URBANPUBLICSPACE:ACASEFROMDEVELOPINGCOUNTRY
SHAMIMAAKTARSession:2016-2017
BlekingeInstituteofTechnology
DepartmentofSpatialPlanning
BlekingeInstituteofTechnologyMaster’sThesis
UrbanPublicSpace:ACasefromDevelopingCountry
ShamimaAktar
2017ShamimaAktar
Master'sThesisinSpatialPlanningwithanEmphasisonSustainableUrbanPlanning
MasterProgrammeinSustainableUrbanPlanning
DepartmentofSpatialPlanning
BlekingeInstituteofTechnology
37179Karlskrona,Sweden
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Abstract
Cities in developing world are inadequately equipped with public spaces. The increasing
urbanizations trend is attractingmore people to come to the cities without having proper
sustainable plan for public spaces. However, this social public place holds the important
function forurbanwell-beingandcollective recognition.This is theplacewherehumancan
participateas fully fledgedsocial subjects in complexcivic life.Unfortunately, inmost cases
the provision of public space in these cities is always neglected or poorly integrated in
planning legislations. So, in many cases community people make their own ways of social
interaction that gives public space a new definition. Khulna, one of the divisional cities of
Bangladesh,isgoingthroughthesimilardevelopingcountrysituation.Lackoffundandspace
restricts development agencies to make new public spaces in this city. On the other hand
management and coordination challenges between multilevel planning authorities also
making existing public spaces malfunctioned. Sustainably planned, created and managed
public spaces are hence urged for the cities of developingworld to get livable and healthy
urbanenvironment.
KeyWords:Publicspace,DevelopingCountries,Sustainability
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Acknowledgement
I am lucky enough to have a nice family who gave me the courage to pursue my
dream.Ammu,Abbu,Vaia,MaaandBaba,youarethepeoplewhowerealwayswith
mealongtheway.
Ashik,thanksfortoleratingmewhenIambeingdifficulttobewith.Youwerealways
been there inmy ups and downs. Thanks for being a part of this long journey and
makingthisthesispossible.
Iexpressmysinceregratitudetomysupervisor,SabrinaFredin,PhDforhersupport
throughoutmy thesis.Thanks forherpatience tocontinuously readmyrubbishand
guidemethroughstrongguideline.Thisthesiswouldhardlybepossiblewithouther
encouragement.
MyspecialgratitudealsogoestomythesisexaminerLinaBerglund-Snodgrassforher
thoughtful comments.Her insightandexpertisehelpedme to thinkandanalyzemy
findingsinamoreconstructiveway.
IamalsogratefultoSwedishInstituteStudyScholarshipprogramforprovidingmethe
fundtocompletemydegreehereinSweden.
IamespeciallygratefultoFrida,SaddamandAunikforthewonderfultimeweshared.
And finally, last but by no means least, I am grateful to all course teachers of my
degreeprogramme.Ienjoyedalotstudyinginthisdepartment.
Thankyouforallofyoursupportandencouragement!
ShamimaAktar
07June2017,Karlskrona,Sweden
TableofContents
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ContentsAbstract……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….iAcknowledgement…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..ii
ChapterOne:Introduction..……………………………….…………………………………………………………….1-71.1BackgroundoftheStudy...................................................................................................11.2ResearchProblem............................................................................................................21.3ResearchGap...................................................................................................................21.4JustificationoftheStudy..................................................................................................31.5ResearchQuestions..........................................................................................................31.6DescriptionofStudyArea.................................................................................................41.7DevelopmentControlinKhulnaCityCorporationArea......................................................7ChapterTwo:LiteratureReview……………………….…………………………………………………………….8-152.1PublicSpaceandCivicLife................................................................................................82.2PublicSpaceinDevelopingCountries................................................................................9
2.2.1Formal-InformalPublicSpace.......................................................................................10
2.2.2PublicSpacePlanningandManagement......................................................................11
2.3PublicSpaceSituationinBangladesh..............................................................................122.3.1PublicSpaceinPlanningLegislations............................................................................12
2.3.2OwnershipandCoordinationforPublicSpaceManagement.......................................13
2.3.3InformalFormsofPublicSpace.....................................................................................14
2.3.4Socio-CulturalPerspectiveofPublicSpace...................................................................15
2.4Conclusion.....................................................................................................................15ChapterThree:Methodology…………………………….………………………………………………………….17-203.1Methods........................................................................................................................17
3.1.1CaseStudyMethod.......................................................................................................17
3.2DataCollection...............................................................................................................183.3IndicatorSelection.........................................................................................................193.4OverallMethodology......................................................................................................20ChapterFour:CreationandManagementofPublicSpace…………………………………………….21-264.1PublicSpaceinMasterPlan............................................................................................214.2DevelopmentofPublicSpace..........................................................................................224.3MaintenanceofPublicSpaces.........................................................................................234.4FundManagement.........................................................................................................244.5Non-FunctionalCommittee.............................................................................................254.6LackofControloverInformalSettlements......................................................................254.7Conclusion.....................................................................................................................26ChapterFive:ClassificationofPublicSpace…………………………………………………………………..27-405.1FunctionsofPlace..........................................................................................................27
5.1.1StreetsandtheAdjacentAreas.....................................................................................28
5.1.2OpenSpace....................................................................................................................31
5.1.3MarketPlace.................................................................................................................34
5.1.4PublicLibrary.................................................................................................................34
5.1.5SummaryfortheFunctions...........................................................................................35
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5.2OwnershipCategory.......................................................................................................375.2.1FormalPublicSpaces.....................................................................................................37
5.2.2InformalUseofPublicSpaces.......................................................................................38
5.3GenderRoleandPublicSpace.........................................................................................385.3.1PublicSpaceforWomen...............................................................................................38
5.3.2PublicSpaceforMen.....................................................................................................39
5.4Conclusion.....................................................................................................................40ChapterSix:TowardsaSustainablePublicSpace………………………………………………………….42-506.1ExistingSituationAnalysis...............................................................................................426.2ProposalforSustainableManagementofPublicSpacesinKhulnaCity.............................46
6.2.1SociallyInclusive............................................................................................................46
6.2.2EconomicallyViable.......................................................................................................47
6.2.3EnvironmentFriendlyCleanPublicSpace.....................................................................48
6.2.4ManagementandCoordination....................................................................................49
6.3Conclusion.....................................................................................................................50ChapterSeven:Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………………..51References……………………………………………………….…………………………………………………………..52-55Appendix………………………………………………………………….…………………………………………………..56-60
ListofFigures
Fig1.1:DivisionalMapofBangladesh …………………………………………………4
Fig1.2:AdministrativesetupofBangladesh …………………………………………………5
Fig1.3:LandUseMapofKhulnaCityCorporation ………………………………………………..6
Fig5.1:Listofplacespeoplemeetforsocialgathering ……………………………………………….27
Fig5.2:Publicspaceclassificationbasedonfunctions ……………………………………………….35
Fig5.3:ActivitiesobservedinPublicSpaces ……………………………………………….36
Fig.5.4:Averagedistancetravelledbymenandwomen ……………………………………………….39
Fig.5.5:Frequencyofvisitbymenandwomen ……………………………………………….39
ListofTables
Table1.1:LandUseofKhulnaCity …………………………………………………5
Table3.1:IndicatorsforResearchQuestions ……………………………………………….19
Table5.1:UrbanPublicSpacesinKhulnaCity ……………………………………………….40
Table6.1:SituationAnalysis ……………………………………………….43
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ChapterOne:Introduction
1.1 BackgroundoftheStudy
Research has revealed that public spaces are important for cities to grow sustainably but
developingcountriesfacingtheongoingstrugglesofurbanizationalwaysfindthisdifficultto
create this functional social space for its residents (Daniel, 2016; Cohen, 2006). Here, the
quantity, quality and distributions of public spaces are challenged by proper planning
initiativesinfast-growingandresourcepoorurbansituations.So,theaimofpublicspacesto
be consideredas symbolof collectivewell-being thatnurtures the growthof public lifehas
become questionable in developing world (Amin, 2008). Cities are in need of open social
gathering space for its residents regardlessof social class, race,ethnicity,gender.So,public
spacesholdanimportantpositionforthemulticulturalhighlydensecitieswithinthedomain
ofplanningforurbansustainability.
Citiesallovertheworldareexperiencingafasterurbanizationgrowth.Now,about400cities
havemorethanamillionpeopleormorewherealmostseventypercentofthemarelocated
in the developingworld.More surprisingly, it is estimated that by this year the developing
world is going to becomemoreurban in character than rural (Cowly, 2015). The increasing
rate of urbanization is good for economy; however, it poses challenges to ensure more
sustainableuseofspace(Torres,2008).Itbringstherisktothecitieswhilehavingtheaimof
making these cities sustainablewhere the social, economic andpolitical foundation is quite
weak.
While this space-human ratio poses challenges to offer required public spaces people
frequently finds their own ways of making balance. Although the role of public space is
universal, the functions and characteristicsmay vary according to the particularities of the
territoryanddweller(UN-Habitat,2016).In“informalhypergrowthcities”largeproportionsof
urbanpopulationbuild their citieswithoutproper referencing fromplanningapparatus and
control (Cowley, 2015, p. 6). They characterize their surroundings based on their demands
whichmaygivepublicspaceanewdefinition.Aspacemaygetanewrolebasedontheusage
oftheuserswhichfrequentlydiffersfromtheactualroledefinedinplanningdocuments.At
thesametimeitmakestheplanningtaskdifficulttocreateandmanageauseful,attractive,
sociallyequitable,economicallyfeasibleandenvironmentallysustainablepublicspace.
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Bangladesh,asmallSouth-Asiancountry,isalsoexperiencingthegeneralchallengesfacedby
other developing countries. It has followed a faster urbanization rate in current days. The
recentstatisticalreportstatesthatabout23.30%oftotalcountrypopulationisnowliving in
denseurbanareas(BangladeshBureauofStatistics,2014).Thealarmingfactisthatalmosta
quarter of these people fall under poverty line where about 62% lives in slums (Ellis and
Roberts,2016).Inthebroadcontextofthisurbanizationanditscircumstances,thecontinuous
declineofpublicspaceandalsolackofattentiononthistopicbyurbanplannersisparticularly
alarming. The shortage of public space and social implications are the matter of serious
concerninthisgrowingurbansprawlcontext(Nowshin,2017).
1.2ResearchProblem
Publicspaceisoneofthefundamentalcomponentsinsustainableurbansociety.Peopleliving
inurbanareasfindthisplaceastheirmainpointofsocialinteraction.So,inurbanplanningit
is expected to have sufficient provision to offer and maintain public spaces for the city
dwellers. Unfortunately, this doesn’t always happen in developing countries. Increasing
urbanizationtrendrisksthespacehumanratiowherepublicspaceusageoflandgetstheless
priority.Thesituationbecomesdifficultwhenthecreationandmanagementofpublicspaces
are challenged by complex urban planning structure. Lack of coordination and cooperation
betweenplanningagenciesleadstononfunctionalandpoorlymaintainedpublicspaces.Asa
result, in most cases people make their own arrangement of social meeting point. So,
uncontrolled spontaneous growth of informal settlements prevails. This is an important
problem in sustainable urban planning when planning agencies fails to provide proper
directiontoensurefunctionalpublicspaces for itscitizens.Thisresults inpoorlymaintained
publicspaceswhereinformalsocialactivitiestakeoverplannedfunctionsofanyspace.
1.3ResearchGap
Though urban public spaces have always been an important component in city planning it
never gets the research focus in Bangladesh as how it is actually functioned andmanaged
practically.Thepracticalmanagementchallengesthusinmostcasesturnthepublicspaceinto
an unserviceable situation. Definitions of public spaces are also very vague in the planning
documentsthatresultsinanambiguouscharacterizationofthissocialspace.Inthiswork,an
indepthanalysisof theurbanpublicspaceswillbeperformedtoclassifythesepublicspace
basedonthepracticalfunctions.Attemptswerealsotakentoexploretheinterplaybetween
different actors who are involved in creating and managing this service. This is crucially
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important to make this space sustainable in terms of social, economic and environmental
perspective.
1.4JustificationoftheStudy
For the developing countries where government always struggles to balance between high
concentration of urban population and scarcity of land, offering public space is truly a
challenge.Bangladeshwithallofthiseconomicandurbanizationchallengesfollowsthesame
tragedies of providing livable space to its citizens. Cities of Bangladesh are growing at a
tremendous rate where high population flow toward dense cities making city life
unsustainable in true sense. Planners areworkinghard to ensurebasic civic serviceswhere
publicspaceinmostcasesremainshiddenthoughitisconsideredasoneofthecoreelements
of urban planning. The social breathing place becomes shattered without proper planning
guidelines.Authoritiesresponsibleforcreatingandmanagingthisspaceconsiderthisas lost
spacethatresultinunauthorizedinvasion.So,Bangladeshisinalongwaybehindtothinkon
this crucial element which is important for sustainable city life. This study hence aims to
analyzethenature,contextandcharacteristicsofpublicspaceashowitfunctionsinreallife.
The interplay of different actors is also important in this case to critically oversee the
managementfunctionstounderstandexistingchallengesandmoveforfutureplanning.Here,
sustainableplanningandmanagementofpublicspacemayrangefromsocial,economicand
environmentalbasedonthecharacteristicsfoundfromtheanalysis.Timeandfundlimitation
makesthisstudytoconfineonlyinonecityinBangladesh.Asmostofthecitiesfollowsimilar
planning andmanagement structures this study can act as a guideline for planning bodies
whiledealingwithurbanpublicspaceissues.
