Neoliberal Urbanity and the Right to Housing of the Urban Poor in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Abstract

In Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh with a population of 18 million, nearly one-third are living under the threat of eviction without resettlement due to lack of tenure security. This occurs despite the Bangladesh government’s ratification of multiple international conventions as well as provisions within the national Constitution with regard to people’s rights. Within this context, drawing on Lefebvre’s theorization of space and using the right to the city (RTC) framework, this article explores the urban poor’s right to housing in the context of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Findings suggest that the local and central government officials categorize slum dwellers as encroachers and criminals, who pose a direct threat to an orderly, clean and green city. Hence, they cannot be allowed to exist in the city. Additionally, the state has shifted the development of land and housing markets to real estate developers, following a neoliberal economic model. Consequently, a few powerful developers control Dhaka’s land and housing markets, only supplying housing for the growing middle class. Access to these houses is far beyond poor people’s reach. Thus, the urban poor’s housing rights are denied both by the state and by the market in Dhaka.

Factors associated with fathers' involvement in infant and young child feeding and nurturing care in the urban slums of Bangladesh: A cross‐sectional study

“…The Sat Tola slum was selected as it is one of the largest and most representative slums of Bangladeshi city, where the majority of the residents are involved in economic activities. According to a recent estimate, approximately 50,000 people live in the Sat Tola slum (Lata, 2020).…”

Structural analysis of factors affecting the housing in Tabriz metropolis: a future study approach

“…Housing is one of the fundamental human needs in every society (Lawal and Adekunle, 2018). However, despite the emphasis on decent housing (Lata, 2020), housing supply in many developing countries is always accompanied with acute and complex problems due to unplanned urbanization, rapid population growth, infrastructure constraints, the rise in housing demand and poor planning and management (Sultana and Nazem, 2020). Despite all these shortcomings, governments consider different policies to provide proper housing.…”

THE URBAN POOR in DHAKA: PERSPECTIVES ON THE RIGHT TO THE CITY

“…The right to the city movements incorporate a range of diversified agendas of the urban social movements that have emerged in several countries, especially in Latin America, such as the movements against evictions, homelessness and the urban reform; for better sanitation, environmental justice and free public transport; the rights of the immigrants and cultural movements (Siddiqui 2008, Grill 2012, Santos Junior 2014). The Brazilian government was the first to initiate the making of a 'just city' for its citizens in 2001, by enacting the City Statue law to recognize the right to the city as a collective right (Fernandes 2007, Lata 2020b. In Mexico City, the shortage of housing for its citizens has created immense pressure on the real estate companies to implement redevelopment projects which eventually has marginalized low income residents and it pushed them toward the periphery of the city (Adler 2015).…”