Megacities of developing economies are at the forefront of multiple sustainability issues. Successful management of megacities also requires an effective capacity to govern an extended region.
According to ‘UN Global Report of Human Settlements 2001’there are 19 Megacities in the world. Literature on managing such settlements is vast and growing with no obvious model yet clear, particularly for the part of Third World Megacities. This paper examines one of the most complex and out of control Megacities- the city of Dhaka in Bangladesh – in order to throw light on how such Megacities and its EMR may be better governed.
The sheer number of more than 10 million people in Dhaka City and its Extended Metropolitan Region (EMR) and its contribution to the national economy argue for urgent interventions to address their governance weaknesses. The weaknesses include unclear strategies along with development policies and co-ordination, ineffective regulations and organisational structures. There are more than 42 bodies acting in an un-integrated way to manage Dhaka. Further, development planning as practised in Bangladesh is done on a sector basis and hence it disregards the spatial dimensions of integrating the development and management of the city.
The Extended Metropolitan Region (EMR) of Dhaka, include a larger urbanised area surrounding a core city, a number of municipalities and rural bodies are within its ambit. The governance, development and management setting of EMR of Dhaka City are under a multiple organisational jurisdictions and responsibilities. Increasing concentration of national economic development and urban population in EMR of Dhaka suggests that there may be a resurgence of interest in regional institutional structures.