There are seven formidable challenges which needs to be addressed properly to turn the country’s villages into towns with all the urban facilities available there, says an evaluation report of the planning commission.
The challenges are:- adequate, safe and affordable housing, affordable, readily available and sustainable urban transport, improved air quality, impact tolerance in the city, resource constraints, coordination between major stakeholders in Dhaka and other cities and coordinating policy, strategy and master plan by creating rhythm.
General economic division of the planning commission has prepared the evaluation report on ‘sustainable development goal’, identifying the challenges which may hamper the process.
In the report, ensuring security and sufficient habitats in the rural area gets the top priority.
Besides, cheap, available and sustainable transports will have to be ensured also to turn the villages into towns.
Apart from these, improvement of air quality and integration between the capital Dhaka and other cities and towns will also have to be ensured, the report added suggesting to bring coordination in the all the stakeholders in order to device a mega plan.
Dr. Shamsul Alam, Member (Senior Secretary) of General Economics Division (GED) of Planning Commission, said, “Cities are expanding rapidly because of growing population and migration. More than half of the world's population live in cities. By 2050, around 650 crore people of the world, will live in cities.”
“Achieving sustainable development is not possible without significant changes in the existing construction style and management of the city,” he said.
Megacity is increasing in one part, while slums are growing in another part. As a result, we have to focus on rapid urbanization and building a developed and sustainable system for the livelihood of the city dwellers, he added.
Business and employment opportunities, safe and affordable housing, and the establishment of a resilient society and economy are major factors for living in a city.
The challenges also include public transport investment, the creation of green open spaces for all, and the development and management of urban planning in a participatory and inclusive way.
Various plans have been taken to address these challenges, Shamsul Alam further said.
However, rapid urbanization is playing an influential role in accelerating the country's social and economic development.
The General Economics Department (GED) of the Planning Commission has identified seven challenges in this regard.