1.5ResearchQuestions
It is assumed from the introductory discussion that the public space domain requires
extensive analysis as it holds the breathing place for society. At the same time, the
development challenges of developing countries are questioning on the sustainable
managementofthisimportantplace.So,theresearchquestions(RQ)aredefinedas:
RQ1.Howthepublicspacesarecreatedandmanaged?
Therearedifferentactorswhoareinvolvedinthecreationandmanagementofpublicspaces
inKhulnacity.Thisresearchquestionwillanalyzethathowtheinterplaybetweentheseactors
affectsinpublicspacemanagement.
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RQ2.Howdo theusers indeveloping countrydefineand characterizeurbanpublic
space?
Peopleneedsspacetotakebreatheandhavesocialchattingwhereaccessisnotcontrolled.In
the case city there is an assumption that city people may have taken the opportunity of
makingtheirownspaceirrespectiveofplanningprovision.So,thisresearchquestionwilltry
tofindanswerthathowversatilethepublicspacescanbebasedontheactualuseofthecity
people. Based on the functions the research will also try make some category for further
investigation.
1.6DescriptionofStudyArea
Similar tomanyother citiesofBangladeshKhulnaalso fallunder thishypergrowthcriterion
whereunplannedurbanizationgrowthisprevalent.Therearetwodifferentauthoritiesnamed
Khulna City Corporation (KCC) and Khulna Development Authority (KDA) who are legally
responsible to ensure the planned development and maintenance of this city. They are
designated to develop and execution ofmaster plan to ensure a livable city. However, the
extent of success is amatter of question. This is undeniable that sustainable use of space
largelydependsonthebalancebetweenplanningcontrolandcommunityacceptance.So,this
study will also keep a critical eye on the interplay between different actors aspect of the
existingpublicspacestoproposesustainablemanagementofthisimportantcivicamenity.
Khulna is one of the divisional cities of Bangladesh
located in the South-West part of the country. From
British period this region was well known for it rich
agricultural hinterland and good accessibility to
surrounding big cities. The city has received municipal
statusin1884.Since1950’sand60’sKhulnahasbecome
afocalpointforJutebasedtradingandindustries.From
early90’stheeconomyofthiscityhasbeenboomedby
shrimp farming and processing activities. The
establishment of Khulna University in 1991 also
introduced Khulna as an important city to the country.
WorldfamousmangroveforestSundarbanisalsolocated
inthisdivision(KhulnaDevelopmentAuthority,2002and
KhulnaCityCorporation,2017a).
Fig1.1:DivisionalMapof
Bangladesh(Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bangla
desh_divisions_english.svg)
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There are eightdivisions inBangladesh. Khulnadivision is comprisedof tendistricts named
Khulna, Bagerhat, Chuadanga, Jessore, Jhenaidah, Kushtia, Magura, Meherpur, Narail and
Sthkhira (Bangladesh Bureau of
Statistics,2013).KhulnaCityCorporation
falls under Khulna district. It has been
promoted to Municipal Corporation in
1984 and later declared as City
Corporation in 1990 (Khulna City
Corporation, 2017b). The previous city
corporationareawas45.65sqkmwhich
has been extended to 64.78 sq km in
2011. Total population of KCC area is
about751.23thousands(BangladeshBureauofStatistics,2013;p.18).
The city has grown following a liner pattern along two natural rivers named Rupsha and
Bhairab. So, the land use pattern of the city ismainly influenced by the flow of these two
levees.Thecityisonlyabove8ft.abovethemeansealevelthatmakesthelandflatandpoorly
drained. There is no recent land use data has been found. The only available information
foundinKDAmasterplanthatcangiveanideaofthelandusepatternofthecity.
Table1.1:LandUseofKhulnaCity
LandUse Percentage LandUse Percentage
Residential 51.74 MunicipalandCommunity
Facility
0.21
Mixed 5.28 TransportandTerminal 1.34
Commercial(includingTown
Centre)
3.69 Defence/Security 0.71
Industry 7.22 Graveyard/Cemetery/Crema
tionGround
0.99
OpenSpace(Park,stadium,
UrbanGreen,etc,)
1.13 BrickField 0.58
Warehouse/Storage/Depot 0.43 FishFarm 0.27
Administrative 2.66 Waterbody 2.75
EducationandRelatedUse 3.99 Agriculture 16.30
HealthcareFacilities 0.70
Source:KhulnaDevelopmentAuthority,2002
CentralGovernment
Division
District
Upazilla CityCorporation
Fig1.2:AdministrativesetupinBangladesh
(Source:Author,2017)
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Fig1.3:LandUseMapofKhulnaCityCorporation
(Source:GISDataCollectedfromKCC,2016andMapcreatedbyauthor,2017)
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1.7DevelopmentControlinKhulnaCityCorporationArea
There are twomajor authoritieswho are responsible for city planning and development in
Khulnacity.KhulnaCityCorporationisthelocalgovernmentbodyundertheMinistryofLocal
Government,RuralDevelopmentandCo-operatives.Citymayorandwardcommissionersare
thememberof this localgovernmentbody.Thereare1mayorand31wardcommissioners
who are elected by public voting. The key responsibilities of this authority include town
planning and improvement; health, family planning and sanitation; drainage; education;
managementoftrees,parksandopenspaces;wastemanagementetc.(Ahmed,2000;Khulna
CityCorporation,2017c).AnotherdevelopmentbodynamedKhulnaDevelopmentAuthority
has been established in 1961 under Khulna Development Authority Ordinance, 1961.
Currently it isworkingunderMinistryofHousingandPublicworksof theGovernment. The
jurisdiction area of KDA ismuch larger than KCC. It overlapswith KCC boundary. KDA is a
public autonomous body financed by both revenue and development budget from
government(Ahmed,2000;KhulnaDevelopmentAuthority,2002).Themainobjectivebehind
the formulation of KDAwas to ensure a controlled and planned development for the KDA
jurisdiction area by developing master plan, detailed area plan and structure plan.
Unfortunately,thesetwoorganizationworksunderthesupervisionoftwodifferentministries
andnoneof themareaccountable toeachotherwhile implementinganycitydevelopment
activities. There is even no monitoring authority or regulatory control to ensure effective
coordinationbetweenthesetwoimportantactors.Therefore,acommunicationgapisalways
prevalent.Asbothauthoritiesnotonlysharesamejurisdictionboundary,alsoplayimportant
roles for the planned development of the city the interplay between these organizations
henceveryimportanttoanalyzeforthisstudy.
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ChapterTwo:LiteratureReview
Publicspacehasalwaysbeenconsideredasanimportantpartofciviclifefromancienttime.It
hasbeenthestageofpubliclifewheresocialpeopleinteracttoeachother.Inurbanplanning
publicspacethusholdsveryimportantpositionthosearereflectedinseveralliteratures.
2.1PublicSpaceandCivicLife
Carmona,MagalhãesandHammond(2008)haveprovidedabroaddefinitionofpublicspace
whereitrelatestoallthosepartsofthebuiltandnaturalenvironmentwhichhasfreeaccess
topublic.Thisalsocoverstheprivatespaceswherepublicaccessisunrestricted.Publicspace
belongs to all people in the society both literally and theoretically. It forms a sense of
ownershipinlocalresidents.
This istheplacethatdeliversarangeofbenefitsacrosseconomic,socialandenvironmental
spheres.LutherandGruehin(2001)arguedthatpresenceofpublicspaceincreaseslandvalue
andsometimeshelpstoboostregionaleconomicperformance.Inthecompacturbansociety
whenpeoplefindthisdifficulttotakeafreshbreathpublicspacemightbethebestoption.It
provides a space for formal and informal sports, games and exercise that can influence a
longerlifebyreducingphysicalandmentalstress(WoolleyandJohns2001).Thecitiescome
alivebyitscultureandsociallifethroughthisinteractiveplace.Publicspaceisthevenuefor
socialinterchangethatnurturessocialandcognitiveskillandpromotesneighborliness(Mean
and Tims, 2005). It delivers learning benefits to children through creative play and reduces
anti-socialbehavior(Fjortoft,2001).Theenvironmentalfunctionsofpublicspaceshouldalso
notbeoverlooked.Thisactsasanimportantcontributortothelivabilityofcitylife.Thegreen
urbanspacescertainlyimproveairqualityandreduceheatislandeffects.Perviousgrasslands
filter rainwater to replenish forgroundwater (Littlefairetal.,2000).Sometimes,parksand
zoosaspublicspacecreateopportunitiesforurbanwildlifetoflourish(Shoard,2003).
Citiesaretheconcentrationofdifferentethnic,culturalandprofessionalgroups inthesame
space favors theconfrontationofdifferentcultural traditions (Bourdieu1977).Thisdiversity
anddensityofpeoplegivesurbansocial lifeadistinctivecharacter.This isaboutencounters
and interactions among diverse group of people who are different. The interactions thus
discoverandrealizethediverseneedsandthisisthepublicspacethatmanyofthesecontacts
occur(Stevens,2007).
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However,thefunctionsofpublicspacearenotonlylimitedtoactasaninteractiveandsocial
space. There are fewother sites of public gathering justifying their connectionwith politics
throughinculcationsofcommunity,civicresponsibilityandpoliticaljudgmentorparticipation
sparkedbymeetingandminglinginpublicspace(Amin,2008).Therecentprotestmovements
fromtheArabworldtothewesterncapitalshavereopenedtheroleofpublicspaceintothe
realm of democracy. This is the site for staging and practicing democracy through the
everydaypracticesofordinarycitizens(Göle,2013).
2.2PublicSpaceinDevelopingCountries
Developingcountriesareusuallycharacterizedbypooreconomicconditionwith lowhuman
development index where poverty is visible almost every aspect of life. The small size of
economiestranslatesintoverylowlevelsofpercapitaincome,savingsandinvestment.With
thisvery lowdomesticfinancialsituationitbecomesdifficultforthedevelopingcountriesto
keeppacewith increasing population growth. In this circumstances they fall trapped in the
viciouscircleofunderdevelopmentwheredomesticresourcesfallshorttomeetdevelopment
needs (SESRTCIC, 2006). The situation is jeopardized by corruption, nepotism and bribery
whichhardlyallowtheeffectiveutilizationofresources(WorldBank,2013).Nearlyhalfofthe
world’s population is now living in cities which will be increasing in upcoming days. It is
estimatedthatoverthenextthirtyyearsmostofthetwo-billion-pluspersonincreaseinglobal
population will occur in urban areas in the developing world (Cohen, 2006). The speedy
growthofurbantransformationhasappearedasanewchallengetothedevelopingcountries.
It outstrips the capacity of the cities to provide the basic services to the residents (Cohen,
2006). So, it becomes a vital question to theworld leaders that how to ensure sustainable
development.
In January 2016world leaders frommore than150 countries adopted the 2030 agenda for
SustainableDevelopmentGoals(SDGs)inUNsummittofightagainstpoverty, inequalityand
climate change.One of the targets of these SDGs is tomake cities and human settlements
inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. Beside many other important components public
space is consideredas a key character in achieving safe, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable
cities. Public space has been identified as a specific target under SDG 11.1 as “By 2030,
provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces, in
particularforwomenandchildren,olderpersonsandpersonswithdisabilities”(Daniel,2016).
Resource poor developing countries consider this target exclusively important to make an
inclusivesociety.
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As urbanization is leadingus to denser cities and also creating higher demand for available
land,thereisanincreasingpressureonmakingandmaintainingpublicspaces.This istrulya
challenge for the resource poor developing world where a high percentages of their
population living in slums and in underprivileged circumstances (UN-Habitat, 2016). The
constantfacingsocialclassesarerepresentedhereinanaggressivewaythatactivatesachain
of reactionswhichwould bemostly demonstratedwithin the public space (Huta andMico,
2012). Aside by the social setting there are many intermediary factors such as lack of
investment, propermanagement, designing and implementing an appropriate planning and
publicpolicy,andpoliticalinstability,economicinstabilitymakethepublicspacedesignahard
job(Haq,2011).
2.2.1Formal-InformalPublicSpace
In formaldefinitionpublicspace indevelopingcountries takesmanyspatial forms, including
parks, sidewalks, streets and footpaths that connect, playgrounds of recreation and
marketplaces (UN-Habitat, 2015, p.2).Most importantly, it doesn’tmean that public space
needs to be an open space (Carmona, 2010). It varies in nature based on the functions it
performs. Public space forms the setting for the exhibition of ceremonial festivities of the
multi-cultural city, provision for infrastructure, setting for community life, trade of the
commercialcity(UN-Habitat,2015).However,inpracticethetypologyofpublicspacecanbe
sometimes different in developing countries. They are inmost casesmultidimensional and
informal in contrast toclearlydefined landuse zoning (Cantada,2015).Because, inmostof
the developing countries the master-plans that have little prospect for being enacted or
enforcedbecomeoutdatedbeforetheywereeverimplemented(Martine,2008).Peoplehere
organize their space without the assistance from any professional body i.e. planners,
architects, engineers and government planning bodies. It is very frequent that citizen of
developing metropolis becomes the true builders and managers of their own place by
neglecting existing planning documents (WCED, 1985). That’s how the character of public
spacerangesfrompathwaysforpublictransport,edgespacebetweenbuildingsorroadsides,
venues for informal trade and commerce such as hawking and street vending, recreational,
centers of religious and cultural exchange and even places for various household chores as
washing,cookingetc.(UN-Habitat,2012).Substantialplanningandinvestmenteffortarethus
veryimportanttoimproveinfrastructureandmakingservicesandopportunitiesavailablefor
inclusivepublicspaces.
