A look into Dhaka, Bangladesh
– The most densely populated
city in the world.
by- Research Initiative for Social Equity Society - RISE Society — 3 Comments
http://risebd.com/2013/03/09/a
A few weeks ago, we suggested that Hong Kong was the “smart growth” ideal, for having the highest
urban population density in the high income world. But, if you expand the universe to the poorer,
developing countries, Hong Kong barely holds a candle to Dhaka. Dhaka’s 14.6 million people live
in just 125 square miles (325 square kilometers). At more than 115,000 people per square mile
(Figure 1), or 45,000 per square kilometer (Figure 2), the capital of Bangladesh is nearly 75 percent
more dense than Hong Kong.
The Ultimate in Average Urban Area Density
None of the world’s megacities comes close to Dhaka’s population density. Mumbai is about onethird less dense, despite its reputation as crowded and congested. The only other megacity (minimum
10 million population) more than one-third as dense as Dhaka is Karachi. Twenty three other
megacities fall at least two-thirds short of Dhaka’s density (such as Jakarta, Seoul and Paris). New
York’s core, Manhattan, is 40 percent less dense, and the New York urban area does not reach 1/20th
of Dhaka’s density
No city in the world uses land so efficiently as Dhaka. But this comes at a price. With an urban area
ranked among the 20 most populous in the world, Dhaka’s average income is so low that it does not
even place in the top 100 metropolitan area economies as measured by the Brookings Institution.
Thus, the world’s most dense urban area is among the least economically productive. Brookings
rated the principally suburban and exurban Hartford metropolitan area number one, with an urban
density approximately 1/100th that of Dhaka, Hartford includes the old core city; but as well as the
much more substantial primarily suburban or even exurban areas.. Hartford is among the least dense
urban areas in the world, at half as dense as Portland and one-fourth as dense as Los Angeles. So
much for the illusion that urban density and productivity are joined at the hip.
Despite Dhaka’s hyper-density, critics complain about Dhaka’s urban sprawl. If Dhaka is “urban
sprawl,” then the term is meaningless. Perhaps the critics would prefer the rural poor to live in even
more crowded shantytowns, or maybe better yet, that they go back home to even more desperate
rural poverty. Aspiration is not a bad thing, and if that means cities with more people, covering more
land area, so be it.
Not only does Dhaka have the highest average urban density, but it also has some of the highest
neighborhood densities: some slum (shantytown) population densities reach 4,200 per acre, which
converts to more than 2,500,000 per square mile or more than 1,000,000 per square kilometer.
Estimates of the slum population vary, ranging from a quarter to 60 percent of the area population.
Dhaka in the Neighborhood
Dhaka is only 150 miles (250 kilometers) from Kolkata. Both cities were located in the province of
Bengal for all but six years of the centuries long period of British rule. After the division of India
and Pakistan in 1947, Dhaka was located in East Pakistan. Kolkata became the capital of the Indian
state of West Bengal. For most of their histories, Kolkata was larger than Dhaka. But the Dhaka
urban area has just overtaken Kolkata in population. By 2025, the United Nations forecasts that
Dhaka will reach 23 million, well ahead of Kolkata’s projected 19 million (Figure 3).
Dhaka’s growth has been spectacular. In 1970, just before East Pakistan separated from Pakistan to
become Bangladesh, the urban area had a population of 1.3 million. Its population grew by more than
10 times, Dhaka growth over four decades trails only Shenzhen among the megacities, which
expanded by 30 times over the same period.
The Metropolitan Area
Dhaka’s metropolitan area (which includes the urban area and economically integrated rural
environs) added approximately 5,000,000 new residents between 2001 and 2011. Dhaka added at
least a 50 percent to its population, rising from just under 10 million population to just over 15
million during the decade (Note 1). Few, if any of the world’s largest metropolitan areas or urban
areas have achieved such a large percentage population increase in a period of 10 years. Even so,
Dhaka’s population added fewer people than some larger metropolitan areas over a similar period,
such as Karachi, Jakarta and Shanghai (Figure 4).
Spatial Expansion
Consistent with the trend since cities escaped walls, Dhaka has been expanding spatially as its
population has increased. Over the past decade, the core municipality, Dhaka, increased its
population 45 percent. The suburban and exurban population increase was nearly twice as great, at 85
percent (Figure 5). The core city of Dhaka managed to capture just over one-half the population
growth, but because of its larger size, the slower percentage growth rate still resulted in half the
additional population being in the city (Figure 6). Dhaka thus further confirms the axiom that as
cities become larger, they become less dense.
River City
Dhaka may be the worst situated urban area in the world. Dhaka is located in wetlands and virtually
surrounded by rivers, some of the greatest in the world.

