As Dhaka steps into its 416th year, the city faces a sobering reality: decades of rapid, largely unplanned urbanization have left Bangladesh's capital increasingly congested, polluted and environmentally fragile, with experts warning that its future livability is at growing risk unless long-delayed reforms are implemented.
Once celebrated as a city of rivers, canals and open spaces, Dhaka is now struggling with disappearing waterways, shrinking green cover, hazardous air pollution, chronic traffic congestion and overstretched infrastructure -- problems urban planners say have accumulated over decades of weak planning and poor enforcement.
The anniversary coincides with the week-long "Hridoye Dhaka" festival, organized by Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) from August 1 to 7, featuring cultural performances, heritage walks and exhibitions celebrating the city's history.
But urban planners argue the milestone should serve not only as a celebration of Dhaka's past, but also as a reminder of the urgent challenges threatening its future.
Historically, Mughal Subahdar Islam Khan declared Dhaka the provincial capital of Bengal in 1610, while the establishment of the Dhaka Municipality on August 1, 1864 laid the foundation for modern urban governance.
Perhaps the clearest sign of the city's declining livability is the rapid disappearance of green spaces.
A study published in the Elsevier journal Environmental Challenges found that Dhaka lost 56% of its green cover between 1989 and 2020, around 7,146 hectares, while healthy vegetation declined from 17% of the city's area to just 2%.
Urban planners attribute the decline to unplanned development, weak enforcement and inadequate protection of public open spaces.
Akhtar Mahmud, adviser to the Bangladesh Institute of Planners (BIP), said repeated public protests and court interventions had failed to stop the destruction of parks and playgrounds.
"The continued loss of urban green spaces reflects a failure of governance despite years of public resistance and court interventions to protect places such as Suhrawardy Udyan, Dhanmondi Math, Tetultala, Balur Math and Anwara Park," he said.
The city's natural drainage system has also steadily disappeared.
Although official records list between 46 and 50 canals, studies by the Institute of Water Modelling (IWM) and the Joint Canal Recovery Taskforce suggest that only 26 to 38 remain functional or capable of restoration.
Many have been encroached upon, filled up or reduced to narrow drains.
Urban planners say this loss is one of the main reasons Dhaka now suffers severe waterlogging after even moderate rainfall.
Former Bangladesh Institute of Planners president Adil Mohammad Khan said restoring canals would require political commitment and decisive legal action against encroachers.
"If authorities take legal action against canal encroachers, it will send a strong message," he said, adding that no restoration initiative would succeed without recovering the city's waterways.
Experts note that healthy cities should retain roughly 15% of their land as wetlands or water bodies, while Dhaka's Flood Action Plan recommends at least 12%. The capital now falls well below those thresholds.
Environmental degradation is also exacting a growing public health and economic cost.
Research led by Jahangirnagar University scientist Dr Md Sakhaoat Hossain, published in Population and Environment, estimates that fine particulate pollution (PM2.5) contributes to around 88,240 premature deaths annually across Bangladesh.
The study estimates the economic losses associated with air pollution at nearly $23 billion each year, equivalent to roughly 5% of the country's GDP.
Traffic congestion has become another defining feature of life in the capital.
According to the World Bank's 2025 project appraisal document, traffic congestion costs Dhaka approximately 3.2 million working hours every day, reducing productivity, increasing fuel consumption and worsening the quality of urban life.
Urban planners say that without expanding reliable public transport, protecting remaining open spaces, restoring canals and enforcing long-term urban planning, Dhaka's environmental and infrastructure crises will continue to deepen.
As the city marks another year of its long history, they argue that the greatest challenge is no longer preserving its heritage, but ensuring that future generations inherit a capital that remains livable.
