The southwest coastal region of Bangladesh, being under tidal influence and dependent on sweet water supplies from upstream, has a unique brackish water ecosystem. The region, having vast low-lying areas enclosed by man-made polders, is considered to be highly vulnerable to climate change induced hazards. In this study, linear trends in hydro-climatic variables, such as temperature, rainfall, sunshine, humidity, sweet water inflow and tidal water level in the region are assessed using secondary data and following both parametric and nonparametric statistical techniques. Correlation between the sweet water flow from the Gorai River, a major distributary of the Ganges River, and the salinity level in the Rupsa-Pasur River near Khulna, a southern metropolis, is also investigated. The results reveal that the temperature in the Khulna region is increasing at a significant rate, particularly in recent years. The number of extremely cold nights is decreasing and the heat index is increasing. The sunshine duration has a decreasing trend and the humidity has an increasing trend. Rainfall is increasing in terms of both magnitude and number of rainy days. However, the annual maximum rainfall and the number of days with high intensity rainfall have remained almost static. The annual maximum tidal high water level is increasing and the annual minimum low water level is decreasing at a rate of 7 - 18 mm and 4 - 8 mm per year, respectively. There is a negative correlation between the Gorai flow and the river water salinity around Khulna. Dredging of the Gorai during 1998-2001 resulted in an improvement of the salinity situation in the Khulna region. The variation in water salinity, tidal water level and sweet water flows in different time periods indicates that the human interventions through upstream diversion and coastal polders have contributed more in hydro-morphological changes in the southwest than the climate change. However, there are some evidences of climate change in the meteorological variables at Khulna.

Surface water salinity, being accentuated by the reduction in the dry season upland flows, now reaches as far as Khulna – a coastal city of Banglaesh highly exposed to climate change impacts. The projected sea level rise due to climate change would further aggravate the situation with the probably increased spatial coverage and temporal duration of salinity. Amid the lack of studies relatively attributing to causes of salinity intrusion, this study analytically assesses the role of regional anthropogenic interventions in one hand and global climate change induced sea level rise on the other as the causes of salinity progression in Khulna. Analysis of the long-term trends in tidal water level, upland flow and river water salinity, indicates that regional human interventions, both in and outside the country, have contributed more in hydro-morphological changes in the region than the climate change induced sea level rise leading to salinity intrusion in Khulna.

Social space is considered an outcome of pragmatic considerations and social or symbolic values and attitudes of the family in a house enclosure. The house form in the urban context is the physical manifestation of transformed socio-cultural structure and changing social values. Bangladesh has experienced different political, religious and economic forces, which logically influenced the intellectual and cultural ideals of the society. Due to the dynamic changes in the urban lifestyle, scarcity of urban land and the extreme pressure of population on housing, the urban house form experiences a series of alteration and adjustment in its planning, organization and hierarchy of space, and facade treatment, that correspond to the changing habits and activities as opposed to traditional behavior. In Bangladesh, this change is pronounced in Dhaka, especially the old part of the capital of Bangladesh. In order to understand the form and context of the social space of house in Old Dhaka, it is necessary to examine the transition of interior pattern of houses in the four-hundred years old city, from as far back in time as possible to the present. This study examines the socio-cultural contexts (cultural modifiers, colonial architecture, and pattern of the society), form and use of social space spatial organization and transformation of social spaces of the houses in the Old Dhaka. Façade design of the traditional houses, built by the wealthy class, followed the Indo-Saracenic style explaining the social, cultural, political and economic status of the wealthy. In a large mansion, courts are introduced to reduce the depth of the building so as to provide adequate light and ventilation. In spatial arrangement, the multiple numbers of courts retained the basic grouping of a traditional house and courts represent the concepts of distinct domains (i.e. formal, private and service) of such traditional houses. The formal zone or the public court of a multi-court traditional house was belonged to the male domain, while the informal or private court was the most enclosed female domain and less visible from outside. The interior design of informal or private courtyard of the traditional houses symbolizes the religious identity of the occupants. Courts are being transformed to dinning space in the modern houses where it symbolically takes place in the centrality of the whole space organization. An additional family space (e.g. sky open large terrace) is found in the modern luxurious houses and apartments. In some multi–storied apartment buildings, the flats are grouped around the courtyards, which are acting as a social space at the community level.

Bangladesh as an agro-based country has cultivation of varieties of crops round the year. Wheat, the second most important cereal in Bangladesh, is cultivated mainly for Ata or flour. Every year, there goes haphazard and unplanned production of this crop in our country, which cannot meet the rapidly growing domestic demand for it. Therefore, significant quantities of wheat are needed to import in our country to meet the national demand deficit every year and undoubtedly this involves spending of a huge amount of money. However, cultivation of this crop in planned way could solve the problem substantially. In this report some planning proposals have been made in obtaining sufficient yield of wheat in Bangladesh to meet the national demand.

The paper contains primary data based analysis on the role played by Battery Operated Auto-rickshaw in urban transportation system. As a transport mode, different aspects of battery operated auto-rickshaw like trip characteristics, travel speed, travel fare, type of use, problems associated etc have been explored with a view to providing a generalized idea on the mode. The paper would provide guidelines to the policy makers of a country regarding whether and how to incorporate the mode in the local town’s transportation system. Moreover, the paper with scientific outcomes might assist transport planners in modeling for efficient transportation in the mixed traffic condition where battery operated auto-rickshaw co-exists as well.

