With more and more people migrating from rural to urban areas, the urban governance of Chattogram is becoming increasingly fragile. In our third annual flagship report of its kind, the “State of Cities 2015: Governance for a Liveable Chattogram,” we provided an in-depth analysis of the historical, economic, and political dynamics that shape various facets of urban life and governance in Chattogram. It was found that the government’s response to the city’s urban transition is both poor and inadequate. To increase and sustain liveability, urban governance needs to be strengthened by overcoming a number of challenges.
Researchers: Dr Syed Naimul Wadood; Engineer Subash Chandra Barua; Dr Mohammad Nazmul Islam; M. Shahidul Islam; Kazi Nurmohammad Hossainul Haque; Mohammad Sirajul Islam; Saika Nudrat Chowdhury; S. M. Gubair Bin Arafat; Sadiat Mannan; Afrina Islam; Nabila Zaman; Md. Mujahedul Islam
Partners: International Development Research Centre (IDRC)
Timeline: 2013-2014
Status: Completed
Contact: Mohammad Sirajul Islam; sirajul@bracu.ac.bd
Publications:
Chattogram is the second-largest city and the main seaport of Bangladesh with a population of about five million. Around 9% of the country’s urban population live here and around 75% of the country’s total exports and 80% of imports are conducted through its seaport. In the past few decades, the city has undergone rapid urbanisation. Being the hub of trade, commerce, industry, and shipping, Chattogram has the potential to make significant contributions to the economy of Bangladesh. However, while population density in Chattogram is exceptionally high, economic density is relatively low, indicating that the city has yet to harness the full benefits of urbanisation. Meanwhile, Chattogram is struggling to manage its urban inhabitants and gradually becoming least liveable.
Objectives
The objective of our study was to see how liveable Chattogram city is by looking at its accountability mechanism in delivering services, price of the services, and function of intermediaries in providing low-cost solutions.
This study is relevant to SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), partocularly to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
Methodology
For this study, we adopted mixed methods. To collect our qualitative and quantitative data, we interviewed the city’s key stakeholders and conducted focus group discussions (FGDs) among slum-dwellers and other relevant stakeholders. Geographical information system (GIS) was employed to identify the spatial and temporal changes in land cover and land use in Chattogram City Corporation (CCC) area. We also conducted a structured questionnaire survey among 1,200 households in the Chattogram city. Furthermore, a number of urban plans, journal articles, book chapters, newspaper archives, laws and acts, and various relevant documents from Chittagong Development Authority (CDA), CCC, National Housing Authority Bangladesh (NHA), Department of Environment, the Ministry of Environment and Forests, and numerous other public and private agencies were reviewed.
Findings and Recommendations
From our study, it was evident that the existing urban governance in Chattogram fails to ensure accountability in delivering services to the city dwellers. The limited devolution of administrative and financial power, lack of single authority to ensure horizontal accountability, and increased dependency on the centre for funds and policies prevent the city from developing a bottom-up governance system. Not only Chattogram’s urban governance system lacks accountability, but the city’s essential service delivery, such as water, sanitation, gas, and electricity, transport provisions, and housing needs also have not been addressed in line with its rapid urbanisation. We have found that in Chattogram city, nearly one-third of the waste remains uncollected and only 2% is recycled. Moreover, power cuts are frequent, the gas supply is inadequate, and Chittagong Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (CWASA) provides only about 40% of the city’s total water demand. The shortage of housing supplies forces low-income people to take shelter in risky slopes of hills, which result in distortion of land use, hill cutting, and other environmental hazards. Furthermore, much of the city remains underwater during the rainy season because of waterlogging. The city dwellers are at severe health risk due to water, air, noise, and other industrial pollution.
To make Chattogram liveable, the coordination among service delivery and regulatory agencies should be strengthened. Low-income people need to be included in urban development plans. Finally, citizens should also play a more active role in holding the service providers accountable.