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2.2.2PublicSpacePlanningandManagement
Citiesindevelopingcountriesaretheillustrationofcomplexitiesintermsofservicedelivery,
public investment, development policies, political representation and accountability (Borja,
2001). Inadequate planning framework and legislation is consideredhere as oneof the key
hindrance to goodurbanplanning (UN-Habitat, 2012).Weakplanning framework, legislation
andenforcementhaveresultedingrabbingofpubliclandbyillegalusersandusage.Therole
of regulation and planning guideline that recognizes the capacity to enforce laws and
regulations is the key instrument to secure theprovision, vitality andutility of public space
(UN-Habitat-2015).Unfortunately,theneedofspecificrolesandresponsibilitiesforthestate
of these public spaces as who should be building and managing are usually neglected
(CarmonaandMagalhaes,2006).Ideally,thesustainableurbanplanningsystemsshouldhave
the provision of adequate public space as part of local and municipal plans. Nevertheless,
many of countries legal documents also fails to provide any specific guideline about the
creationandmanagementfunctionsofpublicspace(BlancoandKobayashi,2009).Thereare
somebasic constraints that imperil success in the creation,management andenjoymentof
publicspaceinitiativesinthemetropolisofdevelopingcountries(UN-Habitat-2015,p.31):
- Complexencounterbydifferentlocalauthoritiesinexercisingtheirrole
- Frequentlackofcommunicationbetweenvariousplanningdepartments
- Encroachmentofpublicspacesbyinformalactivities
- Toughtoextractpublicspacefromprivatelandownerswhenlegalframeworks
andtheenforcementofplansareweak
- Increasing urban growth with vast pockets of informal settlements and the
strainonscarcefinancialresources
- Competitionforspacebydifferentusesandusers,resultingintheprivatization
ofpublicspace
- Weak regulatory and legislative frameworks for public-space creation and
preservation
Generally, local governments like municipalities are responsible to take care of the public
spaces.Inmanycitiesthereareevendifferentkindsofstakeholderswhoaredirectlylinkedto
public spacemanagement i.e. other governmentbodies, private sectors etc. Problemsarise
when their roles and responsibilities are not clearly defined in creating, managing and
maintainingpublic spaces.Sharingofmanagement fund isalsoverycrucialaseveryonehas
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their designated development fund and no one elsewould like to take the burden (Prédal,
2014).Therefore,itisextremelyimportanttoclarifyeverystakeholder’sresponsibilitiesforan
effective long term coordinated public spacemanagement system through a clear decision
makingprocess.
It’s the commonpractice in urban planning project to considermanagement aspect as less
importantandsimplyaddedattheend.Thisalwayscreatenon-functionalurbanpublicspaces
those are difficult in manage due to technical difficulties or lack of practical management
issues (Prédal, 2014). After care do matter for proper management of public spaces. Just
placingpublicspacebyoverlookingthesignofdecaysthroughaftermanagementmightbring
a rapidspiralofdecline.Poormanagementcan turnanypublic space toanabandonedand
deteriorated lost space (Carmona andMagalhaes, 2006). The current stateof public spaces
hasbecomeamatterofconcernbecauseofitsmalfunctions.Everydaypublicspacesaretoo
often littered, polluted, unsafe, taken by homeless people, poorly maintained services,
covered by informal businesses, places for street beggars thosemakes this space far away
fromitsprimaryaimofprovidingsocialbreathingspacetothecitypeople.Themanagement
of this public space is always considered as someone else’s problem to clean up while
numerousorganizationsareinthestagetocreateandmanagethisplace(Tibbalds,2001).
2.3PublicSpaceSituationinBangladesh
The situation doesn’t really vary in Bangladesh to other developing countries. With poor
economicbackgroundandspacescarcity,offeringsustainablepublicspaceshasappearedasa
greatchallengetotheplanningorganizations.
2.3.1PublicSpaceinPlanningLegislations
Thedefinitionof“publicspace”inplanningdocumentsofBangladeshisquiteambiguous.Itis
mostly defined as recreational areas, parks and open land which are accessible by public
(Mishuetal.,2014).Unfortunately,thereisnospecificguidelinethatdealswithpublicspace.
The lowest tier of urban structure in Bangladesh ismunicipalitywhere landuse planning is
controlledbyLocalGovernment(Paurshava)Act,2009.Thisactdefines“PublicPlaces”areany
building, space or place where common people have access (Government of Bangladesh,
2009,p.6693).Thesamedefinition isalso found intheLocalGovernment (CityCorporation)
Act, 2009. This act imposes development control in the city corporations of Bangladesh.
Exceptthisdefinitionthereisnootherdirectionfoundforthefunctionsandmanagementof
publicspacesinthesetwoimportantplanninglegislations.
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Therearefourdevelopmentauthoritieswhoareresponsibleforplanninganddevelopmentof
four divisional cities of Bangladesh. These are: Rajdhani Unnayan Kartipakha (RAJUK),
ChittagongDevelopmentAuthority(CDA),RajshahiDevelopmentAuthority(RDA)andKhulna
Development Authority (KDA). All of them are controlled by their respective ordinances.
“PublicSpace”alsocameintheirlanduseplanintermsofopenspace,parksandrecreation.
Forexample,theCDAdetailedareaplanpublishedin2009saysthatthecityhasashortageof
requiredpublicspaces.Itdidn’tworkinpracticeasplannedin1961masterplan.So,inrecent
developmentplantheyhavegiventheprovisionofmakingmorepublicspacesinthecityina
kindofpark,openspaceandrecreationalsite(ChittagongDevelopmentAuthority,2009).The
publicspacehasalsoappearedasopenspace,parkandplayfieldinKhulnadevelopmentplan.
In the 2001master plan the proposalmade as to preserve two acres of land as open and
greenspacefor1000population(KhulnaDevelopmentAuthority,2002).
Mega city, Divisional Town and District Town’s municipal areas including country’s all the
municipalareas’playground,openspace,parkandnaturalwaterreservoirConservationAct,
2000 also dealswith some specific parts of public space asmentioned in the title. This act
enforces themaximumpublicity and use ofmaster plan to implement it in field to control
unplanned development of the city that can save the public spaces not be encroached by
otherpurposes(GovernmentofBangladesh,2000).
So,theplanningframeworksofBangladeshdon’thaveanyspecificguidelinesforpublicspace
thatresultsindenseurbanareaswithouthavingpropersocialbreathingspaceforitscitizen.
2.3.2OwnershipandCoordinationforPublicSpaceManagement
Therearedifferentlevelsofauthoritiesinvolvedinurbanplanningandmanagementservices.
Their roles and responsibilities are designated in their respective legislation. Conflicts arise
when several authorities share same jurisdictionwith overlapping responsibilities (Rahman,
2015). City Corporations and Municipalities get the responsibility to develop master plan,
structureplananddetailedareaplan tocontrolurbandevelopment.TheLocalGovernment
(CityCorporation)Act,2009definestherolesandresponsibilitiesofcitycorporations.Section
50ofthisactstatesthaturbanplanninganddevelopmentofcitycorporationareasshouldbe
done by this authority. According to this act city corporation can alsomakemarkets, park,
openspace,streetandpublicspacetoensureasustainablecitylife.Theyarealsoresponsible
for the better management of these places by plantation, up gradation and regular
maintenance (Government of Bangladesh, 2009). Beside city corporations there are 320
municipalitiesinBangladeshwhoarecontrolledbyLocalGovernment(Paurshava)Act,2009.
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Thisactalsogivesthemtheresponsibilityofdoingmasterplanforthemunicipalities.Under
this act they are entitled to take development initiatives, decide land use, protect
environmentandothercityplanningactivities(GovernmentofBangladesh,2009).Thereare
alsofourdifferentplanningauthorities inBangladeshwhoare inpracticetodevelopmaster
plans and land use zoning at different levels. These planning authorities fix standard for
differentlanduseswithintheirownjurisdictions(Nazem,2016).
So,ithasbeenobservedthatseveralorganizationsaredoingthesamework.Sometimes,they
work in the same jurisdiction areas.Development authorities havemanymunicipalities and
city corporation that own same geographic boundary. Organizational cooperation and
coordination hence is one of the pressing issues of Bangladesh. Sharing responsibility
particularlyoverlappingfunctionsandownershipofworkboundarymakestheplanningtask
difficult. Even, these organizations work under separate ministry which certainly affects
development plans having the absence of role casting principle (Rahman, 2015, p.331).
Rahman(2016)inhisresearchstatedthatapartfromfinancialandpoliticalbureaucracythere
is a lack of coordination among the different development bodies that makes the plan
obscure. So, similar to other civic services public space creation and management have
challengedbythispoorcoordinationpracticesofplanningagencies.
2.3.3InformalFormsofPublicSpace
Theuseofanyspacereflectsthewaypeoplehaveusedit(Madanipour,2010)whichcanadda
different definition to public space situation in Bangladesh. Place is a product of practice,
relationsandconnectionsthatallowsforamultiplicityofparallelfunctions.Theuseofspace
ineveryday lifehenceoutlines thedynamic functionswhicharemanycasesspontaneous in
character(Hackenbroch,2013).ThecitiesofBangladesharein lackofpublicspace.Planning
authorities have also failed to provide required spaces where public gathering can happen
(Mishu et al. 2014). So, an informal growth of public space is observed in the dense urban
areas.Theaccessibilityanduseofthesespontaneousformsarebecomingsubjectstoinformal
activities like street vendors and shops that go beyond the actual use of any space
(Hackenbroch, et al., 2009). The socialization process also influences people to accept or
trespass spatial boundaries in any place. Specific social perception, style or routine of
interactioninspacedefinethenatureofthatplace.Thisistheuserswhoactuallyusepublic
spacecharacterizethatspacebasedontheirinterestsandfreedomofactions(Etzold,2011).
Informal community public spaces can be an example of this that evolves from this
socializationprocesswhichareverycommoninBangladesh.Themanagementandoperating
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rulesalsovaryaccordingtotheownershipstructureandfunctionsofthesepublicspaces.For
the formal public spaces municipalities or other city authorities legally define the
managementfunctions.Incontrary,besidestheformalrulestheinformalunwrittenpractices
govern the maintenance of the spontaneously evolved public spaces (Frey, 2004). This
complex formal and informal function of public space receives much importance in
sustainablemanagementofthiscivicplace.
2.3.4Socio-CulturalPerspectiveofPublicSpace
Socialpracticescanalsodefinepublicspacesaccordingtoitsfunctions,logicandvalue(Frey,
2004).Theaccessanduseofurbanpublicspacescanbecomeamatterofcontestationasper
divergent interest and group of actors. This is not always the city authorities or statewho
posesaccesscontrol(Etzold,2011).Socialnorms,valuesandinterestsometimesimplicatethe
exclusion or displacement of certain activities, uses and users (Hackenbroch, et al., 2009).
Societies may have different social groups with divergent views, values and beliefs. These
differenceswithinsocietymaygiverisetovarioustensionsovertheuseofspaceforindividual
orsocialpurposes(Sharpetal.2000).InBangladeshwomenhaveshowedmuchprogression
in their economic and social position that altered the nature of urban public space by the
visible presence of women. However, these changes don’t affect all women equally. The
accesstourbanpublicspacesisstilldominantbyman.So,agenderedspatialsegregationof
urban public space is observed in Bangladesh (Redclift, 2013). Access to public spaces by
gender roles are inmany cases restricted by social practices in Bangladesh. There is a high
levelofsexualviolenceandharassmentsarereportedinurbanpublicspaces.Thisisbecause
women’ssocialstatushasnotimprovedmuchalongsidetheireconomicindependencewhich
isdeeplyrootedinpatriarchalsociety(ActionAid,2014).Islam,MahmudandIslam(2015)also
argued that most of the existing open spaces face safety and security, environmental,
managerialandinstitutional,qualityoffacilityduetolackofpropermanagementsystem.So,
womendon’tfeelsafetoaccesstotheseurbanpublicspaces.
2.4Conclusion
Urbanpublic spaces indevelopingcountriesare challengedby complexplanning structures.
Lack of coordination and cooperation between planning authorities always results in non-
functional and poorlymaintained public spaces. Ambiguous or even non-existence of clear
direction to create andmanage public spaces has alsomade the situationworst. Improper
practices of land use planning also create informal activities over planned functions of any
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space. Beside these common challenges the urban public spaces in Bangladesh is also
confronted by its socio-cultural structures. Access to these public areas are sometimes
controlledornotconsideredsafeforwomen.So,gendernormsalsodefinetheuseandaccess
topublicspaces.
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ChapterThree:Methodology
3.1 Methods
Theoutcomeofany researchmostlydependsonwhich researchmethodhasbeenselected
andthatwasexecutedinfield.Forthisworkamethodshouldbechosenthancanperforman
empiricalenquiryof thepublicspaceproblemsforadevelopingcountriesmetropoliswhere
case studymethod foundbest suitable.Using thismethod the investigationwasperformed
foracontemporaryreallifesituationfrommultiplesourcesofevidences.
3.1.1CaseStudyMethod
Beyondthecriticismofbeingan introductoryexplanatoryprocess“CaseStudy”methodhas
established itself as a strong researchmethod. Robert K. Yin (1984, p. 23) defines the case
studyresearchmethodas:
“..anempirical inquiry that investigatesa contemporaryphenomenon
within itsreal-lifecontext;whentheboundariesbetweenphenomenon
and context are not clearly evident; and in whichmultiple sources of
evidenceareused.”
Case studies as a research method explore the real life phenomenon through detailed
contextualanalysiswithinagivenboundary,timeandrelationships(Flyvbjerg,2006).Insome
casestudiesanin-depthexaminationofsingleeventisusedoveracertainperiodoftime.The
processallowsaresearchertoinvestigateacaseinfarmoredetailthandealingwitha large
numberofinterestgroupstodrawconclusionbasedaveraging(Zainal,2007).
