Interface Between The River and The City in a Historic Mixed Use Urban Context: Comprehensive Urban Waterfront Development Design Strategies in The Context of Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Abstract

This research addressed the issues and challenges in developing urban waterfronts in the context of a densely populated and ever-changing South-Asian city, Dhaka, in Bangladesh. Waterfront developments in most South-Asian cities are facing a different set of challenges than other parts of the world, because of very high density and environmental issues. The city of Dhaka is no different in this regard, but being an old historic city located on the banks of a major river (the Buriganga River), there are even more difficult challenges regarding historic preservation and in accommodating mixed land use patterns and their different functions along the water edge gracefully. Dhaka is a changing megacity, where the river still acts as sustainable life blood for the whole region. This research addressed these and other factors and proposed a series of waterfront development design strategies.