Renewal of Old Dhaka: A Case Study on Shankhari Bazar

Shah Md. Rajibul Islam

Introduction
Urban renewal is a broad subject, because it encompasses different aspects of intervention,
namely physical, social, economic, political, cultural and environmental to redress a complex
of urban problems. The problems include unsanitary living condition, deficient or obsolete
housing, inadequate transportation, lack of utility services and community facilities;
haphazard land use, traffic congestion and others (Britannica, 1994: 201). The need for urban
renewal arises from congestion, constriction and obsolescence of an urban area. Congestion
occurs in towns which have natural growth and ultimately cannot cope up with the present
day condition that is present day requirement of roads for traffic. The physical determination
of structures and properties, lack of standard of facilities and amenities, the outdated and
outworked buildings and obsolete street system combine together to make certain areas in
towns and cities obsolete to the present day standard and use. When any one and all together
occur in any area of a town, then the area requires immediate renewal (Sikdar, 1977:1).
Urban Renewal in terms of Old Dhaka is the need of today. The Old Dhaka is suffering from
the loss of its function and losing its vitality thereby accepting and encouraging the changes in
employment pattern. The presence of blighted structures, inadequate transport facilities and
utility services together with uncontrolled and unguided development creates congestion,
environmental pollution and insecure tenure living. All of these together hamper the overall
living condition of the area. In the light of the above revealed situation, it has been felt that a
renewal program is essentially needed for Old Dhaka in order to create a better living
atmosphere of the present day standard.
Dhaka, the capital of independent Bangladesh since 1971 has a historical background of
nearly 400 years (Islam, 2001). Shankhari Bazar is considered as a deteriorating area in Old
Dhaka.. Shankhari Bazar was born in Mughal period (1608-1764) that occupied an important
economic activity, the cottage industries. In most cases, the same house was used for the
factory and the residence. Within the industrial area, different localities were specialized in
different crafts. Sankhari Bazar (shell cutter’s locality) is one of these localities (Chowdhury
and Faruqui, 1996). Although the goal of urban renewal at neighborhood scale tends to
improve inhabitants’ living condition in all aspects, the emphasis in this study is to develop a
mechanism for structural improvement consistent with the cultural value of the area. At the
same time, the short analyses about the social, economic and legal problems of Shankhari
Bazar can be helpful to understand this kind of localities more thoroughly to renew them more
effectively.

Objective and Methodology

The broad objective of the study is to prepare a plan for the Renewal of Old Dhaka by means
of a case study on a deteriorating locality Shankhari Bazar that may satisfy the urban
environment in the long run. The specific objectives of the study are to identify the present
status of the old as well as the new structures, to explore the potential areas of structural
improvement consistent with the cultural value of the area and to prepare a strategic plan for
renewing the area.
The research uses information on day to day situation prevailing at Shankhari Bazar. Data and
information have been collected both from primary and secondary sources. Primary data is
collected through direct field survey on Shankhari Bazar mahalla and questionnaire survey on
the inhabitants of the area together with specialist interview. After completing the field work,
data have been organized, interpreted and analyzed. From the detailed analysis of the existing
condition of the study area and comparing it with the urban renewal programs worldwide,
some strategies on implementation have been identified.

