Open Spaces

Open Space, Greeneries and Water bodies in Urban Areas

Urban Plans should provide for adequate open space, greenery and water bodies (rivers, canals, lakes, ponds and tanks). Need for neighborhood parks and playgrounds should be emphasized. There can be clusters of varieties of trees in traffic islands. With Dhaka resembling a concrete jungle with each passing day, the suffocated residents of this populated city are frequently on the lookout for places to go and enjoy some breath of fresh air. Legislation have been passed to conserve water bodies, but these legislations require enforcement.

Overall, the intensity of development in established areas of Dhaka is high. There is a preponderance of mixed uses - not Intrinsically harmful, but leading to conflict and congestion as a result of under-served high densities. There is also a low proportion of non-residential uses - parks, roads, commercial and  Industrial areas - compared to the predominantly residential use, particularly so when compared to the population served by these uses. There is a wide scattering of very poor slum areas and squatter settlements, with particularly high densities, and the proportion of population living in unplanned spontaneous and still growing areas is substantially higher than that living in planned zones.

The overall gross urban development density in Dhaka in 1991 is 174 persons per acre (ppa). In the inner zones, densities average 221 ppa, reaching a high of 323 ppa in the Old City. The process of formal new land development, mainly on the periphery, is slow, and characterized by low initial densities, with a long time elapsing before densities approach those in more established parts. The spontaneous growth on the near fringe is however, spreading rapidly and providing the much needed affordable housing for the poor and low income groups.

Dhaka's urban housing is supplied overwhelmingly by the informal private sector. The informal. private sector has two major components, the provision of built housing units for moderate to middle class tenants by builder/ occupiers or small scale entrepreneurs, and provision of very low cost rental units by slum entrepreneurs. Public sector housing activities are both direct (as provider) and in a relatively few instances indirect (as enabler). They are biased in favour of upper income groups, and have only been extended to under 10% of urban households. Access to urban land with. secure tenure, via the informal. unplanned, processes, though still biased against the poor, may be more widespread among moderate to middle income groups than previously believed. On the other hand, planned new land sub-division has largely been for upper-middle and upper income groups.

Two-thirds of the population increase over the past decade has been accommodated at higher densities in established urban areas, and only a third through new land development. As a consequence, pressure on existing services in established urban areas is increasing as densities increase. while in the new formal land development areas, slow development initially makes the provision of higher 1evels of infrastructure service provision uneconomic. While the provision of some basic services at an early stage in the development cycle might stimulate faster development in new areas, investment (assuming a constant total) would be at the expense of the greater demand in existing established higher density urban areas.

One of the oldest and largest walking spaces in Dhaka City is Ramna Park. Everyday, hundreds of people from different areas come here for walking and jogging. If you go there early in the morning you will see people taking a refreshing morning walk. This park is really beautiful, as it is one of the oldest in our country with trees well over a hundred years old providing shade from the stifling heat. With Sheraton hotel just alongside the park, one can also find a few foreigners trotting along the concrete pathway of the historical park.

However, a rapid population growth has seen the demise of such parks due to space constraint. Nowadays one can hardly find an open space around Dhaka and this can have a negative effect on the population of the city as well. The residents of Dhanmondi can count themselves among the luckier lot since they have the Dhanmondi Lake for recreation. With the previous government investing heavily to upgrade the lake premises, Dhanmondi Lake is now one of the most attractive recreational spots in Dhaka city.

For the residents of Gulshan, parks are a scarcity. The children's park at Gulshan-1 has been turned into a slum for government employees and the authorities are yet to take any action against this illegal move. In order to get respite from the hectic pace of city life, people in that locality can visit the Baridhara children's park which has gone through a major facelift in the last year or so.

Due to an initiative by the local residents, security of the park was beefed up and extra lighting and trees were planted to improve the aesthetic aspect of the place. There is another park located near the American Club at Gulshan-2, which also provides pleasant atmosphere for the daily joggers and health freaks. Due to its close proximity to many international clubs, it is not surprising that foreigners prefer this park. It is comparatively more private than other parks in the city and this also helps to attract even more people.

With life in Dhaka city becoming more hectic by the day and space being considered a luxury, the residents of this beautiful city are always on the lookout for free open spaces to get away from it all and relax. Though such spaces are few and far between, their availability is important in maintaining a proper balance of city life.

General Building Requirement : Bangladesh National Building Code, 1993