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Rethinking the Residential Building Setback Rules of BNBC for a Sustainable

Development of Chittagong City

Conference Paper · December 2015

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 Rethinking the Residential Building Setback
Rules of BNBC for a Sustainable
Development of Chittagong City
Md. Mustiafiz. Al-Mamun1, Debsree. Mandal2, Istiaque. Ahmed3, and Anjuman Ara. Begum4
 deteriorating the quality of such services [4]. It is estimated
Abstract—Bangladesh National Building Code is a
comprehensive document used for legally obligatory codes of
development in urban areas to enrich citizens’ living environment.
Due to the rapid urbanization, cities have been changed its natural
eco-system and overlooked the existence of green spaces, whereas
quality of urban life requires a greater degree of naturalized
surroundings. Green spaces generally is used as an enhancing
indicator of the living environment quality that making cities more
sustainable and livable. In Chittagong city, a lack of environment-
friendly planning with an absence of sustainable mindset has
decreased with high level of green spaces. The main concern of this
paper is to address the rethinking of residential building setback
area of BNBC for the sustainability of the city where they inhabit.
The study will not only discover the feasibility of creating green
corridor spaces but also indicate a sustainable approach to boost the
quality of urban neighborhoods.
Keywords—BNBC, Green Corridor, Building Setback,
Sustainability.
I. INTRODUCTION
HE urban living environment quality depend a big deal
T on the quality of infrastructure and their appropriate
management [1]. Over the last decades, for the hasty
globalization in urban neighborhood, our cities have been
changed its natural ecology and ignored the existence of
green spaces, whereas quality of urban life requires a greater
degree of naturalized surroundings [2] & [3].
In Chittagong City is not only the second largest city but
also the commercial capital of Bangladesh where various
authorities have made some efforts to increase social or urban
neighborhood facilities. However, the tremendous population
pressure has far exceeded these facilities, which are
Md. Mustiafiz. Al-Mamun1 is with Assistant Professor, in the Department of
Architecture, Chittagong University of Engineering & Technology (CUET),
Chittagong-4349, Bangladesh, (phone: +8801717431463-4; e-mail:
mustiafiz@gmail.com).
Debsree. Mandal2 is with Lecturer in the Department of Architecture,
Chittagong University of Engineering & Technology (CUET), Chittagong-4349,
Bangladesh, (e-mail: debsree2004@yahoo.com).
Istiaque. Ahmed3 is with Lecturer in the Department of Architecture, Dhaka
University of Engineering & Technology (DUET), Gazipur, Bangladesh, (e-
mail: istiaque_anik@aol.com).
Anjuman Ara. Begum4 is with an Architect and Researcher, Chittagong-4000,
Bangladesh (e-mail: architectanjuman@gmail.com).
that over 50% [5] of population of Bangladesh will be living
in urban areas whereas city’s living environment turns into
unpleasant situations.
Like others developing counties, a lack of environment
friendly residential area planning with absence of sustainable
mindset has decreased high level of green spaces in the
Chittagong. In this country’s residential building plots are
constructing with individual property boundary line according
to maintain BNBC setback rules.
The main objective of the study was to create urban green
living strategy development into existing and proposed
residential areas of the Metropolitan city, Chittagong. It not
only aimed to identify and select the indicators of applications
of BNBC rules that are implemented already in residential
area but also tried to find out the sustainable guidelines for
residents where they live in.
II. BNBC
Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC) was prepared
to control the technical details of building construction and to
maintain the standard. In 1993, BNBC was first drafted and
informally reviewed and updated. The Code is a
comprehensive document that is used for legally mandatory
codes of development in metropolitan areas of Bangladesh to
enrich citizens’ living environment [6]. Due to worldwide
climate change and unsuitable geographic setting of
Bangladesh, that has affected mostly on the building and
construction sector [7].
III. STUDY AREA
The aim of creating a green corridor in residential areas,
consider to finding the preliminary data of Detail Area Plan
(DAP) of Chittagong. From that review shows, no standards
of urban facilities and urban amenities have been determined
and needs to be established, whereas, the twenty-eight
numbers of major residential areas are undertaken by
different organization of Chittagong city. However, the
authority will ensure a designated program of tree planting
both roadside and within plots [8]. Due to the green
initiatives of several authorities of Chittagong city, the study
ranges have counted within that twenty-eight major
residential zone.
 IV. FINDINGS
In this city’s residential building plots are constructing
with individual property boundary line according to maintain
BNBC setback rules [8]. As a common strategy is to apply for
arrangement of plot planning, all plots are not only separated
with adjacent plots, but also created a barrier with
surrounding neighborhoods. Every building has a front road
and each backside is backside of another one. So that the
coded setbacks are not properly utilized and proposed
setbacks are not fully contributed with its surrounding context
sometimes that space is occupied by extension of parking or
accommodating with poor greeneries space.
To construction in any contexts especially in residential
area, residents follow all kinds of BNBC rules to implement
steps by steps. In BNBC [9], the minimum side and rear open
space requirements of a plot for buildings of various
occupancy classes shall be as specified in TABLE 1.
inhabitant’s desire and pressures of urbanization.
The study has introduced four guidelines of side and rear
open spaces. These four options have shown two common
segmentations with different layout, and one space is for tree
plantations and another one is walking way over inhabitants’
utility drainage. Moreover, that passageway can also use for
internal community interaction space, children play area, and
the dedicated tree plantation spaces can promote green
corridor in a residential area. For this purpose, the study area
will consider by accommodating into two adjacent building’s
setback spaces respectively consider of 3m rear setback and
3m side setback from one plot and another is 2m rear setback
and 1.25m side setback. That is followed below in figure:

TABLE I.
MINIMUM REAR AND SIDE OPEN SPACE REQUIREMNTS OF A PLOT
Minimum
Building of all Minimum Side
Plot size (m2) Rear Open
Occupancy Open space (m)
space (m)
Up to 10 stories Not Over 200 1.0 1.0
or 33m 201-275 1.5 1.0
276-300 2.0 1.25
301 and over 2.0 1.5
11 stories or Any 3.0 3.0
more than 33m
m = meter, m2 = square meter.

V. DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

There is no established explanations of a sustainable city, Fig. 1. Proposed green spaces in rear setback area with
whereas it has arisen with the concept of sustainable interaction space and drain way (option one).
development, include the aspects of urban planning and
community development [10]. After Local Agenda 21
consultations [11], some cities have been developing their
own sustainability guidelines, and adopting quality of life
issues in a meaningful approach and have decided to take on
different regulatory, administrative, and financial aspects for
that. Aspects such as “amount of public green spaces per
inhabitant”, “green corridor spaces” and “recreation areas”
are often mentioned as key factors to make the city livable,
soothing and attractive for its societies. It is strongly believed
that “sustainable development of cities is not just about
improving the abiotic and biotic aspects of urban life, it is
also about the social aspects of city life, that is - among others
- about people’s satisfaction, experiences and perceptions of
the quality of their everyday environments,” [10] & [12].
In these above situations, the relation between green
corridors and city sustainability, building setback rules is one
of the vital aspects that should be rethinking of BNBC to
proper use as the boost up the quality of the urban
neighborhoods, which in turn is a key factor of sustainable Fig. 2. Proposed green spaces in rear setback area with
development. The minimum side and rear open spaces are interaction space and drain way (option two).
respectively shown in previous Table 1; whereas the
maximum values have considered for increasing building
height more than nine to ten stored with respect its