Dhaka is 20 miles (32 kilometers) east of the Padma River, which is the main course of the
Ganges River.

Only a few miles north of this point, the Padma is joined by the Jamuna River, which is the main
course of the Brahmaputra River.

The Meghna River, the secondary Brahmaputra River course is 15 miles (25 kilometers) to the
east of Dhaka.

Little more than 30 miles (50 kilometers to the south is the confluence of the Padma River and
the Meghna River, which flows the last few miles to the Bay of Bengal as the Meghna.
Though Dhaka is 100 miles (160 kilometers) from the Bay of Bengal (the Indian Ocean), the lowest
parts of the city are little more than five feet (two meters) above sea level. This means serious
flooding. The risk is illustrated in Figure 7. The extent of the risk is illustrated by the fact that the
areas not prone to flooding cover less land than the urban area. That means that the necessary urban
expansion will be very expensive. With the understandable exodus from rural areas to the city, the
problems of high density and, particularly slums could become more acute.
A City Designed for a Metro?
The river courses and wetlands have forced Dhaka into a generally north-south orientation. The
urban area averages from three to seven miles east to west (five to 11 kilometers) and is nearly 30
miles (50 kilometers north to south. The more circular development that would be expected for an
inland urban area is precluded by the rivers and wetlands.
This unusual city form could serve the city well, however, as it builds its first Metro line. Stations on
the planned north to south line will be within a long walk of a much of the urban area. It is hard to
imagine an urban form and density more suited for a Metro. Construction is supposed to begin within
the next two years.
Not only is Dhaka the largest world urban area without an urban rail system, it is also the largest
without a motorway (freeway). That too will soon change, as two should be under construction soon.
Political Reform and the Future
Meanwhile, in an attempt to improve city services, the national government has divided the city of
Dhaka into two. The Dhaka City Corporation has now been replaced by the Dhaka North City
Corporation and the Dhaka South City Corporation. There is an increasing body of literature
suggesting that smaller municipalities perform better (and spend less) than larger municipalities. The
Dhaka demerger may be the first significant such move since the 1986 breakup of the Greater
London Council by the Thatcher government (Note 2).
Dhaka begins the next decade undertaking significant challenges in infrastructure, economic growth
and government reform. However, perhaps the biggest challenge will be to figure out where to put
the additional five million people expected by the 2021 census.
Wendell Cox is a Visiting Professor, Conservatoire National des Arts et Metiers, Paris and the
author of “War on the Dream: How Anti-Sprawl Policy Threatens the Quality of Life.”
—–
Note 1: There was an undercount in the 2011 census, ranging from 3.8 percent in rural areas to 5.3
percent in urban areas. This complicates comparison between the 2001 and 2011 census data.
Note 2: Even after the subsequent creation of the Greater London Council, by the Blair government,
most local functions were not transferred, remaining in the 32 local boroughs. A forced
amalgamation of Montréal with suburbs was partially reversed by voter referenda in the early 2000s.
Photograph: Farmview Supermarket Transit Transfer Center, on one of the urban area’s few northsouth arterial roadways. (by author)
Taken from the “Evolving Urban Form: Dhaka, by Wendell Cox (08/08/2012)”
Source: http://www.newgeography.com/content/003004-evolving-urban-form-dhaka