Urbani izziv Volume 26, No. 2, December 2015
: 132–145
(Articles)
UDK: 338.45:351.777.6:502.131.1(549.33)
doi: 10.5379/urbani-izziv-en-2015-26-02-004
Author
Mohammed Nawrose FATEMI
University of Asia Pacific, Department of Architecture, Dhaka, Bangladesh
nawrose@uap-bd.edu
Tahmina RAHMAN
BDDL Housing LTD., Dhaka, Bangladesh
ar.tahminarahman@gmail.com
Title
Regeneration of the Hazaribagh urban brownfield: An imperative for Dhaka’s sustainable urban development
Abstract
This study investigates the projected outcome of the Bangladesh government’s decision to relocate the Hazaribagh tanneries outside Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. Ever since the early industrialisation of Bangladesh, leather processing industries have played a significant economic role. In Dhaka, these industries are mainly concentrated in Hazaribagh, an important area in the southwestern part of the city. Hazaribagh is a junction connecting the new township with the old one. However, the use of inferior technologies, coupled with the absence of proper industrial waste-management and waste-treatment facilities, have destroyed the ecology of the Hazaribagh area and badly impacted its surroundings. Consequently, moving the tanneries from Hazaribagh and then redeveloping the area offers a unique opportunity in the country's sustainable urban regeneration. Regenerating the Hazaribagh urban brownfield can serve as a model for sustainable twenty-first-century neighbourhoods, incorporating contemporary facilities and environmentally friendly elements for healthy living. This study analyses the Hazaribagh area’s potential as an example of a planned sustainable area for the entire city, free from the severe pollution that it is notorious for.
Key Words
urban brownfields, leather-tanning industries, regeneration, sustainable development