As the COVID-19 global pandemic continues to restrict travel and movement across the globe, where we live and how we live is becoming more important than ever.
With more than 50% of our population living, learning and working in cities understanding what makes our liveable cities is a pertinent question to explore.
Funded by the Centre for Sustainable, Healthy and Learning Cities and Neighbourhoods (SHLC)’s Capacity Development Acceleration Fund an international team of social scientists have been exploring the concept of liveability in two regional cities in Bangladesh: Mongla and Noapara.
A short film showcasing how creative research tools helped researchers to have a deeper understanding of residents’ perceptions of liveability was shown at the Better Cities film Festival in Detroit.
Using a range of qualitative and creative research tools, including surveys, interviews, focus group discussions, storytelling workshops and street theatre performances, the research team spoke to local urban residents to understand their own personal stories and what matters most to them. Key findings showed housing, utilities, livelihoods, as well as safety and security in the cities were the four most common important factors for liveability.
Reflecting on the project’s research findings, Istiakh Ahmed from the International Centre for Climate Change and Development, said:
“Our research also shows that liveability means different things to different people… One of the respondents mentioned: ‘I don’t want to have a better street or better services in this area; this will only benefit the house owners. They will increase the rent the moment we get a concrete road to our house. And having no further income, this will cause us more suffering than a more liveable environment.’ Many urban dwellers can surely relate to this statement amidst global discussions on housing scarcity, gentrification, and rapid urbanisation – and what is a liveable environment for some people, may result in the inability of others to live in that same area.”
To truly understand what makes a city liveable, it is crucial to rethink the concept of liveability, says Dr Hanna Ruszczyk from Durham University:
“I firmly believe that we need to rethink the underlying purpose and politics of liveability. We need to move to a qualitative perspective, grounded in lived experience, which the majority of the urban world’s population can relate to. Here is why. A better understanding of liveability can show us what everyday life is truly like for residents. We have the opportunity to make our everyday life as experienced by residents more concrete and legible and subsequently to offer possibilities for rethinking policies that govern the life of people in cities throughout the world.”
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This research project ‘Liveable Regional Cities in Bangladesh’ was funded by the Centre for Sustainable, Healthy and Learning Cities and Neighbourhoods (SHLC)’s Capacity Development Acceleration Fund. SHLC is funded via UK Research and Innovation as part of the UK Government’s Global Challenges Research Fund.
The project was led by Hanna Ruszczyk from Durham University, Alex Halligey from the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa and Feisal Rahman and Istiakh Ahmed from the research centre, International Centre for Climate Change and Development, Bangladesh.
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