Physical Density and Urban Sprawl: A Case of Dhaka City - KTH

of the fort up to the riverbank grew mainly as commercial areas while to the north and
northeast residential areas sprouted. The physical size of Dhaka was about 5000 hectares with
population of 0.9 million (Tawhid, 2004).
After the East India Company, the British period (1764-1947) started and the Bengal Capital
changed from Dacca (former name of Dhaka) to Calcutta. In 1905, Dhaka was made the
capital of the new province of East Bengal and Assam, allowing further development of roads
and proper drains, as well as fully planned residential areas like “Wari”, an upper-middle
class area considered “the sanatorium of Dacca.” The area of the city was decreased from
5000 hectares to 800 hectares with the population of 0.2 million (Tawhid, 2004).
The major physical expansion of Dhaka city has started from the Pakistan period (1947-1971)
because Bangladesh was one of the states of Pakistan and the capital of Bengal was Dhaka.
The Pakistani government started development plan to utilize open spaces for recreation,
residences, and commerce. Tawhid has noted some spatial developments of Dhaka city
during Pakistan period. In a paraphrased statement of Tawhid (2004)
As a part of the plan Motijheel was developed as a commercial area in 1954;
Dhanmondi as a residential area after 1955; Mirpur and Mohammadpur were
developed to accommodate the migrant Muslims from Bihar, India in mid
1960s; Tejgaon as a industrial area in 1950s (Tawhid, 2004).
He also notes that, as a part of the plan, Gulshan Model Town in 1961, Banani in 1964,
Uttara in 1965 and Baridhara in 1962 were developed as pure residential areas (Tawhid,
2004).The physical densities and spatial qualities of such areas have grown depending on the
income level of residents.
Dhaka started as a capital of newly independent Bangladesh from 1971. The highlands of the
northward direction have been changing as a built up area. The intervening ditches, swamps
and marshes were filled in, not following any plan. In selecting the sites for the Model Towns
of Gulshan, Banani, Baridhara and Uttara, the method of selecting the highlands on the main
Dhaka-Tongi axis road is clearly discernible. No serious effort at reclaiming land under a
well-planned scheme to give the city a homogenous and cohesive growth is visible. Dhaka is
expanding according to its own way and the availability of infrastructure facilities of the area
dictate the terms and direction of the expansion. The permanent residents of Dhaka city are
growing gradually but the problem is lower income people. A lot of informal settlements are
developing on the available vacant land to meet the demand of low income housing.
3.3 Urbanization in Bangladesh and population growth of Dhaka city
Urbanization in its proper sense started in Bengal with establishment of British administrative
centers (particularly, the district headquarters) and development of business centers on the
banks of large rivers. Urban population growth rates in Bangladesh are the highest among the
South and South-East Asian countries. For example, average annual urban population growth
rates in India and Thailand in the late 1960s were 4.0% and 4.8% respectively against 6% in
Bangladesh at the same period. Urban areas started to grow steadily particularly in the post
British period when the British left the Indian sub-continent. However the rate became more
significant after the country achieved independence in 1971.
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