Water Urbanism: A Prospective Study on Dhaka

Bangladesh is located in the largest active delta in the world besides receiving high amount of rainfalls, mighty rives flow through it. Still there is a water crisis. Dhaka, its capital, was once crisscrossed by numerous water channels draining the city as well as serving as a main source of service and communication line and naturally water bodies and Rivers had played an important role in the spatial development, life and liveability of Dhaka. The physiographic effect of water and land can be seen on the settlement pattern, which sited on available high ground or on artificial mounds created on the flood plains. The traditional system was of dig-elevate-dwell whereby ensuring water retention during floods and reservoir for lean period. Contemporary urban planning and design in Dhaka has its roots in the colonial period which ignored the traditional pattern of settlement planning resulting in the settlements to turn its back to the water bodies whereby causing health, sanitation and water logging problems. This calls for an urgent attention to integrate the water bodies with the existing city fabric. The study is an attempt to explore the physiographic dynamics of Dhaka along with its socio spatial context and propose guide lines which would respond well to the water based context of Dhaka

Keywords:

Geo-morphology, Water bodies, Historical Context, Dhaka Urban FabriC,

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