Cities are the complex networks of social, economic and political activity. Hence, urban
planning research has relied heavily on case studies over the last fifty years. Case study
approachesallowplannerstoprovidetheevidence,depth,anddetailaboutanyurbancontext
that othermethodsmay not capture (Birch, 2012). The phenomenon that separates urban
planningfromotherdisciplineisitsrelationtospace.Challengesarisewhenplannershaveto
deal with the complex relation of space with other variables as environment, social class,
politicsandevenhumanpsychology.Casestudymethodisafarmoreflexiblemethodthatcan
tolerate this complex and dynamic elements of urbanism. It can represent the varied and
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conflicting voices of the citymore flexibly than a traditional statistical summary (Campbell,
2003).
This research aims to dealwith the public space situation of a developing country context.
Here, case study found the best option to be chosen as the researchmethod. Under this
study an in depth analysis of public space has been performed for a city in Bangladesh.
ConsideringthetimelimitationthecaseanalysisforKhulnamightbethebestoptionbecause
ithasuncoveredtherealsituationofBangladeshbyrepresentingonetypicalurbansituation.
KhulnaisoneofthebigcitiesofBangladeshwheredifferentlevelsofplanningorganizations
areinpractice.So,thediversityinplanningrulesandregulationsandthecoordinationeffort
intermsofpublicspacemanagementcanalsobefoundbyanalyzingthecity.
Oneof the limitationsof this studymightbe lookingatone city context thatmaynothave
external validity for other cases. It’s true that generalization can’t be done for different
developingcountriesmetropolis;however,thisstudyrestsonsomecertainassumptionsand
hasperformeddeeperontologicalanalysiswhichcandrawsimilarchallengesfortheothers.
3.2DataCollection
This research depends onboth secondary andprimary sources. Thedata collection process
canbeillustratedbelow:
a) Questionnaire Survey: A simple questionnaire was developed for the residents of
Khulnacity to identify thepublic spacesaccessedby them.Theywereaskedon the
type and functions of these areas. Besides, information on ownership and overall
maintenancequalitywasalsobeencollected fromthis survey.The targetaudiences
wereversatileinnaturebyage,sex,socialclassandeducationwhowereselectedon
randomsamplingbasis.Theideaisthattocapturethedifferencesintheuseofpublic
spacebydiversegroupwhichmaydefinepublicspaceindifferentways.Therewere
sixtyeightresponsesreceivedfromthesurvey.Amongthem37.31%arefemaleand
62.69%aremale.Therespondentswerealsoclassifiedunderfiveagecategoryfrom
18 to more than 70. People participated in this survey also represent different
occupation group which define their socio-economic situation and their respective
accesstopublicspaces.
b) Review Legal Documents: Master plan prepared by KDA is the key development
guidelinefollowedinKhulnatocontroldevelopmentgrowth.Thisdocumenthasbeen
thoroughly reviewed to identify that how the public spaces are defined here in the
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document. Khulna Development Authority Ordinance, 1961 and Local Government
(CityCorporation)Act,2009whichdescribetherolesandresponsibilitiesofKDAand
KCCwere also been reviewed. Thiswas important to understand specific roles and
responsibilitiesoftheseauthoritiestocreateandmanagethepublicspaces.
c) In-depthDiscussion:Itwasimportantforthestudytounderstandthepracticalpublic
spacemanagementsituationofKhulnacity.That’swhytwoin-depthinterviewswith
theurbanplannersofKDAandKCCwereconducted.
d) In-depthInformationCollectionforPublicSpaces:PublicspacesofKhulnaareversatile
infunctionsandownership.Tobetterexplorethesituationthreepublicspacesfrom
differentownershipandmanagementcontextweresurveyed.
3.3IndicatorSelection
Indicatorsareimportantforresearchtoguidecollectingempiricalevidences.Thesurveysand
interviewswereperformedindifferentstagesasdiscussedintheprevioussections.Indicators
sethere for individual researchquestionsensured thatall requireddata sourceshavebeen
contactedandinformationcollected.Later,theanalysisofthestudyfindingsalsofollowedthe
indicatorssetupheretoensurethatresearchgoalhasbeenachieved.Thetablegivenbelow
isthesummaryofthoseindicators:
Table3.1:IndicatorsforResearchQuestions
ResearchQuestion Indicators
How the public spaces are
createdandmanaged?
Complexitiesinownershipandmanagement
responsibility
Developmentandmaintenanceofpublicspace
Coordinationandcooperationbetweenauthorities
Managementofinformaluseandformsofpublicspace
How do the users in developing
country define and characterize
urbanpublicspace?
Functionsofplaceandit’sconnectiontopeople
Formalandinformalownership
Plannedandspontaneoususeofspace
Usercategory
Usersatisfactiontoaccesspublicspace
Frequencyandlevelofuse
Socialacceptability
Genderrole
Source:Author,2017
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3.4OverallMethodology
There were two in-depth discussions held with urban planners from the two development
authorities in Khulna. This discussion helped analyzing the actual practices to create and
managepublic spaces in this city.Themanagement, coordinationandownershipchallenges
betweenthesetwoauthoritieswerealsobeenreflected inthisdiscussion.Thesearguments
weresupplementedbyreviewingtheplanning legislationspracticedbytheseauthorities for
urbanpublicspacemanagementinKhulnacity.Interviewscriptsweredeveloped,codedand
summarized for analysis.Chapter fourbasically is the findings for this analysis that answers
theresearchquestionone.
Therewasalsooneonlinesurveyconductedtounderstandashowthepublicspacesareused
by the residents of Khulna city. Themain goal behind this surveywas to understandusers’
perceptiontodefinepublicspacesinKhulnacitythatanswersresearchquestiontwo.Allthe
collected data were organized in a database and analyzed for the findings. The survey
responsehelped finding the formaland spontaneouspublicuseof this civic space.Answers
fromdifferentsocialandgendergroupsalsohelpedto realize thesocio-culturalandgender
perspectives that might define public spaces differently. Overall situation analysis of three
publicspaceswasalsoperformedthatrepresentstheusualpublicspacequalityofKhulnacity.
Finally, based on the findings of research question one and two some sustainable
managementsolutionswereproposedthatmighthelpofferingsustainablepublicspacesfor
thecitizenofKhulna.
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ChapterFour:CreationandManagementofPublicSpace
KhulnaCityCorporationandKhulnaDevelopmentAuthorityarethetwolargeactorswhohold
themajorgroundtoensuresuccessfulcreationandmanagementofpublicspaces inKhulna
city.Theyareguidedbyseparateactsandordinanceswhichdefinestheirspecificroles.These
responsibilities sometimes become ambiguous because of overlapping accountabilities. So,
theinterrelationshipandcoordinationmechanismisveryimportanttounderstandthepublic
spacemanagementforKhulnacity.
4.1PublicSpaceinMasterPlan
KDAplaystheleadingroletoprovidethedevelopmentguidelineforKhulnacity.Accordingto
the KDA Ordinance 1961 KDA gets sole responsibility for the preparation and execution of
masterplan.
“The Authority shall, as soon as feasible, but not more than two years after the
provisions of this Ordinance comes into force, prepare and submit to the Provincial
Government for approval a Master Plan for the Municipality and the areas in its vicinity
indicatingthemannerinwhichitproposesthatlandshouldbeused(whetherbycarryingout
thereonofdevelopmentorotherwise)andthestagesbywhichanysuchdevelopmentshould
becarriedout”(GovernmentofBangladesh,1961,p.7).
All the development agencies and private owners are legally liable to follow this planning
guidelineforanykindofdevelopmentinitiatives.Theuseofanylandwithinthejurisdictionis
fixedaccordingthemasterplan.So,todedicateany landforpublicuse it is importanttobe
mentionedas“PublicSpace”intheseplanningdocuments.Unfortunately,thereisnoofficial
termusedforpublicspaceinKDAdocumentsexceptopenspace,streetsandmarkets.Thisis
somehowrestrictstheboundaryofpublicspacesthatresultsininformalcreationofthiscivic
space. The LocalGovernment (City Corporation) Act, 2009 however defines public space as
“publicplace”whichcouldbeanybuilding,yardorplacewheregeneralpeoplehaveaccess.
Nevertheless,thedefinitionisveryvagueanddoesn’tprovideanyspecificsetofrulesaswhat
doesitmeanbypublicaccessandatwhatlevels.
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KDAmaster plan provides somedevelopment proposals for streets,markets, town centers,
openspacesandparksasidebyotherkeysectors.Inthesesectionspublicuseoftheseareas
cametosomeextent.Forexample, it is said that theroadsofKhulnadon’tprovideenough
pedestrianfacilitiesalthoughfiftypercentofpeoplemaketheirtripstoworkplacebywalking
(KhulnaDevelopmentAuthority, 2002). Theproposal thusmade to provide enoughwalking
spaceforthecitydwellersspeciallyinthemarketplacesandshoppingwherelargescalemass
gathering is observed. Town centers should also be provided sufficient cultural and
recreational facilitiesto increasesocial interactions.Thesefacilities includevarietiesofretail
shops, eating places, cinemas, auditoriums, games and sport areas. Public open spaces are
also proposed in terms of metropolitan and community level park, zoo, botanical garden,
playfieldetc.So,itisagoodsignthattheplanningdocumentshavesomeguidelinestocreate
spacewhich is accessible for public use though it doesn’t provide detail functions of these
placesaspublicspace.
4.2DevelopmentofPublicSpace
AlthoughKDAprepares planning guidelines for Khulna thedevelopmentworks aredoneby
different public and private authorities including KDA. There are KCC, District commission,
KhulnaWaterSupplyandSewerageAuthority(KWASA),BangladeshRailwayetc.whoinitiate
differentdevelopmentprojectforKhulna.AccordingtoKDAordinanceeveryauthorityisliable
tofollowthemasterplanpreparedbyKDA.Hence,itisverymuchimportanttohaveagood
coordinationbetweentheseauthorities.AmongthesestakeholdersKCCtakesthemajorrole
toprovideandmaintaincivicservicesforcitydwellersthatincludescreationandmanagement
of streets, open spaces, markets and others. So, at least a good sharing of work update
betweenthetwo leadingdevelopmentactorsofKhulna ishighlyexpected.Unfortunately, it
happens very rarely that result in misunderstanding and distrust between these two
importantorganizations.So,plansmostlyremainsinpaperthanactualexecutioninplace.
The most common tension arises between these two authorities while implementing any
developmentproject.ItcanbewelldescribedfromthevoiceoftwopersonnelfromKDAand
KCC:
“KCCshouldobeythedevelopmentguidelinesasmentionedinmasterplanwhenever
theyaregoing to implementanydevelopmentwork.They should takepermission fromKDA
whilechangingtheactualplanformaintenanceorotherpurposes”
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“KDAnever considerusas the keyactor for thedevelopmentof Khulna. They rarely
consultuswhilegivingpermissionforanydevelopmentworkinKhulnacityalthoughthefinal
responsibilitycomestoustoprovidethecivicservices.”
So, these twoauthorities seemshave lack in trustand respectoneachother.Public spaces
within themaintenance responsibility of respective authorities have hardly been consulted
withother.Theyconsiderthisastheirownjurisdictionswherenoothersshouldhaveanything
toinfluence.
The lack of coordination between KDA and KCCwas also observed during themaster plan
development phase. According to these authorities no separatemeeting between KDA and
KCCwasheldduringthisstage.KCCwasmainlypresentatgeneralpublicsharing.So,similar
tootherdevelopmentworkbothauthoritieshavetheirdifferentperspectiveforpublicspace
aswell.
4.3 MaintenanceofPublicSpaces
ThemaintenanceresponsibilityofpublicspacesisabitcomplexforKhulnaCity.Therearelists
of organizations involved in overtaking this liability. For the sake of analysis two broad
sectionscouldbemadeinthiscaseasKDAdevelopedareasandKCCdevelopedareas.While
anydevelopmentprojectistakenbyKDAitcompletesallthecomponentsthatincluderoads,
drains, open space and facilities for otherutility services.According toKDAordinance after
thecompletionofproject theyare liable tohandover themaintenance responsibilityof the
utilityservices to respectiveauthorities.Forexample, roadsandpedestrianwaysgo toKCC,
electricityfacilitytoBangladeshpowerdevelopmentboard,drainandwatersupplytoKWASA.
Here,thecommoncomplainsraisedbyKCCareonroaddesignandquality.AccordingtoKCC
priortothehandovertothesepublicroadsKCChasneverbeeninvitedorconsultedonquality
ofproductsordesign.TheyjustreceivetheroadsfromKDAandsaidtomaintainafterwards.
KCCdoesn’tevengetanymaintenancecostfromKDAtotakecareoftheroads.So,negligence
on these handover roads is much prevalent. They find this more important to spend their
budget on KCC developed roads than KDA one. Therefore, as an end users the citizen of
Khulnaalwaysfindsfragileandbrokenroadsduetopoormaintenance.
KDAalsotakethemaintenanceresponsibilityforsomeoftheirproperty.KhulnaNewMarket,
the famousbigmarket inKhulna,hasbeencreatedandownedbyKDA.Here,KDAtake the
leading role tomanage and provide facilities to the shop owners and users. KDA has fixed
somemaintenance fees according to shop size. In return they providemaintenance service
that covers big repairing work, cleaning, toilet facilities and others. There is also amarket
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managementcommitteeformedwiththerepresentativefromshopowners.KDAmaintaina
goodrelationwiththiscommitteetoensureagoodenvironmentfortheusers.
KCC also own several public spaces in Khulna city which they have developed and are
responsibletotakecareoftheservices.Forexample,HadisPark,SonadangaSolarpark,KCC
markets etc. For themarkets KCC receivemaintenance fee from the shopowners. KCChas
their annual development budget for the reconstruction and maintenance work of these
areas.
