With the sweltering heat of summer fast approaching, it is once again time that we reminded ourselves of the importance of having dedicated green spaces in our urban areas.
In Bangladesh, megacities such as our capital have been undergoing rapid, almost violent urban development which has seen grey concrete all but wipe out any semblance of lush greenery -- which is nothing short of a shame as Bangladesh’s natural beauty has long been considered an integral part of its national identity.
Of course, aesthetic beauty is not the only function that trees and other forms of greenery have to offer. As mentioned, green spaces help keep the mercury from rising in by regulating humidity and, of course, offering welcome shade from the hard sun of the summer days.
It is a proven truth that an overabundance of concrete structures at the expense of greenery, can be detrimental to the overall well-being of the citizens, as it amplifies the urban heat island effect which is the result of densely built urban areas absorbing and retaining ambient heat from sources such as the sun or that generated within the city itself, for example through industrial operations.
For heavily populous cities such as Dhaka, the best way to combat this phenomenon is to build dedicated green spaces throughout.
Dedicated green spaces are an urgent need for our capital, a city whose unplanned urbanization has often been seen jeopardizing the lives of citizens in more than one way. On top of requiring a more holistic form of urban development which adopts sustainability as a core philosophy in the long run, our capital city is in desperate need of green spaces to combat the effects of rising temperatures in the short term.
We already have the climate crisis breathing down our necks, self-inflicted damages will only make things worse.
Thursday, June 04, 2026
