A Conceptual Proposal for Low-income Housing in Bangladesh : an alternative to slum

Type Journal Article - Bangladesh research publications journal
Title A Conceptual Proposal for Low-income Housing in Bangladesh : an alternative to slum
Author(s)
Volume 10
Issue 2
Publication (Day/Month/Year) 2014
Page numbers 175-185
URL http://www.bdresearchpublications.com/admin/journal/upload/1410022/1410022.pdf
Abstract
Bangladesh is a densely populated developing country which has one of the lowest land-person ratios in the world with high land price. Unfortunately, budgetary constraints prevent low-income people from the basic right of adequate and affordable housing, which results in rapid growth of slums without tenure-ship. Although slums lack: accessible utility facilities, proper hygienic sanitary and drainage facilities, and accessible community services; the low-income residents have to pay high rent for the living area and high rate for illegally managed services. The Government of Bangladesh (GoB) undertook several housing programs throughout the country, generally in government khas lands, in order to rehabilitate the local low-income families, which unfortunately ended in failure. So it is required to find more practical approach to provide adequate and affordable housing for low-income people in a more efficient way. For this purpose, a hypothetical area of Dhaka city (Satarkul) was considered, which covers about 549.42 acres area. Firstly target group was defined on the basis of affordable income (BDT 6,000 to 10,000). Then different categories of dwelling units were designed on the basis of per-person space requirement (30sq.ft to 50sq.ft per person). Combining these dwelling units with different common facilities (toilets, kitchen, veranda, and community space) according to standard, different housing blocks were designed. After that, land-use plan for the area was prepared on the basis of land-use planning principles of Detailed Area Plan (DAP). Then project implementation and cost recovery process was planned including: proportion of housing for rent and sale, selection of beneficiaries, cost estimation, collection of fund for construction, management during construction work and cost recovery of developers and of the project. Finally management of the area after project implementation was proposed. Thus, GoB can replicate this project in khas lands to provide affordable housing for lowincome people with necessary corrections and adjustment.

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