Fig. 3. Proposed green spaces in rear setback area with
interaction space and drain way (option three or where rear setback
average).
Fig. 4. Proposed green spaces in side setback area.
Fig. 5. Proposed layout of green corridor in rear and side setback
spaces of a typical residential area.
VI. CONCLUSION
The Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC) was
composed with limited chapters on climate change aspects. In
the building sector, present code and standards are still based
on experimental statistics from the past. As the climate
change has been proven a reality now, it is appropriate time
to adapt that in the code [7].
Just imagine what our urban neighborhoods would look
like and what the authorities would manage resident’s living
environmental quality issues? If everyone did what they
wanted with no reflect for their neighbor, so that the living
space qualities of community should be provided for existing
and planned residential areas.
By rethinking building setback rules of BNBC, proposed
green corridor space opportunities can be integrated into
sustainable improvement to provide maximum benefit and
amenities. Due to the green corridor promotes an urban
nature, inhabitants can fulfill many kinds of social functions
and psychological needs, and different age-groups can easy
use this space to walk; children can ride their bicycle safely.
In that case, new introduction and implementation of green
corridor spaces into residential areas, this proposal will have
to be coordinated with a fluidity plan and integrated strategy
outlining that adopt into BNBC. However, including new
policies with environmental and nature protection in the
urban territory that will require collaboration programs with
government, architects, city planners, civic organizations and
private individuals.
REFERENCES
[1] A. K. Majumder, M. E. Hossain, M. N. Islam, M. I. Sarwar, “Urban
Environmental Quality Mapping: A Perception Study on Chittagong
Metropolitan City,” Kathmandu University Journal of Science,
Engineering and Technology, Vol. I, No. Iv, August, 2007.
[2] A. K. M. R. Karim, "Best Practice: A Perspective of "Clean and Green"
Chittagong,” First 2006 Workshop Population and Environmental
Protection in Urban Planning. Kobe, Japan: Asian Urban Information
Centre of Kobe, 2006.
[3] Urban Design Compendium (UDC), “Urban Design Compendium-1,”
English Partnerships and The Housing Corporation. London: Llewelyn-
Davies, 2007.
[4] N. Islam, “Urban Environment and Future Strategies for Urban
Development,” K. M. Elahi, A.H.M.R. Sharif, and A.K.M.A. Kalam, Eds.
Bangladesh: Geography Environment and Development, BNGA, Dhaka,
1992.
[5] Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), “The world Factbook: Field Listing:
Urbanization,” (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-
factbook/fields/2212) accessed 23 April 2014.
[6] S. A. Shafi, “National Building Code and Its Implementation,” National
Press Club, Dhaka, 2010.
[7] S. M. Islam, & I. Hossain, “Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC):
Current Practice and Relevance to Future Climate Change Aspect,” North
South University, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 2013, unpublished.
[8] DAP, “Detail Area Plan for Chittagong Metropolitan City,” Government
of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Ministry of Housing and Public
Works, and Chittagong Development Authority (CDA), Bangladesh
Government Press, Dhaka, 2009.
[9] Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC), Bangladesh Government
Press, Dhaka, 2006, pp.10267-11562.
[10] A. Chiesura, “The role of urban parks for the sustainable city,”
Landscape and Planning, Elsevier, 2004, Vol. 68, pp. 129-138.
[11] UNSD-United Nation Sustainable Development, “Agenda 21’ United
Nations Conference on Environment & Development (UNCED)”, Rio de
Janerio, Brazil, 1992.
[12] A. R. Beer, “Urban greenspace and sustainability,” In: van der Vegt, et al.
(Eds.), Proceedings of a PRO/ECE-Workshop on Sustainable Urban
Development: Research and Experiments, Dordrecht, Netherlands, 1993.

Mr. MD. MUSTIAFIZ AL-MAMUN is the first

Authors of entitle paper “Rethinking the Residential
Building Setback Rules of BNBC for a Sustainable
Development of Chittagong City”. Mr. AL-MAMUN
was born at Magura district, BANGLADESH on
October 3, 1984. Mr. AL-MAMUN did his degrees of
B.Arch. in Architecture Discipline, in 2008 from
Khulna University, Khulna, BANGLADESH and
currently, he studying in Master of Science in Urban
Environmental Management (MSc in UEM) at Asian
Institute of Technology (AIT), Thailand.
He has working as an Assistant Professor in Department of Architecture,
Chittagong University of Engineering & Technology (CUET), Chittagong-4349,
Bangladesh since 11/09/2009 to till date. He was also worked as an Architect, in
two-reputed architectural Consultant firm, at Dhaka, Bangladesh, for 2008 to
2009. He had published few research papers in various international conferences.
His research areas are Landscape and Urban Planning and Environmental
Management with incorporate of Architectural design and Frameworks. Current
field of research is land-use change impact on peri-urban landscape planning and
management.
Mr. Al-Mamun, is a member of Institute of Architects Bangladesh (IAB)
from January, 2009. He is also a coordinator of CUET Architecture Photography
Society (C’APS), Chittagong, Bangladesh. He was also a Treasurer of AIT
Bangladesh Association (AITBA) since Auguest’2014 to December’2014.
Within this, he is an Editorial Board Member of Civil Engineering and
Architecture, of Horizon Research Publishing (HRPUB) and also an Editor of
the American Journal of Rural Development, Science and Education Publishing
(SciEP), USA.

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