Theinformaldevelopmentofpublicspaceboomedupeasily inmultiownedandmaintained
areas.Asdiscussedbeforelackofcoordinationandsharingmentalitybetweentheauthorities
keepsmanyspacesuncared.Localmusclemenorstreethawkerstookoverareasandcreate
informal public spaces. No formal maintenance is performed in these areas that creates
unhealthyenvironment.
4.4FundManagement
The creation andmaintenance of public spaces largely depends on the availability of fund.
EveryfiscalyearKCCpublishtheirbudgetthat indicatesthemajorsectorswherethemoney
willbespent.KCCmainlyhasthreesourcesoffundasrevenuefromtax,governmentdonation
for special project and donors’ contribution for specific development work. The regular
cleaningandmaintenanceofthepublicspacesaredonefromrevenuebudget.Unlessthereis
anyspecificdevelopmentworkmentionedintheannualbudgetthefatetocreatenewpublic
spacesdependsongovernmentordonorcontribution.So,KCCfindsthisisthemainchallenge
toarrangesufficientfundtooffernewpublicspacesforthecitydwellers.
As discussed before, in KDA developed areas the maintenance responsibility of roads and
pedestrianwaysgoestoKCC.KCCdon’ttaketheliabilitytotakecareofthecommunityparks
and open spaces. It’s the KDA who have to ensure the functionality of these services.
UnfortunatelyKDAdon’thaveanymaintenancebudgetforthesecommunityparksandopen
spacesunlessthereisanyspecialdevelopmentbudget.Theydeveloptheareaandprovidethe
maintenanceresponsibilitytothecommunityhouseownerscommittee.Theresidentslivingin
thecommunityprovidecertainamountofmonthlymaintenancefee.Thecommitteespends
moneyfromthebudgetifanymaintenanceworkisrequired.Unfortunately,theexamination
of thesepublic spaces foundsomeof those inverypoorquality.The involvementofKCC in
developingandmaintainingtheseimportantcommunityspacesmayimprovethesituation.
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4.5Non-FunctionalCommittee
Khulna Development Authority Ordinance, 1961 states that in the KDA management
committeethereshouldbetworepresentativesfromKhulnaCityCorporation(formerKhulna
Municipalitywhen the ordinancewas published) aside by other key stakeholder. This is for
better coordinationeffortwhile takinganydevelopmentdecisions. Similar toKDA theLocal
Government (City Corporation)Act, 2009 also states the presenceof KDA representative in
KCC. This act makes it mandatory to organize at least one monthly meeting with all
stakeholderstoshareworkupdatesandtakedecisionforfutureinitiatives.Inthismeetingcity
corporation can invite KDA chairman to get their concern. Unfortunately, none of these
initiativesobservedactivewithintheorganizationalbodyinnormalsituation.KDAsometimes
invites KCC representative only when big development projects are taken. The situation is
quite similar in KCC. If KCC consider the presence of KDA is important for any large scale
projectonlythenKDArepresentativesarecalledformeeting.Theissuesonpublicspacethus
always kept beyond the coordination effort of KDA and KCC unless it falls under the big
categorydevelopmentinitiatives.
4.6LackofControloverInformalSettlements
For the Khulna people the informal settlements function as very popular public space. The
popularplace isroadsidecafés,teastallsandfoodkioskswhich inmostcasesdevelopedin
government properties without proper permission. Private owners also use their land
violating land use rules. This is true that these places offer some social space for the city
dwellerslivinginthechaoticcity,however,theunplannedgrowthofthisshantyshopscreate
traffic congestion, encroachment of pedestrian ways, polluted surroundings etc. Controlled
planned development of these physical spacesmight enable these networks to evolve in a
moreattractiveway.
The legal documents give both authorities i.e. KDA and KCC the right to control the
unauthorizedencroachmentof land.According to LocalGovernment (CityCorporation)Act,
2009 KCC can provide notice to land owner or the person developing any land or make
changes of the land by violating master plan. If the person doesn’t take initiatives as per
notice KCC has the power to demolish the construction. Similarly, KDA can impose some
penaltiesiftheconstructiondoesn’tproperlyfollowmasterplanorbuildingapprovalreceived
fromKDA.Inpractice,KCCconsiderthisasKDA’sresponsibilitytocontrollanduseofKhulna
citybecausethemasterplansaredevelopedbythem.However,someillegalencroachmentof
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streethawkersisdonebyKCC.Ontheotherside,KDAconsiderthisisverydifficultforthem
alone toensure thesuccessful implementationofmasterplanwithvery limitedwork force.
Noneof theauthoritiesareboundtocommunicate toeachotherduring implementationof
their role for development controls. So, a communication gap is always prevalent in their
relationship. A better coordination between these two authorities could control the
unauthorizedencroachmentoflandandprovidesomesmartpublicspacesforthecitizens.
4.7Conclusion
In a nutshell, there are multifaceted challenges both in planning documents and practice
thosemakepublic space creation andmanagement a hard job.Unclear definition of public
space inmaster plan and city corporation legal documents limits the boundary of this civic
spacetosomefixedforms.Manyofthefunctionsofpublicspacehenceleftbehindtheformal
physical space.As a result bunchof themhas emerged informally by the city dwellers. The
coordinationandcooperationbetweenthekeystakeholdersofKhulnahasalso identifiedas
major management challenge. This mainly depends on the personal relationship exists
between these head of these authorities. Sometimes, politics play here the key role. If the
chairman or head and city mayor don’t belong the same political or ideological belief an
uncomfortable relation between organizations always prevails. This affects the inter-
organizational working environment. Nevertheless, legal bindings provide some good
coordinationeffort,however,non-practiceoftheseregulationsmakethemmostlyobsolete.
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ChapterFive:ClassificationofPublicSpace
Themanagement,coordinationandplanningchallengesleavetheformationofpublicspacein
thehandofcitypeople.Thisisthesocietyanduserswhomaketheirowndefinitionofpublic
space.Thepeople,cultureandpowerrelationsshapeurbanpublicspacesintocontestedand
fragmentedformsthatreorderedthiscivicspacetosomenewidentities. Inthischapterthe
public space of Khulna city will be analyzed based on some assumptions found from field
surveys.Urbanpublicspacecanbeclassifiedaccordingtotheuseassignedtothemlike,café,
playground, open square etc. Whereas, the access to public spaces sometimes define the
boundary to use this place. Public spaces can also be characterized by the gender norms,
ownershipandsocio-economicstatus.Here,theattempthasbeenmadetoanalyzetheurban
publicspacefromdifferentperspectivesoftheusers.
5.1FunctionsofPlace
Functionsofplacearedefinedasasetofactivitiesperformedtosatisfytheparticularneedsof
any society. These functions are generally assigned based on its natural and economic
potential(MintsandPreobrazhenskiy,1972).Cityauthoritiesdevelopmasterplanforthecity
where the functions of different spaces are scaled. The survey conducted in Khulna city to
identify the available public space for city dwellers results in a range of placeswith varied
functions.Belowgivenfigurecanprovideaglimpseoftheplacewherepeoplemeetforsocial
gathering:
Fig5.1Listofplacespeoplemeetforsocialgathering(Source:FieldSurvey,2017)
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Thestreetsare thepopularplace for social interaction.Despite themain functionsofbeing
travelnetwork itoffers several services like shopping, street foodshops,walkingetc.which
attracts people to spend time here with family and friends. The open spaces can also be
characterized as parks, community space and playground. Themain idea of planning open
space is toprovidepeoplesomeopenareaswherecitypeoplecanspendtheir leisuretime.
Among the citizenofKhulnamarketplacesand shoppingmalls arealso verypopularpublic
placewherepeoplecandoshoppingandmakefreetimeinthemarketareas.Publiclibraryis
quitedifferentthanotherpublicspaces.Thisoffersthepublicaccesstoreadingbooks,spend
timewithfriendsanddiscussontheirthoughts.Thesepublicplacesarecharacterizedbased
ontheactivitiesperformedbytheusers.Sometimes,usersimprovisetheplannedendeavors
tochasetheirdemandandthisiswhentheplacesgetnewdimensions.So,everypublicspace
classifiedaboveaccordingtotheirfunctionscanbeanalyzedbasedonplannedandunplanned
orspontaneousformsandactivities.
5.1.1StreetsandtheAdjacentAreas
The streets in the case city gobeyond themain functionof linking roadnetwork for travel.
This is theplacewhere lifeunfolds.Peopleroutinelycomeheretoencounterpeople,bump
intofriendsandcelebratefestivals.It’sameansofsocialengagementirrespectiveofage,sex
andsocialclass.
a) PlacesandTheirPlannedFunctions
Ingeneral,theroadsinKhulnadon’thavemuchplannedformstoactaspublicspaceexcept
pedestrianways, road side cafés and restaurants. The intensity and quality of the activities
performedinthestreetsalsovaryaccordingtoitslocationandtypes.
i. WalkingTrails:Theroadsherearecharacterizedbyheavytrafficmovementwith
poorfacilitiesbynon-motorizedvehicles.Hence,trafficcongestionisveryobvious
tobepresent in thebusystreets.So,walking in the roads is sometimes riskyas
there ishardlyany facility forpedestrians.Thesituation is jeopardizedby illegal
encroachment of street hawkers. Small shops and haphazard vehicle parking
make the walkable parts of roads much narrower. Despite, these practicalities
streets appeared as top position to be considered as social centers. The
neighborhood street where traffic is less still attracts many people for free
walking.Thisisanimportantjoggingplacetothehealthconsciouspeople.Lackof
open space has raised the demand of adding this function to streets. In the
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morningwhen there is less traffic and street shops are still closedwalking and
exercisingalongtheroadwaysisacommonscenario.
ii. RoadSideCaféandRestaurant:Thecitywherebikingorwalkingisdangerousand
parksoropenspacesareveryscarcelypresent,caféandrestaurantbecomesvery
popularamong thecitizen tospendsocial time.Herecomes the roadsidecafés
thosemighttookthetoppositiontobumpingintoneighbors,familyandfriends.
These cafés could be both formal and informal in character. This is a profitable
businessasmanypeoplehangouthereaftertheirbusyworkday.So,municipality
andalsoprivateownersdevelop these facilitieswhichare formal. InKhulnacity
anyonecanobserveplentyofsmallcafésandrestaurantsintheshoppingstreets,
main city roads and highways. They offer cheap foods with unlimited time of
sitting arrangement that easily attractsmany people to relax,meet people and
talk.Thequalityofthecafésandrestaurantsrangesfromverycheapandshanty
smallshopstohighqualityexpensivebigone.Usercategoriesalsovaryaccording
to the aesthetic andbusiness quality. These places are very popular among the
womenwhofeelsafeandcomfortablevisitingtheseplacesbythemselves.
b) SpontaneousUse
One of key reasons of considering streets as public space is its accessibility. It’s open for
twenty four hours a day in sevendays aweek. Afterwork on theirway back homepeople
consider it’s thebest place to relax, eat and socialize as it offers plentyof opportunities to
spend time.Usually, the road crossings, dead end and in front of shopping centers are the
mostpopularstreetspaceamongthecitypeople.Thedynamicactivitiesoftheseareasattract
peopletocomeandspendsocialtime.
i) Civic Functions: Streets are also the center of civic actions. Political parties in
democraticgovernmentsystemalwaysusethispaceastheirplatformtorepresent
theirthought.Observingpoliticalmeetings,humanrallyorprotestagainstinjustice
everythinghappenshere.
ii) Place to Celebrate Life and Culture: Observing cultural program by blocking the
roads are also found here in the city. During festivals it’s common practice to
organizefunctions likeculturalprograminsomepartsofthestreets.Even, inthe
localstreets insidetheneighborhoodsplayinggameslikecricketorbadmintonby
childrencanalsobefound.So,streetsappearwithallofitscolorofbeingasocial
spaceincitylife.
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iii) Informal Tea Stalls and Food Kiosk: This is quite similar to formal café and
restaurant but very informal in functions. This small shanty shopsmostly locates
over the pedestrian ways or vacant spaces beside road kept for future
development. These are controlled by local muscle men who receive donation
fromtheshopowners.Thisisagoodmeetingplacefordifferentclassesofpeople.
Students, professionals, rickshaw pullers etc. people from different social group
comeheretohaveteaand/orsnacksandspendsocialtimetoothers.
iv) Informal Parents Gathering in front of Children School: Surprisingly, children’s
school is a verypopular ground to thehousewivesor caretakerswhobring their
childrentotheschool.It’sacommonpracticeheretocarrykidstotheirschoolby
theirparentswhichismostlydonebythehousewiveswhostayathome.Theyfind
thisplaceasthekeymeetingpointwithotherparents.Whenthekidsareatschool
parents spend the time in the streets outside the school compound. Parents
consider thiswise to relax herewith others than travelling again to get children
back home. So, women having social talk with others parents, sharing cooking
recipes, discussing about children education, sewing cloths or having foods are
verycommontoseeinschoolstreets.Asanindirectimpactofthisregularhuman
crowdcreatebusinessopportunitytomanypeople.Anyonecanseebeautyparlor,
tailor shop, food stalls located near to these areas thatmake business from this
gathering.
v) Informal Place for Professional Meeting: Illegal encroachment of government
properties is very common in Bangladesh. It’s very normal to see political party
offices or small owner associations located in the road side vacant areas. In the
surveysomepeoplehavementionedtheirprofessionalassociationofficeasmain
socialgatheringspace.Thiswasspecifically saidbyday laborormasonswhohas
theirassociationinthestreetsides.Thisisthemainmeetingplaceforthemwhere
theycomeafterwork intheevening.Mostofthemareverytemporary innature
with fragile construction material. Day labors or masons of specific regions i.e.
wardboundarymakethisplaceastheirmeetingpoint.Although,thebasicideaof
making this space is to take care of their rights and discuss on their problems.
