Dhaka now ranks 171st among 173 cities on the Global Livability Index, planners said Tuesday warning that unplanned urbanisation, environmental degradation and weak governance have pushed the capital to one of the lowest livability levels in the world.
Speaking at a press conference titled "Dhaka City's Livability: Challenges and Roadmap for Planned Solutions," organised by the Bangladesh Institute of Planners (BIP) at its conference hall in Planners Tower, BIP President Muhammad Ariful Islam said transport, air and noise pollution, waterlogging, shrinking green space, public health risks and weak social inclusion are all directly tied to the city's planning failures.
He said Dhaka ranks 18th among the world's most polluted cities.
Of the roughly 56 canals the city once had, only 26 survive in any recognisable form, while 48 areas have been identified as waterlogging-prone due to encroachment on canals and wetlands and poor drainage, he said.
Ariful Islam said unplanned billboards and lighting are damaging the cityscape and road safety, he added, while rising building density and poor waste management are fuelling dengue and chikungunya risks.
Only 7.99 percent of the city's 99.29 square kilometres is green space, he said, far short of what a livable city needs.
On transport, Ariful said Dhaka loses about 50 lakh working hours annually to congestion, at an estimated economic cost of Tk 37,000 crore.
He said around 1,765 tonnes of waste, 27 percent of total generation, goes uncollected daily, worsening waterlogging and mosquito breeding.
BIP General Secretary Mohammad Mosleh Uddin Hasan said Dhaka is heading toward its lowest-ever livability level due to poor implementation of existing plans and institutional weakness.
Planner Adil Muhammad Khan raised concerns over footpath encroachment, illegal businesses, extortion, and political influence in urban management while planner AKM Riaz Uddin noted that despite declining livability, migration to Dhaka continues because other regions lack jobs and services.
Speakers agreed that Dhaka's crisis stems from interlinked failures in environment, land use, transport, health and waste management, calling for long-term, coordinated national planning.