CPD-UNFPA Programme on Population and Sustainable Development

Paper 1 (Summary)

Urbanisation, Migration and Development in Bangladesh: Recent Trends and Emerging Issues

Professor Nazrul Islam

INTRODUCTION

The relationships between migration and urbanisation, urbanisation and development and migration and development are well known. The relationships are a two-way phenomenon; with each pair, one variable may be the cause as well as the effect of the other. The study highlights the recent trends in migration at the national level and urbanisation as emerging critical issues which impact on national development.

METHODOLOGY

The study was based on secondary information collected from existing literature on relevant issues.

FINDINGS

Urbanisation and Development
According to the study urbanisation in the developing countries took place not because of industrialisation, but because of the growth of tertiary and informal manufacturing sectors. A positive correlation between development and urbanisation was quite obvious in Bangladesh. This can be explained both in terms of economic growth over time for the country as a whole, and in spatial or regional terms.

Urban Concentration, Metropolitanisation and Primacy are features of contemporary urbanisation in the developing world including Bangladesh. Nearly 50 per cent of the national urban population is concentrated in the four metropolitan cities (Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna and Rajshahi). Dhaka is the largest urban agglomeration of Bangladesh and enjoys a clear primate status in its urban structure. The unique position of being at once the oldest, historically largest, most centrally located and also the capital city, Dhaka has the finest linkages with its immediate rural hinterland and the rest of the country. It attracts migrants from almost all of the 64 new districts and most of the 460 upazillas of the country. In addition of being a permanent destination of migrants, Dhaka also attracts thousands of daily commuters and circular migrants from the neighbouring districts. Such a primate situation has resulted in Dhaka's rapid population growth (from 1.6 million in 1974 to over 9 million in 1999) with all the accompanying urban problems.

Income inequality has widened with increasing urbanisation and an anti-poor public policy was a leading factor causing or enhancing inter-regional, intra-regional, inter city or intra-city inequality. The capital city will continue to be the primary target for urban population unless very radical programmes can be implemented for decentralised urbanisation and reduction of 'Dhaka bound migration'.

Migration and Urbanisation

In Bangladesh, as in some other developing countries, the rate of urbanisation is extremely high, being consistently over 5 percent since 1974, and even up to 7 percent in some years. Migration contributed about 40 per cent to the urban growth in Bangladesh during 1974-81.

On the aggregate level, both in and out-migrations have increased in Bangladesh during the period of 1982-92. But quite obviously the increase is significantly higher in case of in-migration than of out-migration, indicating robust net migration trends. It is mainly rural to urban migration, which leads to urban growth and the difference in rate of rural population growth and urban population growth leads to urbanisation.

Causes of Rural-Urban Migration

The study identified some dominant push factors of rural-urban migration in Bangladesh, which included population pressure, adverse person to land ratio, landlessness, poverty, natural calamities, law and order situation, and lack of social and cultural opportunities. On the other hand, job opportunities and higher wages are the dominant pull factors. A large number of women come to Dhaka and other metropolises for formal sector industrial employment whilst men seek opportunities in the informal sector.

 

Source of Origin of Migrants

Although rural to urban migration takes place in all districts of Bangladesh, some districts or areas are more prone to out-migration. These districts are generally characterised by poor economic conditions, high vulnerability to natural disasters and have close links to the cities. The prominent districts of migrants' origin are Faridpur, Barisal, Comilla, Dhaka, Noakhali and Mymenshingh.

Consequences of Migration and Urbanisation

Urbanisation and urban growth occurring due to migration (and other factors) have both positive and negative consequences or impacts. Some of the positive consequences are such that it helps to achieve higher productivity, better income, higher age at marriage and reduced fertility rates etc. It also benefits people socio-culturally by modernising them through improved access to information technology and benefits democratisation of the society.

On the other hand, the negative impacts can be grouped as follows:
· Environmental consequences.
· Encroachment of productive agricultural land and forests.
· Extreme pressure on housing, growth of slums and the pressure on urban services. In Dhaka about 30 per cent of the population live in slums.
· Economic consequences, leading to income inequality and poverty, ill effects of globalisation.
· Social consequences, resulting in increased violence, crime, and social degradation.
· Cultural consequences: entry of alien culture and loss of national cultural identity.
· Political consequences: Criminalisation of politics.

Urbanisation Policy Initiatives

Although the Government of Bangladesh has long been aware of both the rapid pace of urbanisation in the country and the associated physical, economic and social problems, it has not yet adopted an explicit urban policy. However, a number of government documents and other initiatives have from time to time indicated the policy thinking of the government with regard to urbanisation and urban development. The National Habitat Report, submitted to the UN Habitat I conference held in Vancouver, Canada in 1976 recommended the identification of various planning regions and in each region, to choose one medium-sized town as the focal point of regional growth in order to create spatially-balanced urban development.
The second five year plan (1980-85) envisaged that infrastructure and service facilities would be extended from 100 urban centres to 1200 growth centres throughout the country. The third five-year plan incorporated the idea of upazilla growth as a method of decentralisation. The fourth five-year plan talked about drawing up master plans for developing townships. However, the fifth plan did not provide any comprehensive urban planning guidelines.

POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS

According to the study, there is a need for guiding the progress of the country through a national human settlements policy, which will include policy on urbanisation and urban development. Such a policy would consider the following

· Stress on decentralised urbanisation (or decentralised development), by:
· De-concentrating growth in Dhaka city (e.g., establish satellite towns within commuting   distances).
· Encouraging growth of secondary cities and small towns.
· Encouraging planned growth of rural towns or compact townships as a form of new settlement.
· Extending urban services to existing villages and enhancing income-earning opportunities, to   reduce rural out-migration.
· Increase urban productivity through technological and entrepreneurial development.
· Alleviate urban poverty by income-enhancing methods; improve productivity of the informal sector. The role of NGOs should be encouraged in this area.
· Reduce inequality within cities by adopting a people oriented resource allocation, urban   land- use and service delivery planning. Particular attention needs to be given to allocation of land for housing for all income categories, particularly the low-income groups, and to space for economic activities of the poor.
· Adopt a transportation system that would be efficient, affordable and environment friendly, (this may imply reducing dependence on private cars, cycle rickshaws and auto rickshaws in Dhaka and look for other alternatives, particularly mass public transport).
· Protect cities from floods and other natural hazards, but in a manner that ensures protection   against new kind of environmental problems like water logging.
· Control environmental pollution, such as pollution of air, water and land.
· Provide low-cost shelter and urban services (use participatory and contributory approaches for this). Implementation of the National Housing Policy 1993 in earnest could pave the way.
· Ensure urban development in a planned way. For this, establish planning departments/cells in each city and municipality and ensure participatory urban planning. For cities, which have approved urban development plans (such as Dhaka, Chittagong etc), ensure their speedy implementation. For this good coordination of city-based development agencies is important.
· Ensure higher efficiency of urban centres by introducing better management and participatory   governance.
· Strengthen urban local governments, politically, economically and efficiency wise.
· Empower the civil society to ensure better participation, transparency and accountability of public sector institutions and local governments. Provide scope for the participation of defence forces alongside civilians in critical urban development activities, such as in construction of roads, embankments, land and housing development, urban forestry and urban agriculture.
· Encourage private sector in not only profit-seeking but also pro-poor investments, including   housing.
· Adoption and implementation of a comprehensive urbanisation policy and improvement of urban management within a local government system are essential for a sustainable future of the country.

To obtain the full text of this report please contact:

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Pages: 23