According a new report, Bangladesh has the highest proportion of slum dwellers in the entire South Asian region.
The proportion of people living in substandard or unofficial housing in urban areas stands at 60% in Bangladesh, which is much higher than that of India (29%) and Pakistan (47%).
Growing urbanisation and poor planning put huge stresses on our cities. As a result, the quality of our transportation system, sanitation, water, waste management, all suffer. This affects not just slum dwellers, but everyone.
The woeful state of our cities undermines not only our quality of life, but also our ability to attract investment and improve living standards.
We urgently need more effective policies to reduce the slum-dwelling populations of our cities.
Improved urban planning, and decentralisation projects, including the development of new towns and cities, could control some of the migration-related problems, if they help spread opportunities away from a handful of urban cores.
It is important to develop infrastructure and job opportunities across all districts to lessen the pull of major cities for people seeking a better life. Improving communications and services to allow better planned developments on cheaper land will be the best way to reduce the growth of slums in the future.
Within Dhaka, city planners can and should do far more to improve the poor conditions endured by the millions of working poor in the capital. Their residents are the engine behind our economic growth and deserve better recognition of their need for affordable, decent housing.
