Uncontrolled Industry-Driven Urban Sprawl Creates an Unliveable Peri-Urban Dhaka

Expanding cities inevitably start to encroach upon surrounding rural land. As transport networks spread and industries pop up on the city periphery, this urban sprawl works like a magnet attracting migrants. New settlements emerge and the rural landscape transforms.

Urban sprawl brings increased income opportunities, yes, but does this urban growth positively reshape the peri-urban built environment of megacities in developing countries?

This blog, written by Khulna University’s Shilpi Roy and Nishat Tasnim Maria, reflects on evidence from Dhaka gathered during six months of field work in different peri-urban neighbourhoods of this fast-growing city.

Expanding beyond the city limit

Our research aims to capture the pattern and process of urban growth of Dhaka, Bangladesh and over the past few months our research has revealed a distressing shift in peri-urban areas. Since 1991, Dhaka, which is one of the fastest-growing megacities of the world, is expanding vastly beyond its city limit in all directions. Urban growth analysis shows 19% expansion every year. Expansion is occurring primarily along the major transport corridors and in places with economic opportunities, such as, surrounding areas of Joydebpur railway junction, areas around Chittagong road bus stand and in places where new roads have been constructed (e.g. Kunia, Vogra, Zirabo,Nawjor, Rajendrapur, Chashara, Amin Bazar). Areas like Gazipur, Baipyle, Ashulia, Keraniganj and Narayanganj have experienced a rapid transformation as industrial development feeds this unstoppable urban sprawl.

During the 1980s garment industries mushroomed haphazardly and used up most of the land in the city periphery. This meant that a planned industrial town in Tongi and segregated industrial areas in Tejgaon, which were built in the pre-independence period, were unable to accommodate any further industrial units. So, in the early 1990s industries began to shift away from the core of the city towards the north, north-west, south, south-west and west of Dhaka. Investors were interested in establishing new industries in the peri-urban areas so they could avoid high operation costs, high land values, high management costs and congestion of the city core. With improved transport networks and cheaper land, industries began to pop up along all the national highways leading to and from Dhaka.

Manufacturing and industry arrive

Government manufacturing strategy followed industry location. The Dhaka Export Processing Zone (EPZ) in Savar was established in 1993 and extended in 1997 to cover 356.22 acres of land and Adamjee Export Processing Zone in Narayanganj was built in 2006 with an area of 245.12 acres was seen as a steppingstone towards economic prosperity. Likewise, Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industry Corporation (BSCIC) Tannery Industrial Estate in Savar was allocated 200-acres of land with a hope to help save the Buriganga river from industrial pollutant and to raise the standards of leather manufacturing. Another BSCIC Leather Goods Industrial Park is currently being built next to the tanneries.

Fiscal and non-fiscal incentives in EPZs boosted foreign and local investment. 200 pre-selected factories have already relocated to BSCIC Tannery Industrial Estate. Under government plans, these EPZs and industrial zones promoted organically developed backward and forward linkage with other industries of different sizes, which in turn has seen formal and informal support enterprises, such as small spinning, weaving and knitting, dyeing and painting industries, emerge in the surrounding of Baipayl and Zirabo.

Although EPZs and the Tannery Industrial Estate were set aside as designated space for industries, the zone has in fact expanded well beyond the limits both in terms of number and area. Most of the garment units and their supporting industries are found outside the designated industrial zones and have even extended into unplanned residential areas in Vogra, Nawjor, Ashulia, Hemayetpur, Barpa, Savar and Chashra. Market-driven industries supported by urban planning, have seen these areas gradually flourish into new industrial clusters.

Job opportunities soar but living conditions plummet

These growing industrial clusters created job opportunities for millions of poor migrants and many poor workers and slums settlements already moved out from the core of Dhaka into peri-urban areas. Industrial investments also drew migrants from rural areas and other cities such as Mymensingh, Barisal, Bagura, Noakhali, Netrokona, Sherpur, Chandpur, and Jamalpur. These new industrial zones included housing and other essential services, such as road network, electricity supply, education and health services, for employees. But this is mainly for officials and housing for workers is horrendously inadequate.

A surging demand for housing and limited control of development regulations meant different types of settlements sprung up rapidly. Low cost of living, a pristine living environment and good connectivity to the city core are encouraging lower-middle income groups, who work in Dhaka, to live near industrial clusters like Joydebpur, Mirer Bazar, Amin Bazar, and Chunkutia. They like living near the industrial cluster because informal urban amenities including wet markets, shopping areas and access to electricity are available to all.

Remote sensing images and our neighbourhood visits to the area revealed patches of new low-income settlements for employees. These settlements are usually built on infilled agricultural and marshy lands and rental houses are very poor-quality lacking essential basic services like running water and electricity.

Increasing demand for housing has also attracted real estate and commercial developments creating an even bigger peri-urban Dhaka. Local retailers and businesses support the booming population who shop at daily markets gradually turning the area into a booming business hub.

Most of the new industrial clusters and surrounding settlements were initially part of rural councils, which lacked planning interventions and service provision. As an effort to properly manage growth and to better support the growing peri-urban population, these areas have recently been declared municipalities. Still, planning and service provisions are inadequate. With limited interventions, and unplanned and spontaneous change, narrow, muddy and filthy inner roads impede everyday life, absence of drainage means sanitation is frightfully poor and proper health care and education facilities are limited.

Liveable growth

Relocation of industries from the city to the peri-urban area can offer immense opportunities for the residents of Dhaka. Releasing of land that were previously used for industries and low-cost settlements would help introduce new economic activities, ease traffic congestion, reduce air and water pollution and improve quality of life for many urban neighbourhoods. The redistribution of employment opportunities will certainly help create a more balanced metropolitan region.

However, the current spontaneous and uncontrolled industrialisation surrounded by similarly spontaneous and uncontrolled new supporting residential areas pose a severe threat to the quality of the built environment. Uncontrolled sprawling is not only gobbling up precious agriculture and wetlands but is also threating ability to create a liveable, and sustainable, environment outside the core city.