However, it has become the main recreational space to them where they do
chitchat,watchtelevisionanddiscussabouttheirworks.Although, itdidn’tcome
in the survey professional association could also be mentioned for well-known
profession like lawyers association, doctors group, teacher association etc. They
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are more formal in nature and have legal establishment setting. The access to
theseprofessionalassociationsmayberestrictedtosomespecificusergrouponly.
Nevertheless, it isnodoubtapublicspacetoits largeinterestgroupwhichoffers
thatopportunityofhavingsocialencounter.
vi) Drinking Water Collection Point: In Bangladesh drinking water usually does not
come in supplywater. People living inKhulnamostly collectdrinkingwater from
the public tubewells provided by KCCwhich are inmost cases located in street
corners. This work is mainly done by the house maid. So, while surveying with
someofthisgroupofpeoplethisplacehasappearedastheirsocialmeetingpoint.
This is a very smallplaceandnotaimedatmaking this apublic gathering space.
There is no formal service to have a sit or do other things. However, every day
watercollectorsvisittheplaceandtakethatopportunitytomeetotherswhocome
hereforsamepurposes.Thisplaceisconsideredastheirprimepointtoencounter
others,sharetheirproblemsorhappinessandtakenewsofothers.
5.1.2OpenSpace
The city lacksdesiredopen space for its people.According toKDA there is only 0.1 acreof
openspaceper1000personswhichisverylowcomparedtoanystandardcity.Thisindicates
thatthecity is inneedofmoreopenpublicspacestomake itmore livable.Therearesome
open spaces within and adjacent to the cities which are accessed by the city people for
differentpurposes.
a) PlacesandTheirPlannedFunctions
Despite fund and space limitations city authorities provide few open spaces in terms of
playgrounds,parksandmemorials.Sometimesit’sthegreenspaceandwaterfrontstotakea
freshbreathandinsomecasesthisistheplacetocelebrateculture.
i) MunicipalParksandmemorials:Havingparks inanunplannedurbanizedarea isa
realconcern.Here,developmenthardlyfollowsanyplanningguidelines.Haphazard
growthofbuildings leads to reductionofgreenspaces.Therearea fewmunicipal
parks within the city. Most of them are open in character and have free public
access. People come here with family and friends to roam around, enjoy free
environmentorjustseatunderthetrees.Oneoftheparkshasamemoriallocated
with the park. Thememorial is formartyrs who sacrificed their lives to establish
Bengaliasnationallanguagewhichisthepopularhangoutplaceamongthecitizens.
Basically, it’s a memorial with some greeneries, waterfronts and sitting
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arrangements.Thisplaceisdedicatedtoobserveinternationalmotherlanguageday
on21Februaryineachyear.
Bangladesh is a country of festivals. They have different occasions to observe
throughout the year. Theseplaces are themain gatheringpointwhen citypeople
altogether celebrate their national or local festivals. This is the home ground to
arrangebookfair,treefair,1styearcelebrationofBengaliyear, internationaltrade
fair,sciencefairandotherfestivals.
ii) CommunityPark:Besidethemunicipalparktherearealsocommunityopenspaces
located in some neighborhood. This is mainly for the residents who live on that
area.KDAhasmadesomeplannedresidentialareaswithinthecity. Intheseareas
theytooktheattempttoprovidesufficientgreenareatothepeoplelivinghere.So,
therearealsosomegreenparks intheseplannedzoneslikeSonadangaandNirala
residentialareaetc.Theseareasareverypopularnotonlyamongthecitizenswho
live in vicinity. People also come from the surrounding areas to enjoy the green
openspacesforrelax.
iii) Playground: Therearesomeopenplaygroundswithinthecitywherepeoplegoto
playgames.Dwellersdon’tneedtopayanyfeetoaccesstheservices.Circuithouse
playfield,widelyknownasBoroMath, is thebiggestopenspacewhich isopenfor
all. Youngkidsandyouthusuallyuse thisareaas theirpracticeground.Theyplay
football and cricket in their team. There are some schools near to area. So, kids
fromtheseschoolscomeheretoplaywiththeirclassmates.Thisplaceisalsovery
familiar among themiddle agedperson to comehere and spend social timewith
theirfriends.
iv) Political Ground: The open spaces has also played very important role in politics
over the history. The largest non-violence human gathering to raise voice against
injusticeandcriticizepoliticaldecisionshappenshere.Thisisthestageforpolitical
partiesandsocialactivistgrouptodisplaytheirideals.
a) SpontaneousUseofOpenSpaces
Duetolackofopenspacecitypeoplealwaystriestomakethebestuseoftheirsurroundings
for social encounter. This is how sometimes small communal open space or peripheral
universitycampusbecomesthemeetingplaceforthem.
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i) CommunityOpenSpace:Traditionally,people fromthiscountry lovetomeet their
neighborsintheirbackyard.Vacantlandkeptforfuturedevelopmentorsmallopen
space in front of the house is informal kind of open spaces observed in the
residentialareas. Itwasacommonfeature in15-20yearsbackwhenwomenand
girlsusedtospendtheirleisureperiodinthesecommunityspaces.Thesituationhas
changedabitnowadaywhile lifebecomesmoreprofessional.However, it is still
very popular to themiddle aged and elderly peoplewhomostly stay at home to
enjoythisneighborlyfeelingatthisplace.
ii) OpenLandinPeripheries:Whilethecorecitylacksinopenspacescitypeoplealways
getintouchwiththesurroundingperipheriesforgreennatureandfreshbreathing.
Therearetwopublicuniversitiesjustlocatedatthevicinityofcitycorporationarea.
These universities own big campus with plenty of open spaces. Basically, the
campuswasdesignedonlyforthestudentswhostudyhere.However,lotsofpeople
fromthecitycomehereeverydaytoexperiencethenature.Itbecomesoneofthe
important breathingplaces for the city people.Good communication systemwith
main city makes these areas easily accessible by locals. Families come here with
their children to let themplay in freeopenenvironmentwhich is very rare in the
core city. Jogging, cycling and walking are also observed at the morning and
afternoon.
Open spaces in waterfront areas in peripheries are also very popular community
spacealthoughthereisnoplannedfacilityprovidedbycityauthorities.Khulnacityis
located at the bank of Rupsha and Bhairab rivers. So, aside by shipping and port
activitieswaterfrontareasattractmanypeopletoroamaroundtheplaces,boating
in the river and enjoy the nature. Rupsha bridge although fall outside the KCC
boundaryisoneofthemainattractionpointtothepublics.Intheafternoonpeople
comeshere fromthecity towalkalong thewidthhighways.Theyconsider thisas
blessingstohavegreenandruralenvironmentneartothecity.Agoodnumberof
peoplevisithereeverydaywithfriendsandfamily.
Within the city there are also some waterfront sites which are very narrow and
congested compared to Rupsha bridge site. Markets and river based business
activitiesmakestheseareascongestedandlessattractiveassocialinteractionpoint
tothecitizens.However,labors,shopownersorbusinessmanwhoworkherecount
theseplacesastheirrestingplacewithcoworkers.
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5.1.3MarketPlace
Thisisthemostcommonpublicplacewherethousandsofpeoplewalkandmoveeveryday.
The market places in Khulna vary from vegetable markets, departmental store to large
shopping mall. Most of market places are solely used for shopping purposes except some
biggermarketslocatedincitycenters.
a) PlacesandTheirPlannedFunctions
Ingeneralpeoplegotothemarketsfordailyneedswheretheyhavethesocialencounters
withothers.Despitethat,therearealsosomemarketplaceswhichofferwalkinglaneand
freespacesformovement.Thesemarketplacesareplannedinawaywherepeoplecan
comewithfamilyandfriendsforsocialinteractionirrespectiveofshoppingpurposes.For
example,inKhulnaNewMarketorHadisParkMarkettherearetravelcorridorsdedicated
for pedestrians. No vehicles are allowed to get into the space. So, it has that appeal
especiallyamongthewomen,childrenorfamilypeopletovisittheseareas.
b) SpontaneousActivities
The market areas are famous as social meeting point since the development of these
areas. Inthe1960’sorevenbeforethatwhenKhulnawasvery littlecitypeopleusedto
come to these places for daily needs. Here, they got the opportunity to meet their
neighbors and friends. With the advancement of time many other places have been
developtospendsocialtime.However,themarketplaceshavestillthatcharmsespecially
toyoung.Groupsofyouthhavingfriendlychatinthemarketsareaverycommonfeature
in this city.Meeting friends here is themain purpose in spite of doing shopping. It has
become more crowded during festival season when lots of people visit the place for
enjoyingtheirsocialtime.
5.1.4PublicLibrary
Thisistheformalreadingplacewhichisopentoall.Thebookloversofallagesandclassescan
comeheretoreadbooks,articlesandnewspapers.Awidevarietyofbooksareavailableinthe
librarythatattractsmanypeople.Despitethemainpurposeofreadingliteraturesindividuals
alsogotthechancetohavesocialinteraction.Cityauthorityandbookpublishersalsoarrange
bookfairswhichisamassgatheringforbooklovers.
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5.1.5SummaryfortheFunctions
So, thepublicspacesclassifiedaccordingto their functionscanbesummarized in the figure
givenbelow:
Fig5.2:Publicspaceclassificationbasedonfunctions(Source:Author,2017)
A bunch of activities are observed in individual public spaces. Sometimes it overlaps with
other.Forexample,walkingpathcanbefoundinthestreet,openspacesandalsowithinthe
marketwherepeoplecanmovefreely.Culturalfestivalsarealsoobservedbothinparks,open
spacesandstreets.
These activities inmany cases gobeyond theplanned functions definedby city authorities.
The chart given below can describe as how these spaces are used by the citizens
StreetsandAdjacentAreas MarketPlace OpenSpace PublicLibrary
Planned
- Walking
path
- Cafésand
restaurants
tohave
food
Spontaneous
- Civic
function
- Celebrate
life
- Smalltea
shops
- Parents
gathering
- Professional
association
- Collection
pointof
drinking
water
Planned
- Free
walking
travel
corridors
- Freespace
toroam
around
Spontaneous
- Dailysocial
meeting
point
Planned
- Municipal
parksand
memorial
- Community
parks
- Placefor
politicians
andsocial
activists
- Open
playingfield
Spontaneous
- Community
openspace
- Openland
in
peripheries
i.e.
university
campus,
riverside
areas
Planned
- Public
reading
place
36|P a g e
\\\\\\
Fig5.3:ActivitiesobservedinPublicSpaces(Source:FieldSurvey,2017)
Theplannedareasgetnewactivities addedby theusers. Forexample,university campuses
supposed to use for academic purposes becomes a popular social meeting place to the
people. Streets aremore popular as social hang out point bymeans of tea stalls, informal
shops, professional association and other. The inabilities of planning authorities to provide
wellmaintainedpublicspacesinfluencepeopletomaketheirownspaceforsocialmeetings.
So,masterplansdon’tonlydefinetheroleofpublicspaces.Thisistheuserswhoareplaying
thepredominantactorstocharacterizeanyspace.
5.2OwnershipCategory
ThepublicspacesofKhulnacitycanalsobecategorizedbasedontheowners’characteristics.
Itcanbeprivatelyownedif locatedinanyprivateproperty.KCC,KDAordivisionalauthority
also ownmany public spaces. These can be termed as formal in terms of ownership.Most
importantly, illegal encroachment and use of any place is also widely observed in the city.
Theseareinformalinownership.
5.2.1FormalPublicSpaces
Theremight be questions about the quality and availability of public spaces in Khulna city.
However,cityauthoritiesaswellasgovernmentworktoprovidepublicspacesforitscitizen.
There are lists of spaces which are formally placed by these agencies. Streets, open space
parksandmarketsarethemajorspacesfallunderthiscategory.InKhulnathebigmarketsare
ownedbyeitherKDAorKCC.Theyhavemadethemarketsandfinallysoldorgaveleasetothe
shopowners.Therearemarketcommitteeswhoaremainlyresponsibleforthemaintenance
services. The authorities also take some responsibilities as agreed in the lease contracts.
Exceptthat,therearealsosomeprivateshopslocatedinthecommercialprivatelandwhichis
accessibletothepublic.
ForthestreetswithincitycorporationareaKCCtakesthemaincharge.Theyareresponsible
to make necessary roads and ensure the regular maintenance by respective department
withinKCC.SomedevelopmentprojectsarealsotakenbythedevelopmentbodynamedKDA.
Within their development sites the roads are first developed by KDA. Then, the further
maintenancetaskgoestoKCC.Thesamethinghappensforcommunityopenspaces.Ifthereis
anyparkoropenspacesintheprojectsiteitisdevelopedbyKDAbutlatermaintainedbyKCC.
KCCalsoprovidesomeopenspaces,memorialandplaygroundforthepublicwhereaccessis
freetoallpeople.However,toarrangepublicfunctionsorgatheringmayrequirepermission
fromKCC.
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The university campuses as arrived one of the important public spaces are owned by
universityauthority.Theyhavetheirowndevelopmentbudgetordirectgovernmentfundto
developandmaintaintheirspaces.
