I was born and brought up near the Tejgaon area. To be more precise, just around the Tejgaon bus terminal. Despite being a local, I was always forbidden to travel alone past that area when it was dark because of the bus terminal and how unsafe it used to become.
Just a few days back, all the trucks and buses had been been shifted to their rightful place and the squeaky, muddy road has now been transformed into a wide one. How did that happen? Who waved their magic wand created this haven?
I know the mayor played an imperative role, but at the same time, I would like to give some credit to the people who live around that area. On the day, when the Mayor took the stride, the community -- except the bus associations -- were with him and that is how this was possible. I firmly believe that, if Tejgaon bus terminal can be transformed into the way it looks now, anything is possible, even to make Dhaka a mart city.
There are many issues one could propose to tackle with the communities' engagement strategies, but to slim down the topic of discussion, let’s consider just one: Enabling smart growth in the one of the world’s fastest growing megacities -- Dhaka. Estimates suggest that around one-third of the population lives in the urban areas of Bangladesh and Dhaka holds a vast majority of that population. Among that vast majority, around one-third lives in informal settlements such as slums and squatters.
So why should we include the community voice? Simple answer: Because they live in the place in question and have a natural stake in the matter. Despite this greatest of stakes in urban planning decisions, the urban poor have the weakest voice when it comes to participation.
Having said that, we have to keep in mind that the potential take from empowering the poorer segment of the urban population to help shape the urban environment is immense. They should have a say on topics such as where to locate transport corridors, how to upgrade services, and where to try to attract private sector investment because these kinds of questions strongly influence their access to services, jobs, and opportunity.
Second, although urban planning issues are highly complex, the relevant information is often not known. This kind of information can easily be collected from the community living there and often citizens themselves can provide it. In addition, communities often lack information about what policy-makers are considering, which sometimes creates misunderstandings -- especially when policy gets translated into action.
Therefore, improving a mechanism for the two-way flow of information would generate real benefits. Creating such mechanisms for participation of communities in urban planning can be as traditional as institutionalising town meetings on zoning issues or as innovative as deploying digital platforms for community mapping.
For instance, a number of initiatives, such as the “Open Cities Project,” illustrate the ways in which citizens can help contribute information to the policy-making process.
In addition to the data creation and collection, there are mechanisms, some digital and some low-tech, that seek to involve citizens in a collaborative decision-making process. The 26’10 Ruimsig project convened architects, NGOs, and other stakeholders, along with residents of the Ruimsig informal settlement outside Johannesburg, South Africa.
Working together, they mapped the existing settlement and designed a proposal to improve living conditions. Based on the plan, they launched a process of moving and upgrading structures in the settlement.
Another example of a process that uses both high and low-tech outreach mechanisms to involve a wide range of constituents comes from Brazil’s “Governor Asks” initiative in Rio Grande do Sul.
Through this program, the government asks citizens how they feel about different issues, and then responds to their input in concrete ways that have included increased funding for a family health care program, a larger fleet of ambulances, and support to specific hospitals.
These examples show that if the government wants to help build momentum toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), looking closely at the role of Dhaka City Corporations and opportunities to engage the communities cannot wait.
