Mohammad Masud Majumder: An international workshop on re-examining megacity issues in South Asia was held in Dhaka to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Bangladesh Institute of Planners (BIP).
The workshop was held today (28 December 2024) at the hall of the Bangladesh Institute of Planners (BIP) in the capital Dhaka from 9:30 am to 5:20 pm Bangladesh time. It was also broadcast live on the Zoom platform and BIP’s own Facebook page.
It brought together academics, engineers, urban planners, architects, environmentalists, researchers, and policymakers in a critical and analytical discussion that re-examined megacity issues in South Asia.
The conveners of this workshop were Dr. Taslim Shakur, Professor Adil Mohammad Khan, and Professor Imamur Hossain.
The workshop was opened by a welcoming speech by Professor Dr. Adil Mohammad Khan. The keynote address was presented by Khulna University Vice Chancellor Professor Dr. Md. Rezaul Karim, and the workshop content was presented by Dr. Taslim Shakur.
Twenty speakers from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and abroad participated in the discussions on the three themes of the workshop – the interrelationship of history and planning, society and infrastructure, and health and environment. Students and researchers from various universities also participated virtually.
In this, the discussion on the interrelationship of history and planning brought up various issues on urban memory, mobility and urban transformation in Kolkata, Dhaka, Delhi and Lahore. In the discussion on society and infrastructure, the discussants highlighted important aspects on community-based ownership, urban protest and rehabilitation challenges in Karachi and Dhaka. On the topic of health and environment, the discussants presented research-based experiences on sustainable urban planning, water conservation and public health impacts of urban environment in Dhaka, Mumbai and Karachi.
The keynote speakers of this workshop were Planner Sheikh Muhammad Mehdi Ahsan, Professor Anindita Ghoshal, Nitya Bali, Dr. Yasmin Ara, Asia Jabin, Ferdous Hussain, Shilpi Roy, Abdullah Ahmed Bajwa, Syeda Zafarin Nancy, Mirunnalini Venkatesh, Abba Elizabeth Joseph, Dr. Mihir Herlekar, Dr. Aisha Siddique, Dr. Farida Nilufar, Afroza Binte Zaman, Farhadur Reza, Kabirul Bashar and Sana R. Gondal. They presented their research-based papers based on history, urban structure, and sustainable planning.
The organizers believe that this workshop has helped researchers, professionals, and students to re-examine and gain a deeper understanding of megacity issues in South Asia.
In the concluding session of the workshop, the convener and rapporteur will present their observations and present data to address the challenges of rapid urbanization.
Knowledgeable Youth Out Brothers, a voluntary research-based publishing organization, published a summary book on the workshop.
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