5.2.2InformalUseofPublicSpaces
Peoplemaketheirownspacewhenadequatefacilitiesarenotavailablethatmakesthiscitya
heavenofinformalpublicspace.Thisstudydefinesinformaluseofspacewhereownershipis
ambiguous or public access has taken over the actual use of space as stated in planning
guidelines. The road side informal small shops/kiosks are the best example of this kind of
space. Most of the shops are located in government or private land without formal
permission. People demand has created this business opportunity which is also a social
interactionpoint.Localmusclemanhereplaysthekeyroletotakecareoftheservices.They
havesomemutualunderstandingwithshopownersunderstanding to run thebusiness.The
private landowneralsofoundthisbusinessasprofitable.Theyrenttheirplacesouttoshop
ownerswhethertheplacehasthepermissiontorunthisbusinessornot.
The informal human gathering in front of the children school, community courtyard, road
crosssectionandeveninthestreetsmayalsofallinthiscategory.Socialinteractionsinterms
of relaxation, gossiping, eating, political meeting, festivals etc. with friends, relatives,
neighbors, colleagues andevenwithunknownhas addedanadditional dimension inuseof
theseplaces.
5.3GenderRoleandPublicSpace
Theclassificationofpublicspacecanalsobedonebasedonsex.Social,religiousandcultural
norms sometimesdefine theaccessibility toany space formenandwomendifferently. The
absenceofbasic facilities required forwomenalsoactasabarrier touseanyspace. In this
sectionthisissueswilldiscussesashowmenandwomenaccesstheavailablepublicspacesin
Khulnacity.
5.3.1PublicSpaceforWomen
There is no legal restriction for women to access any place in Bangladesh. Nevertheless,
becauseofsocialnorms,customsandvaluestheysometimesdon’tfeelcomfortabletogoto
someplaces.Forexample,accordingtothesurveymarketandcafé/restaurantsarethemain
publicplacewherewomenspendtheirsocialtime.Theyconsiderthisassafeandcomfortable
tohangoutwith friends.Better sitting arrangement, freemovement inmarket groundand
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accesstotoiletattractsthemmostlytocometothisplace.Manywomenalsogotothenearby
parks with their children, friends,
neighbors towalk, exercise or have
social chat. They hardly travel long
distance for social gathering unless
somethingspecialhappens.Thiscan
be seen from the given figure 5.4
where the average distance
travelled by women to use public
space is 3.43 km which is about
18.94kmformen.
Timespentintheseareasalsovaryaccordingtotheirsex.Girlsaregenerallyobservedduring
daytime and evening whereas boys are found till midnight. The number of women sitting
beside road side tea stalls orhaving social chatwithothers inpublic street is alsonot very
common although the situation has changed in recent days. Women are now going out
frequently for work and enjoying their freedom. So, movement of women has markedly
increasedinalloverthecities.
5.3.2PublicSpaceforMen
There is hardly any space where men don’t have access. From local public street to city
peripheries,marketstoprofessionalassociationmenmovewithalloftheirfreedom.Political
meeting,socialfunctions,culturalprograms,friendlygossiping,sharingnationalinternational
newetc.menhavetheirdominantfeeteverywhere.Womenaccompanymenbutnotwiththe
similar frequency as they do.
The given fig 5.5 shows that
everyday goingmen aremore
inpercentage to accesspublic
space than women. Most of
the women said they visit
publicspacesonce inamonth
whichisinsignificantformen.
Fig.5.5:Frequencyofvisitbymenandwomen
(Source:FieldSurvey,2017)
Fig.5.4:Averagedistancetravelledbymenandwomen(Source:FieldSurvey,2017)
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5.4Conclusion
TheabovegivenanalysisprovidestheimpressionthatthepublicspacesofKhulnacitycanbe
analyzed from different angles based on functions, ownership and access based on gender
roles.Theplanneduseofanyspacemaychangeitsnaturebytheusertofollowtheirdemand.
Ownership and maintenance responsibility can also play role to characterize any space.
Gender norms are also imposed to these places to define accessibility. So, amatrix can be
developedtodefineurbanpublicspaceofKhulnacitybasedontheseclassificationcriteria.
Table5.1:UrbanPublicSpacesinKhulnaCity
PublicSpaceCategory
PublicSpaceSub-Category
FormsofUse Ownership GenderRoleandAccess
Street Walkingtrail Planned Formal Equalaccessbymenandwomen
Roadsidecaféandrestaurant
Planned Formal Equalaccessbymenandwomen
Placeforcivicengagement
Spontaneous Formal Equalaccessbymenandwomen
Stagetocelebratelife Spontaneous Formal Equalaccessbymenandwomen
Smallteashopsandfoodkiosks
Spontaneous Informal Mendominant
Infrontofchildrenschool
Spontaneous Formal Womendominant
Professionalassociation
Spontaneous Informal Mendominant
Drinkingwatercollectionpoint
Spontaneous Formal Womendominant
MarketPlace Walkinglane Planned Formal Equalaccessbymenandwomen
Freespaceforsocialinteraction
Planned&Spontaneous
Formal Equalaccessbymenandwomen
OpenSpace Municipalparksandmemorial
Planned Formal Equalaccessbymenandwomen
Communitypark Planned Formal Equalaccessbymenandwomen
Placeforpoliticiansandsocialactivists
Planned Formal Equalaccessbymenandwomen
Openplayingfield Planned Formal MendominantCommunityopenspace
Spontaneous Informal Equalaccessbymenandwomen
Openlandinperipheries
Spontaneous Formal Equalaccessbymenandwomen
PublicLibrary Publicreadingplace Planned Formal Equalaccessbymenandwomen
Source:Fieldsurvey,2017
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The above mentionedmatrix reveals that the planned forms of public spaces have formal
ownership which are created and managed by certain city authorities or private owners.
However, spontaneous forms and use of public spaces are observed both in formally or
informally managed or owned places. It emerges naturally over time by neglecting the
ownership context. Ownership doesn’t also hamper to access any areas according to the
genderrole.Thisisthefunctionsandsocialnormsthatdefinegenderaccess.
Beside many other financial, political and geographical issues the three major factors as
functions,ownershipandgenderrolekeepsignificantimpactinthecreationandmanagement
of public spaces. This is the activities which define the characteristics and consequent
maintenanceofanyarea.Masterplanalsooffersvariedprovisionfordifferentkindsofpublic
spaces.So,thecreationofpublicspacesdependsonwhatkindoffunctionsthespaceisgoing
tobeplayed.Ownershiphereisveryimportantforthepropermanagementofpublicspaces.
Placeshavingformalownershipshowedbettermaintenancethaninformalplaces.Theowners
are entitled to provide themanagement service. On the contrary, gender roles come here
fromadifferentperspective.Safety,equityandsocialenvironmentinmanycasesdefinethe
accessofwomentoanypublicspace.So,toensuresustainablemanagementofanyareaitis
veryimportanttomakepublicspacesgenderfriendlyinallaspects.
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ChapterSix:TowardsaSustainablePublicSpace
Lackofproperplanningandcoordinationbetweendevelopmentagenciesismakingmanyof
thepublicspacesofKhulnaunusable.Sustainablemanagementofthis importantcivicspace
canprovideabettercitytothepeoplelivinghere.Thissectionwillmainlyfocusonproposing
somesimplemanagementpracticesbasedonthechallengesfoundinthisstudy.
6.1ExistingSituationAnalysis
Thegeneraloverviewof thepublicspaceshasalreadybeenelaborated inpreviouschapters
thatexploredpublicspacecategories,maintenancepracticeandmanagementchallenges. In
addition to that, a simple situation analysis of three popular public spaces identified in the
surveyhasbeenconducted.TheseareKDANewMarket,HadisParkandNiralaMore.
Thesethreeplacesarequitedifferentintermsoffunctions,ownershipandusercategory.KDA
New Market is the biggest market place in Khulna where people mainly go for shopping.
However,thisplaceisalsopopularamongthecitizenforsocialhangout.Asthenameimplies
thismarketandsurroundingareasisownedandmanagedbyKDA.Ontheotherhand,Hadis
Park isbasicallyaparkwiththememorialgroundforthemartyrswhosacrificedtheir lifeto
establish Bengali as national language. People come here for recreation and spend their
leisuretime.ThisplaceislocatedatthecenterofKhulnacity.Importantbusinesscentersare
locatedsurroundingthisarea.So,alotofinformalactivitiesareobservedhere.KCCismainly
responsible for the maintenance of park, memorial and adjacent streets. Nirala is quite
differentinnatureandownership.ThisismainlyaplannedneighborhooddevelopedbyKDA.
Theyhavedevelopedthelandandsoldtothepeople.So,nowtheselandsarenowownedby
private owners. KDA don’t perform anymaintenance responsibility. The streets within this
neighborhoodisownedandmaintainedbyKCC.Thepartofthisneighborhoodadjacenttothe
main road is known as Nirala more. There are several shops which are owned by private
owners.Thisisaplaceofmassgathering.So,largescaleinformalactivitiesareobservedhere
in street sides. A lot of people come here every day for different purposes like shopping,
meeting friends, spend time in professional associations etc. These informal activities are
mainlymaintainedby localmusclemen. Thedetail findings of these three locations canbe
foundfromtable6.1.
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Table6.1:SituationAnalysis
Criteria KDANewMarket HadisPark NiralaMore
Ownedby KDA KCC PrivateOwnersandKCC
Developedby
KDA KCC KDA,KCCandPrivateOwners
Maintainedby
KDAandShopownersassociation
KCC KCC,PrivateOwnersandMuscleMen
MainPurpose
Marketplace ParksandMemorials Streets,Commercialshops,CarParking
InformalPublicSpaceFunctions
Socialgathering,streetshops
Socialgatheringinroadsideshopsadjacenttothepark
StreetShops,PoliticalOffice,SocialInteraction,Walking
UserGroup Allkindsofpeoplecomehereforshoppingandsocialmeeting
Allkindsofpeople.However,womenandkidsgenerallycomeatdaytime.
Avarietyofpeopleareobservedasitoffersalargescaleofactivities.Politicalofficesareforpeoplewholikepolitics,walkingisobservedbyeveryone,androadsideshopsandteastallsarealmostaccessedbyeveryoneincludesstudents,serviceholders,rickshawpullers,daylaborsetc.However,intheseteashopsthepresenceofwomenislessthanwomen.
SafetySituation
Quitegood,Therearegatementoensuresecurityforthepublic
- Safetysituationisnotquitegood.Hijackingandstealingofgoodshappenssometimes.Womenalonedon’tfeelsafetocomeintheevening.Nosafetyguardorgatemanobserved.
- Manyhomelesspeoplealsostayat
- Theplaceissafeasitislocatedneartopolicestation.
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Criteria KDANewMarket HadisPark NiralaMore
nightwithinthepark.Peopledon’tfeelitsafetowalkthereatnight.
Aestheticquality
- Themarketwasdevelopedin1960s.Afterthatnotmuchrenovationworkhasdoneexceptsomesmallmaintenancejob.So,theaestheticqualityobservedmoderate.
- Thereisasmalltreenurseryatthecenter.Exceptthatthereisnogreeneriesinthemarketground
- Theparkhasrecentlygotsomerenovationwork.Thereisawaterfrontandmemorialwhichisverygoodinquality.
- Therearetreesandopenspaceforroamingaround.
- Theplacemainlygrowswithoutanyformalplanning.Pedestrianwaysareencroachedbyinformalactivities.So,aestheticallytheplacedoesn’tlookgood.
Cleanliness - KDAensurethecleanlinessofthearea.Cleanerscleantheroadandpublictoiletseveryday.Shopownersalsocleantheirsurroundingforthesakeoftheirbusiness.
- Citycorporationcleanercleantheparkareaseveryday.So,thecleanlinessisnotbad.However,thesurroundingencroachedbystreetshopsandillegalparkingseemsquitedirty.
- Citycorporationcleanercleansthepedestrianwaysandroads.
- Noonformallyresponsiblefortheinformallyownedareas.
- Becauseofmanyinformalshopstheseareaslooksdirtyinmostcases.
UtilityFacility
- Thereareseparatepublictoiletsformenandwomenwhichisverygood.
- Thereisnopublicsittingarrangementinthemarketground.So,elderlyandsickpeoplefindthisdifficulttoenjoytheirtimehere.
- Childrenhasnodedicatedplacetoplay
- Thereareseparatepublictoiletsformenandwomenwhichisverygood.
- Publicsittingarrangementattractsmanypeopletocome,seatandenjoythenature.
- Parklightingsystemisquitegood.
- Thereisnoformalutilityservicefortheusers.Manymenobservedurinatingintheopenstreetordrains.
- Noparkingfacilitiesarefound.Haphazardparkinginroadscreatecongestion.
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Criteria KDANewMarket HadisPark NiralaMore
- Theparkingfacilityoutsidethemarketiswellenough.
- Enoughlightingfacilityfortheusers.
- Thereisnospecialarrangementforphysicallychallengedpeople.
- Thereisnoformalvehicleparkingplacefortheusers.Peoplekeeptheircarorcycleoutsidetheparkinthestreets.So,trafficcongestionisverycommoninthesurroundings.
Source:FieldSurvey,2017
So, these public spaces have some differences in nature and also inmanagement context.
Here, two places are owned andmanagedmainly by individual authority as KDA and KCC.
Whereas,NiralamorewhichisbasicallyastreethasbeendevelopedbyKDA,KCCandprivate
owners. The maintenance responsibility of street goes to KCC. However, no one take the
liability for the informal activitieswhichperforms themajor role as public gathering. These
ownership and management context somehow influence in maintenance services. For
example,bothKDAnewmarketandHadispark remarkedbettermaintenanceservices than
NiralaMore.KDAhasdeveloped theareaand sold toprivateowners.Asper legal bindings
KCC receives the responsibility to take care of the roads and pedestrian ways. KCC only
performitsresponsibilitywithin its jurisdiction.Maintenanceof informallyencroachedareas
isfoundasnoone’sliability.Despitetheownershipandmaintenancefactorstherearesome
commonchallengesidentifiedbyfortheseareas.Thoseare:
- Lackofproperplanningencourageinformalcreationofpublicspaceformsi.e.street
shops
- Mostofthespaceslackgreenfactorsexceptparkareas.
