The grand canal envisioning water urbanism as the basis of metropolitan resilience of Dhaka city

Abstract

Dhaka, which has grown into one of the world's largest megacities, shows a very rapid rate of expansion in population, economy, and infrastructure. While River Buriganga in the south, River Turag in the west, Tongi Khal in the north and River Balu in the east define the boundaries of today’s populous metropolis, history indicates that over 50 canals once flew through the city, helping its drainage of storm water and providing inland waterways. Dhaka has lost most of its myriad waterbodies, low-lying areas and the continuity of its canals, due to either poorly planned or unplanned land use development. As a result, dwellers have become increasingly prone to acute waterlogging, also leaving the city vulnerable to groundwater depletion, earthquake, and severe traffic congestion. Among disasters, Climate Change and Urban Heat Island effect have also come into play. The paper discusses the idea of “Water Urbanism” integral to the core development policies of the city; and water as the major driver of urban design, cityscape and urban ecology creating a firm platform for the city’s overall resilience. The primary task to initiate this idea is to identify lost canals and connect waterbodies – gifting Dhaka much needed green corridors, groundwater recharge, natural storm water flow and better protection from disasters. This task can be accomplished with proper masterplan and surgical interventions with minimum demolition. The overall methodology of this research can be termed as a Case Study, comprising data collection from literature and field survey, GIS map survey, interviews– based on inductive reasoning method. This multidisciplinary study culminates in the proposal of “The Grand Canal” – a blue network across the city that will ease the city’s environmental problems and provide useful transit corridors.