The paper contains an analytical discussion on the two important regional planning tools namely, ‘co-efficient of localization’ and ‘localization curve’. Application opportunities of these tools in the context of a developing country like Bangladesh have been identified and depicted in the paper along with exploring their contribution in easing analytical regional planning.

The paper contains primary data based analysis on the energy consumption aspect of battery operated auto-rickshaws which is one of the crucial issues in the transportation system of a developing country like Bangladesh. Several aspects associated with the mode such as its energy consumption rate, effects of recharging of the mode on local town’s energy provision capacity, and the mode’s contribution in attenuating transport related emissions are explored in the paper. The paper with scientific research outcomes would provide guidelines to the policy makers of a country regarding whether and how to incorporate the mode in the local town’s transportation system. Battery operated auto-rickshaw offers lower travel cost than rickshaw and greater travel comfort than other urban para-transits like auto tempo, nosimon and public transport like minibus, and therefore attracts urban passengers significantly from those modes. Around 88% of people living in a city where battery operated auto-rickshaws are available, use the mode now to meet their daily travel demand. Through attracting passengers from fuel operated vehicles, thus the mode replaces them at great extent. A considerable percentage of daily electricity demand of local towns is consumed by the mode which creates pressure on local electricity supply in turn. However, considering the duration and period of load shedding caused due to recharging the mode, energy consumption by the mode can be negotiated as the mode is liable only for 1.53 hours of load shedding a day which takes place at off-peak period (between 11:00 PM and 7:00 AM) at night.

The paper contains primary data based analysis on the role played by Battery Operated Auto-rickshaws in urban transportation system. Different aspects of battery operated auto-rickshaw, such as energy consumption rate, transport related emission attenuation rate, potentials of generating income and employment, trip characteristics, problems associated etc have been explored with a view to providing a generalized idea on the mode. The paper would provide guidelines to the policy makers of a country regarding whether and how to incorporate the mode in the local town’s transportation system. Battery operated auto-rickshaw offers lower travel cost than rickshaw, greater travel comfort than other urban para-transits like auto tempo, nosimon and public transport like minibus, and therefore attracts passengers significantly from those modes. Around 88% of people living in a city where battery operated auto-rickshaws are available, avail the mode now to meet their travel demand. Through attracting passengers from fuel operated vehicles, the mode has replaced them at great extent. A considerable percentage of daily electricity demand of local towns is being consumed by this mode which is creating pressure on local electricity supply in turn. However, considering the duration and period of load shedding caused due to recharging this mode, energy consumption by the mode can be negotiated as it is liable for only 1.53 hours of load shedding a day which takes place at off-peak period at night. The mode is economically beneficial in case of investment too as it involves an income-cost ratio of 1.85. From operator’s point of view, driving of the mode as an occupation involves lower investment cost, greater earning, more comfort and occupational freedom than other occupations available in local towns for low income people.

ABSTRACT Housing is the birth right of every human being. According to population statistics, Bangladesh stands 8th in the world and secured 9th position in respect of density. Housing demand is increasing in Bangladesh; especially at capital city and its surroundings. Dhaka being one of the ancient and dynamic city attracts approx. 300,000-400,000 migrants every year (World Bank -2007). As such, Dhaka is expanding towards Gazipur to the north, Munshigonj towards south, Narayngonj to the east and Manikgong district in the north–west. Dhaka dwellers are now more interested to live at the outskirt of metropolitan city to avoid traffic jam, air pollution, sound hazards etc. Dhaka – Maowa highway connects capital city Dhaka with 23 districts of southern Bangladesh. The proposed Padma Bridge will be a significant KPI in the area. Government is also encouraging private sectors to establish planned cities towards sub - urban areas. Many entrepreneurs are now interested to develop housing projects towards Munshigonj and its surroundings. Moreover, these lands are used only once in a year for cultivation. As such the paper will have feasibility study to establish land project besides Dhaka – Maowa highway and offer few recommendations.

This paper presents the local practices of land allocation and water supply in a bosti (informal settlement) in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It explains the contestation and negotiation in the process of regulation that defines inhabitants’ access to urban provision in bosti settlements. A critical analysis of the local practices reveals an informal sphere of regulations that considers a careful calculation of inhabitants’ individual locations in the prevailing power relations matrix and thus continuously (re)defines their differential access to urban utilities. This paper identifies the informal regulatory sphere as a “closed system” due to the fact that the powerful and relatively well-off dominate in the contestation and negotiation process, thus actively benefiting from it, and there is little scope for others to enter into the process. The very dependency of the inhabitants on these powerful and well-connected inhabitants also limits any possibility of countering this closed regulatory system.

Offering an alternative reading of the contested nature of access to public resources in Dhaka, this book argues that the contestation of access cannot be explained only by the city’s rapidly growing population; it rather describes it as a product of context-specific structures of power and dependency – "the politics of regulation". This study gives a detailed account of the large diversity of local arrangements and their underlying strategies for negotiation and legitimation in the process of claim making to water supply. It presents constellations of influential actors and their interests and explains how their negotiations in an unbalanced power structure determine the distribution of and access to public water supplies. The author followed an ethnographic research approach and applied a complex and innovative set of qualitative methods for investigation in a low income inner-city squatter area and in a growing peripheral settlement of Dhaka. Frequent participation in adda (casual talks), and personal access to the water supply authority enabled him to observe the routines of everyday life and the complexities of public decision making.