Child Equity Atlas - BIDS

Situation in Urban Areas: The Case of Dhaka City Corporation
Situation in Urban Areas: The Case of Dhaka City
Corporation
6.0.0 Urbanization is both a cause and
consequence of economic growth. The world
is increasingly becoming urban because
urbanization is an irreversible and dynamic
process interlinked with socioeconomic change.
Bangladesh is experiencing one of the most rapid
urbanization progressions in Asia, at a rate of 3.0 per
cent per annum 23 , as more and more people flock
to the city from rural areas, seeking opportunities,
fleeing from socioeconomic and environmental
vulnerabilities in the rural economy.
6.0.1 In 1974, about one in every 10 persons
lived in urban areas (8.8 per cent) 24 of the
country. While in 2011, about one in every four
persons (23.3 per cent) 25 are living in urban
areas. As the country is one of the poorest
and most densely populated countries in the
world, the rapid urbanization in the country is
causing tremendous pressure on its existing
infrastructure and basic civic facilities.
6.0.2 Dhaka city population has grown from
two to over six million between 1974 and
2011, with the area under the city corporation
increasing from about 300 to over 1500 sq.km.
during the same period 26, 27 . Like Lagos, Dhaka
is one of the fastest growing cities in the world,
at annual rate of 3.2 per cent, which translates
23
World Development Indicators, 2011, http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.URB.GROW
24
Bangladesh Population and Housing Census, 2001
25
Bangladesh Population and Housing Census, 2011
26
Rapid Urban Growth and Poverty in Dhaka City; http://
www.bangladeshsociology.org/BEJS%205.1%20Rapid%20
Urban%20Growth%20and%20Poverty%20final.pdf
27
Bangladesh Population and Housing Census, 2011
to about 300,000 to 400,000 migrants each year,
according to the World Bank (2007 28 ).
6.0.3 Despite the global financial problems,
Bangladesh continues to record impressive
economic growth of about 6 per cent GDP in
recent years (6.23 per cent in fiscal year 2011/2012
according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics 29 ).
The quality of growth and the social inclusiveness
is a vital consideration in growing economies,
such as Bangladesh which aspires to the middle
income status by 2021. The social outcomes of
economic growth on population most vulnerable
to deprivation represents one dimension of
gauging the quality of growth, and a call to action
to end the pockets of poverty, while celebrating
the areas of progress.
6.0.4 In our estimation the highest population
growth in Dhaka city is in the slums where
according to UNICEF 30 , indicators of children’s
socioeconomic rights are worse than in rural areas,
challenging the so called trickledown effect of
rapid economic growth.
6.0.5 Hence, the 2011 Population and Housing
Census presents a unique opportunity to understand
the population dynamics during the last
decade and to uncover the deprivation and
disparities normally hidden in the national averages.
28
World Bank, Dhaka: Improving Living Conditions for the
Urban Poor, Bangladesh Development Series, Paper No. 17,
Dhaka, 2007.
29
Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, http://www.bbs.gov.bd/
WebTestApplication/userfiles/Image/BBS/GDP_2012_13.pdf
30
UNICEF Bangladesh, 2010 Understanding Urban Inequality
in Bangladesh: A prerequisite for achieving Vision 2021.
http://www.unicef.org/bangladesh/Urban_paper_lowres.pdf
81