Name: Eshika Karim

Student number: S4901355

13 May 2022

1(c) Observation.

I’m currently residing in an area called Kafrul in Dhaka, Bangladesh. This is a neighbourhood where
buildings are tightly packed together haphazardly with very little space between each property.
Most of the building owners of Kafrul bought land and had the buildings built without any
professional advice, breaking many laws of urban planning. Insufficient room was left for roads,
making them unusually narrow. The land area of Kafrul is around 18 km², and the population is
roughly 165000. In such a densely populated neighbourhood, narrow roads cause ineluctable traffic
issues. The practice of such poor land stewardship may cause insufferable consequences, such as
disease outbreak, destruction of natural habitats, impoverishment, forced mass emigration and even
societal collapse.

Not to mention, Dhaka is one of the most disaster-prone cities in the world. Floods occur yearly
during monsoon, and earthquakes are inevitable. Floods are becoming worse each year due to
climate change. Even though most of Dhaka is becoming particularly skilled at disaster risk
management, I’ve noticed that Kafrul needs immense advancement in the proper administration of
floods. Even though apartment buildings usually don’t have people living in ground floors due to the
risk of floods, this isn’t a privilege slum dwellers can afford. Most slums are disorganised, trapped
between buildings and not above ground level. I’ve witnessed many slum dwellers lose their homes
and belongings due to floods. There are genuine sustainable solutions to these problems that can
improve the lives of millions.

In the recent years, I’ve noticed that certain companies have taken over to solve some of these
issues in our neighbourhood. Most of their projects are aimed at modernising the neighbourhood,
eradicating slums, building certain amenities and making the roads wider. After carefully reading the
various course overviews of the Bachelor’s Program of Spatial Planning and Design, I’ve observed
that many of the contents of the program are being applied in these projects. Matters such as
mobility and infrastructure planning, spatial design structure and conditions, economic geography
and water management are given key importance while planning and developing of projects are
taking place. From what I’ve observed, community engagement is a crucial factor in urbanisation. If
the companies responsible for the development of this area practiced community outreach, their
projects would become even more successful.

Living in a city that’s developing quite rapidly, I’ve gained a particular curiosity and interest in the
subject of Spatial Planning. In the past few years, I’ve witnessed this neighbourhood go through
tremendous and rapid change, which was only possibly due to careful and remarkable planning.