October
2023
We Should Not Identify As Social Activists
Q. Mr. Foyez, despite being one of the biggest cities in the world, the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka isn't well known abroad. You were born there, studied there, were a university lecturer, and have been working as an architect in the city since 1994. How would you describe it to someone who has never been there? -Answering as an architect, I could first point out that there is a lot to discover here. The city holds master- pieces by Louis I. Kahn, and it's a playground for modern architecture, while time seems to stand still in some parts of town. There is development by architects and a lot of development that is more spontaneous. All these are pockets of a multi-nucleus city. But for me, the beauty of Dhaka has less to do with its buildings. It lies in its resilience to the huge challenges it faces: the scarcity of land, the lack of infrastructure, the migration pressure because of the unprecedented economic growth... Every year, 400,000 people flock to the city, and it embraces every one of them. There is work, there is something to do here. There is a dream about this city. With its more than 22 million inhabitants in the metropolitan area, Dhaka is considered the ninth largest and seventh most densely populated city in the world. And by 2030 it will be the fourth most densely populated city. It's a megacity! Water plays a central role. The city is on the lower reaches of the Ganges Delta. The mighty Buriganga River, along which Dhaka developed, once fed a network of countless canals and ponds connected to one another. They were a very important piece of infrastructure - a source of communication. Unfortunately, we allowed them to be depleted by unscrupulous businessmen and real estate developers. We are consuming all our wetlands and farmlands that were meant for water percolation. One major problem is that we lack proper physical planning. That being said, I think we should stop looking up to Western solutions. The answer is within us.Full issue can be accessed in the following link: