Editorial
State of the habitat
Rethinking must go into urban planning
The observance of World Habitat Day yesterday ought not to be considered a routine affair. There are, as a matter of fact, some rather grave reasons why the issues raised on such an occasion should be addressed in earnest. When it is suggested by no less an individual than the secretary general of the United Nations that cities should be made safer and greener, it becomes critically important for governments, social organisations, the media and others to look afresh at the problems that have lately been piling up where urban life is concerned.
In Bangladesh's context, it has become obvious that a massive influx of people into the cities from rural regions has not only exacerbated issues of accommodation and employment but have, in the face of the squeeze, given rise to such concomitant matters as crime and a slow but sure degradation of the natural environment. If by the year 2030 more than two-thirds of the global population will be inhabiting cities, as has been predicted, one can be certain that a reflection of the problem will be felt in Bangladesh. Indeed, the nature of the problems we are likely to face has become clear already, with residential areas mutating into commercial regions through a growing number of business establishments, hospitals and educational institutions appropriating spots that once were known for their tranquil atmosphere. A related issue in Bangladesh's urban regions has been a disappearance of such nature spots as parks and trees, the latter not only along roadsides but also in traditional homes which have now been replaced by apartment complexes. Skyscrapers have now created a situation where even the skies have receded from view. Add to all these the difficulties created by a growth of slums, receding utilities and lack of sanitation. Obviously, such issues call for carefully thought-out plans of urbanisation with long-range perspectives.
A major problem in Bangladesh is the unplanned and therefore unstructured manner in which towns and cities have come up. A sign of this is the increasing road traffic and construction of homes and offices without adequate parking lots or any thought to a scientific expansion of cities. Building flyovers will surely be a solution but for such schemes long-term and purposeful planning is called for. In other words, for our towns and cities to be transformed into properly modern areas, serious rethinking must come into security and environment issues. And let us not forget either that a modernisation of cities will necessarily call for an aesthetic as well as a utilitarian approach to be brought into the job.
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