- Basicservicesaresometimesnotofferedinthesespaces.Forexample,bettersitting
andwalkingarrangementsforallcouldincreasetheappealofthesespaces.
- Theplacesarealsonotwomenfriendly.Theydon’tfeelsafetogoalonewhenitis
dark.Basicutility servicesarealsonotoffered insomeareas i.e.public toiletsare
hardlyaccessiblebywomen.
- Cleanliness isalsoachallengefortheseareas.Authoritiesprovideregularcleaning
servicesbutdirtystreetsandparksarealwaysprevalent.Thisisbecausetheillegal
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useofthesespaces.Forexample,streetpeoplewhospentnightatparksmakethe
surroundingdirty.Thisisalsotrueforthestreetshopareas.
- Thereishardlyanyplacewhichhasspecialfacilityforphysicallychallengedpeople.
So, the public spaces exclude a larger portion of the community to access the
services.
6.2ProposalforSustainableManagementofPublicSpacesinKhulnaCity
Thesustainabilityconceptcontainsaseriesofsocial,economicandenvironmentalissueswith
thecommitment toprovidean improvedqualityof life.Public spacesareconsideredas the
mostimportantingredientforalivelycity.Thesustainableuseofthispublicplaceleadstoan
urbanenvironmentwhichishealthy,safeandattractivetoliveandwork.Hence,inresponse
tothefindingsofpublicspacesituationofKhulnacitysomerecommendationwasgenerated
toensureplanningandmanagingofthisplaceatdifferentlevels.
6.2.1SociallyInclusive
The public spaces should not make any boundary for gender, social class or physically
challengedpeople.Thisshouldcontributeindevelopingthesenseofcohesionandcitizenship
byfosteringsocialandculturalinteraction.Unfortunately,forKhulnathesocialenvironments
limitusers toaccessmanypublic spaces.Cityauthoritiesshouldbecarefulonmaking these
places inclusive for all. Specific planning provisions need to be provided in development
guidelines. Authorities responsible for maintenance services should be sensitive on these
aspects.Therecommendationstomakepublicspacessociallyinclusivearelistedbelow:
i. Thepublic space shouldbe safeandaccessibleby children.Cityauthorities i.e.KDA
and KCC can take initiatives to provide enough playing opportunity for children to
spendsocialtimewithotherkids.Itisimportantforyoungtoincreasephysicalactivity
andalsotodevelopsocialcapacitybyplayingwithothers.Theexistingpublicspaces
especially the community parks could be targeted in this case. KDA can provide
enoughprovisionforchildrenactivity intheirplanhavingconsultationwithKCCand
otherkeyactors.
ii. Public spaces should be managed in a way where women can feel safe and move
freelywithoutthefearofanykindofharassments.Inadditiontopropersafetyguards
i.e. enough lighting,wellmaintained space toask forhelp inparks,open spaceand
marketspublicawarenessamongthecitizensshouldalsobedeveloped.Police,social
andprintmediascanplayhereamajorroles.Properimplementationoflawscanalso
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ensure gender security in accessing the public spaces. Here needs a better
coordinationbetweenallthestakeholders.
iii. Controltheunethicaluseofpublicspacesisalsoveryimportant.Thepublicspacesare
sometimes observed occupied by drug users or prostitutes. So, people avoid those
spacewhatevergoodtheservicequality is.Withsupportfrompolicecityauthorities
canidentifythelocationsandstopunethicaluseofpublicspaces.
iv. Itiscrucialthatwomenfeelcomfortableinpublicspaces.Havingpublictoiletsisone
ofthemajorchallengesthatthecityarenowfacing.Thepublictoiletsmostlyarenot
in quality or don’t provide facilities forwomen to use. The existing toilets could be
improved that will certainly increase women ratio accessing outdoor activities. As
developingandmanagingpublictoiletsrequiresfund,thedevelopmentagenciescan
jointly make plan to create new toilets and ensure proper maintenance from joint
funding.
v. The elderly and physically challenged people keep the equal right to enjoy open
environmentinparks,openspacesorfreelymovinginthestreets.Unfortunately,the
cityhardlyprovidesanyfacilitythatsupportsthemenjoyingthefreedom.Thestreets
should have safe pass for them. Open spaces, parks and community spaces should
havefacilitieslikerampandsittingfacilitiesforthisspecificgroup.
vi. Manypeopledon’tfeelcomfortabletobringfamiliesandchildreninpublicspacesas
it is sometimes filled with beggar and floating people. This problem should be
managedinplannedwaybyrelocatingthemtosomesafeplacestomakepublicspace
free.
6.2.2EconomicallyViable
PublicspacesinKhulnaarethehomegroundformanyinformalactivities.Thisprovidesmany
people the opportunity to earn livelihood although most of their activities have no legal
permission.Formalizationoftheseactivitiescanaddeconomicvaluetomanagepublicspaces.
Thesuggestionsherebymadeare:
i. The public streets are occupied by informal street shops that hardly keep enough
space for pedestrianmovement. One of the reasons of growing these shops is low
establishmentprice. Shopownersdon’thave the capacity tobuyor rentbig space.
Theyused to give some small amount of donation to localmuscleman for running
theirbusiness.Cityauthorities canuse thisopportunitybyproviding lowcost space
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and relocating them in amoreplannedway. Thiswill notdestroy thepopular road
side public space activities and also provide earning opportunity to city authorities
thatcouldbeusedtodevelopmorepublicspaces.
ii. Haphazard parking in public streets and outside the parks and open spaces create
traffic congestions. This system can also be improved by introducing someplanned
arrangement.Someplacesinbusytrafficzonecanbeidentifiedthosewillbeusedfor
parking.Nootherplacesshouldhavethepermissionexceptthesedemarcatedplaces.
Cityauthoritiescanimposeparkingfeesforvehicleparking.
iii. MarketplacesarealsoveryimportantpublicspacesinKhulnacity.InadditiontoKDA
or KCC owned markets there are also some places which are owned by private
owners.TheseformalmarketsprovidecitytaxtoKCCtoruntheirbusiness.KCCcan
influence them toprovideenough facilities for thepublic i.e. public toilet, safe and
secure environment, public sitting arrangement etc. by introducing tax redemption
provision.Thiswillcertainlykeeppositiveimpacttoimprovepublicspacesituationin
Khulnacity.
6.2.3EnvironmentFriendlyCleanPublicSpace
Lack of coordination between authorities has turnedmany public spaces to a spare place.
Cleanliness is the major challenge faced by these areas. Public spaces with multiple
ownershipsbecomenoone’sresponsibility.Asaresultunhealthyenvironmentprevails.Some
proposalscanbemadeinthisregard:
i. Streets consume the major parts of public space in Khulna. Proper planning to
encouragebicyclemovementcancontributetolesscarbonemissions.Unfortunately,
theroadsofKhulnaarenotcyclefriendly.Cityauthoritiescangiveemphasistocreate
andmaintainseparatelaneforcycle.Thiscanalsoreducecarmovementandimprove
traffic situation. Proper planning should be done from beginning of work. For
example, KDA scan consult with KCC and traffic authority before initiating road
development.ThesamethingshouldhappeninKCCdevelopedroads.Thiswillensure
theaftermanagementoftheroads.
ii. For the maintenance of multi-owner public spaces specific rules and regulations
should be in place.Overlapping responsibilities should be identified and distributed
among the authorities. Agencies with specific responsibilities will be liable to
completetheirdesignatedtask. It isacommoncomplains forpublicspacesasthese
arenot clean.Wastes are seeneverywhere. Street sidedrains andnarrow spaceof
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parks are always used as urinating place bymen. Trees are dying because of poor
maintenance.Drain,publictoilet,greenspacemanagementetc.everyworkshouldbe
properly identifiedandplanned foragreenandcleanpublic space.However, this is
the city dwellers who have to change their habits. Mass scale awareness is thus
expected.
iii. Developmentorganizationsmakingnewpublicspacesshouldbecarefulofaftercare
budget. If the final responsibility goes to KCC they should be informed from the
beginning so that fund allocation is ensured. For community managed spaces the
community association should also be aware about the maintenance responsibility
verywell.
iv. Road sideplantation is thebest option to increase green spaces. Foot-travelers can
enjoytheshadowedpathsinsunnysummerdayswhilecrossingtheroads.Thereare
treesinthestreetofKhulnacity.However,stilltherearemanystreetsleftbehindthis
scheme. City authorities claim that not having funded to provide andmaintenance
treeisthemainchallengealthoughtheywishtomakethecitygreen.Privatizationof
green space in street side can solve this problem. Companies can advertise their
productbyplanningtreesasstreetsarethelucrativeplaceforpublicity.
6.2.4ManagementandCoordination
BesidethethreekeysustainabilitychallengesthepublicspacesofKhulnacityalsosuffersfor
not having proper coordination effort between different authorities working for the
development of the city. Based on the analysis performed to understand the coordination
challengessomeproposalsaremadeas:
i. As KDA and KCC perform the major development job for Khulna city better
coordinationamongthemishenceveryimportant.Sharingofworkplanisstilldonein
amuchunorganizedway.Bothorganizationssendrepresentativesonlywhentheyare
asked for any meeting. Regular sharing of work plan has never been observed.
Besides, legally both organizations have very limited control on each other to
influence anydecision taken individually.Having a formal committeewithonly KCC
andKDAmembersmayimprovethesituation.Themainobjectiveofthiscommittee
willbetoregularmeetandsharetheircurrentworkprogressandalsofutureplan.In
this meeting they will discuss on different development projects and their
maintenancecontext.ThefinaldevelopmentdecisionsforKhulnaeitherKCCorKDA
fundedshouldcomefromthiscommittee.
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ii. Developmentdonorsand central government canalsoplayherea very crucial role.
They can give emphasis on better coordination between city authorities while
providing budget for any development project. In their project provisions can be
made to takeconsent fromall the stakeholders relevant to thework.Emphasis can
alsobegivenonregularsharingofworkupdatebetweenalltheactors.Thisshouldbe
mandatory to get financial support which will make city authorities interested for
bettercoordination.
iii. Challenges also found while handing over the management responsibility. For
example, KCC always feels them excluded in KDA projects although the final
maintenance responsibility vested to them. So, a kind of hidden negligence in
maintenanceoftheseareas issometimesobserved.Active involvementofKCCfrom
the beginning of development work can minimize this problem. This should also
happeninKCCorotherorganizationownedactivities.Allthestakeholdersshouldfeel
apartofdevelopmentinitiativestoensuresustainablemanagement.
iv. Better coordinationwith law enforcement authorities is also very important. Their
supportisrequiredwhileillegalencroachmentoflandneedstobedemolished.They
also feel excluded as in most cases they are contacted at last moment. Better
managementofpublicspacescouldbeprovidediftheirinvolvementisensuredatan
earlystageofthework.
v. Citypeoplearethekeystakeholdersofanykindofdevelopments.Publicspacescould
be better maintained if their participation is ensured. So, coordination between
planning agencies and community people canwork better to offer some attractive
publicspaceforKhulnapeople.
6.3Conclusion
Publicspacehastheboundlessopportunitytoactasacenterofcultureandsocialcapital.This
place needs to be open, safe and accessible to all by means of socially inclusive,
environmentally safe and clean, and economically viable functions. Here comes the
management role of planning and development authorities to ensure a sustainable
managementofthisvitalingredientofciviclife.
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ChapterSeven:Conclusion
Sustainable formation and management of urban public space is important to offer a
sustainablehealthy civic life. The livelinessof this amenitydependsonwhat scale andhow
theseplaces arebeingusedby citizens. Thereare some formalpublic spaces inKhulna city
developedbydifferentcityauthorities.Theyarediverseincharacterandplayimportantrole
in civic life. However, different management challenges make the task difficult to run the
servicesinasustainableway.Asaresultpeoplefindtheirownwaysofmakingsocialspaces.
Therefore, informal public spaces are created and added an extended wing in the already
existedserviceswhich isgoodbutsometimesthesituationgoesbeyondcontrol.Unplanned
growth of informal public spaces has appeared as the main reason of traffic congestion,
unhealthyenvironment, illegalencroachmentofpublic land,violationofplanningguidelines
etc.Theoppositescenariocanalsobefound.Duetotheseinformalpublicspacespeoplemay
haveatleastsomeplaceintheirvicinitytotakebreathandmeetpeople.Thesituationcanbe
compared with other developing countries with similar socio-economic situations. Cities in
pooreconomicpositionfacechallengeswithlandandfundscarcity.Publicspacegetsherethe
least priority and is neglected in urban planning and development. They are inmost cases
poorlyintegratedinplanninglegislationswhichnarrowdowntheprovisionofprovidingpublic
spacesforthecitizens.So,inadequatepublicspaceisoneoftheprominentproblemsinmost
ofthesecities.Inadditiontothatlackofsustainablemaintenanceprocessmakesmanyofthe
existingpublicspacesobsolete.Theseplacesareturnedintowastedumpingplacesorhouse
offloatingpeopleratherthanfunctioningasasocialcourseofinteraction.Decisionmakersof
the developingworld thus should recognize the role of public space it can play to create a
sustainable lively city. Therefore, it is very important that developing countries give much
attentionto this fundamentalcivicservice inpoliciesandpractice that itdeserves.Thecase
analysisinthisstudycandrawapathwayforfurtherenquiryandimplicationofpublicspaces
inthecitiesofdevelopingworld.
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