specialist, Child specialist etc.),
(e) Maintenance (Repairing shops for domestic appliances and gadgets),
(f) Professionals (Lawyer),
(f) Hostels (for working men and women, male and female students etc.),
(g) Religion and recreation (Community centre, Prayer house etc.),
(h) Multi-storied car park etc.
Then an inventory with the number of such amenities will be prepared. On the basis of these two, the list for the new amenities to be established will be finalized. In order to eliminate monopoly the minimum number of amenities for commercial items (like, Vegetables-rice-meat shopping complex, grocery etc.) and professionals/ specialists (like, Dentist, Lawyer etc.) should be two.
Step 04 : Administrative Policies For Providing The Missing Amenities: Issuing license and tax-reduction : In the present situation in Dhaka city the private entrepreneurs establish items which they find profitable, ignoring the need of the dwellers, such that they have to move far away places in quest of those. After the finalization of the amenities, the urban authorities would issue license for the establishment of the non-existent items. The authority may introduce reduced tax-rates in order to encourage such entrepreneurs.
Step 05: Local Administration And Management : In order to take care of the wellbeing and welfare of the dwellers of the WARD, there will be an administration body formed with a number of elected representatives. This body will look after the use of public land and roads within the WARD. They would finalize which of the gates shall remain for which time. They may decide to hold public functions, sports, games etc. on the roads after establishing control over the entry roads.
Advantages of the policy :
In Dhaka city the administrative planning policy might be advantageous in various sectors like : (i) Transport, (ii) Sports, health care and social interaction etc.
(01). Amenities And Transport: We have chalked out 11 amenities for which minor children and adults need to go out and use vehicles. Such uses involve financial cost, risk of accident, loss of time etc. If these essential amenities can be made available within traffic-free zone of the proposed administrative unit or ward, then a consider portion of the travel may be eliminated. FIG. 01 below shows a comparative picture of travel-requirement in the present situation and after the implementation of administrative planning.
Out of the 12 items listed above, it is seen that we can eliminate the need for movement of the dwellers in 7 cases. These 7 cases are High School, University, Work place of the wage earners, Physicians for referral disease, and Shopping for specialized items. Probably there is no scope to eliminate vehicular journey to these items, unless of course any unit is fortunate enough to have a university or high school inside their unit. In Dhaka city the people often complain for non-availability of transport vehicle. On the other hand, when the number of such vehicles are increased those create traffic jam because of scarcity of roads. In the congested city now there is almost no scope for creating more roads. In such a situation, if the needs of transport for 7 items out of 12 can be eliminated, then there is every possibility that the present contingent of vehicles might prove sufficient.
(02) Sports And Health Care : Lack of open space is the common scenario in Dhaka city. After each change of government, political leaders and those in power manage the urban authorities to grab vacant land used as playground, park or breathing space. In Dhaka city the roads are busy from 6.00 morning to 12.00 in the night with vehicles like cycle, motor wheeler, three wheeler (Rickshaw), motorized three wheeler, car, scooter, motorized three wheeler, car, bus, push cart, truck etc. In such a situation the dwellers do not get the any space for children’s play, sports, exercise or jogging. However, the internal roads would to turn to excellent space for such activities as soon as the operable gates are provided near the entrances.
(03) Social Interaction And Bondage : The lack of open space deters the scope of interaction, exchange of ideas, social mixing etc. As soon as operable gates come into operation, the internal roads with seating benches, planted trees, podium etc. may create amicable environment for social mixing and even for holding cultural functions and celebrations.
Conclusion :
As of today there exists no policy that can ensure urban development in order to satisfy the dwellers. The most intelligent and logical approach to create pleasant and efficient cities was the preparation of Master Plan. We now know that this policy does no more work mainly because the needs of the city and of the people change beyond the planners’ foresight. The Urban Design Practice satisfies the needs of the owners and large scale demolition and reconstruction that of the influential persons engaged in business and construction. In such a context one should be over expectant about the success of the proposed “Administrative Planning Policy” presented above. However, this policy has got certain advantages over the others. Some of these are :
(01) Its cost of implementation is extremely less. The cost involved is that for the entrance gates only. Even the cost of the growth of new amenities is to be borne by the private sector. (02) It serves the physical, sports, recreational and cultural needs of all the dwellers.
(03) It may help the dwellers to organize and work for themselves and the community.
(04) It may help to create better livable environment inside.
(05) It may help to coagulate social bondage.
The need of vehicles inside the unit will be less because most of the distance will be within walking limit. The operable entry gates would compel the vehicle drivers to drive cautiously and that would ensure a safer place for the dwellers. The administrative body of the unit may like to construct sitting benches, lecture podium, green park etc. in their own interest. They may arrange festivals or celebrations by imposing vehicles on certain days of the year or certain hours of the day.
In these days urban development has turned to the money-making-act of some influential persons and political leaders. Costly policies benefit the concerned personnel of the Urban Authorities also. By that consideration, the proposed policy of “Administrative Planning Policy” would be of no help to them. But whom it would benefit are the dwellers. After the dwellers can live peacefully, at less cost and get the scope to discus among themselves about their needs, the need of their city and of the country, they may probably raise such issues like “retaining and highlighting the culture and heritage of the city”, “increasing the prestige and honor of the city” etc. If one endeavors to find out one ‘good’ reason to reject the “Administrative Planning Policy” it might be, “this policy does, in no way benefit those influential men who consider urban development as an excellent money-making act”.
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