Study Area: The Portrayal

The study area Shankhari Bazar is located on the south of Kotwali Thana of Dhaka city. It is a
traditional neighborhood in old Dhaka, which is located near the intersection of Islampur
Road and Johnson Road, the two main arteries of the old city and only a block away form the
Buriganga River. At present, about 10,000 people are living in Shankhari Bazar within an area
of 4.6 acres. Shankhari Bazar displays a blend of different architectural styles belonging to the
different periods starting from the Mughals to the Raj (The Daily Star, 2006). The stylistic
variations in Shankhari Bazar reveal at least three major stages based on chronological
development or identifiable features. The stages are the Late Mughal, the Early Colonial and
the Raj.
Though the Mughal and colonial styles dominated the forms and the geometry of the
buildings, motifs from Hindu legends and mythologies are widely found in the surface
decorations and architectural details of the buildings. There are certain architectural elements,
like the temple courtyards and the juxtaposition of the courts at different levels, which are
unique to this mohalla.
The division of elevation in three bays along with tri-
foil and multi-cusp arches is a Mughal legacy. The
short decorative free columns with bell shaped
capitals, round pedestals and intricate surface
decorations suggest a lineage that goes back to the
architecture of Dewan-I-Khas.
By the mid 19th century, the architecture of Shankhari
Bazar was taken a turn. The graceful proportions were
gone, though the arches and the columns were
retained. The following of the religious codes and
orders were not to be found any more.
By the late 19th century, a stylistically distinct neo
classical style could be seen in Shankhari Bazar. The
architecture of this style reflected more of the classical
elements in the decoration of the buildings. Use of
classical orders in the columns, plasters, engaged
columns, cornices, entablatures, stylized dentils all Fig. 1: Column style
reflect a shift toward this new style. Among the
different orders used, the preference for the Corinthian
style is easily visible. Intricately decorated wrought iron columns, carved wooden posts, use
of wrought iron railings are among other features that give this period a distinctive style. In
some of the houses, the contemporary British influence can be seen in the Edwardian
vocabulary used in the elevations.
 Fig. 2: Historic architecture

Data Analysis and Survey Findings

An intensive field survey has been conducted to identify the existing condition of the study
area in details. Some secondary data has also been consulted to make it more accurate. In
general, data are collected on physical aspects together with information on social, economic
and legal aspects. In this section, physical problems of the case study area are analyzed on
four aspects, i.e., land use, road, building and infrastructure.
Analysis of Land Use
The land use problem is analyzed by using three variables that are land use proportion,
building coverage ratio and floor area ratio. Using these three variables, the land use problem
can be evaluated generally on the scale of a whole neighborhood.
Analysis on Land Use Proportion (Scale: Neighborhood): The variable of land use
proportion is used to evaluate the rationality of land use on the scale of whole neighborhood.
Figure 3 shows the land use scenario of the study area. The land use of the study area can be
categorized into five distinct groups (Table 1).

Table 1: Land use pattern in the area.

Land use Area (sq. meter) Percentage (%)
Residential 615.82 3.29
Commercial 183.87 0.98
Mixed: Residential + Commercial 15071.65 80.44
Religious mixed with residential 197.31 1.05
Religious 178.89 0.95
Unused plots 366.55 1.96
Road 2122.61 11.33
Total area 18736.7 100.00
Source: Filed survey, August-2006 and GIS map from DCC, 2006.

Haphazard growth of the buildings, absence of open space, incompatible uses of buildings and
incompatible land use are the major problems of the area. Spontaneously growth of the shops
in front of the buildings hampers the aestheticism of the area as well as the flow of traffic and
pedestrians.
Analysis on Building Coverage Ratio (BCR): The variable of building coverage ratio
reflects a two-dimensional density of land use. The Building Coverage Ratio is 0.689 in
Shankhari Bazar. It reveals that the average building area coverage within the plots is 68.9%.
The rest 31.1% space is open. It indicates that the problem of invading open area is serious in
the study area.
Analysis on Floor Area Ratio (Far): The variable of floor area ratio reflects a three-
dimensional density of land use. Floor Area Ratio has been calculated as the ratio of total
floor space and total plot area, and has been found as 2.57. It shows that the floor area ratio in
the study area is high.

Kotwali Road

Court House Street

Islampur Main Road

32/1
44,45

37,37/1
47/1,47/2

42
47

40
60

41
59
62

35,36
43
58

53
57

46
52

39
56
55
54

39/1
51

49
64-65

48

33

26,26/1
31
30
61

29

24

14
38

28
50

27
34

25

23

16
63

11
21-22

20

10
15

12
13
32

19

8,8/1
17

9
18

7
66,67,67/1

5
69

4
6

3
Shankhari Bazar Road

1
68/1
68

74
71

105
72
70

73

100
82,82/1

119
79,80

123,123/1
77

78/1

120
76

78

93

111
96

121,122
98

106

110

116
91

108
109

112

128
75

84

107

113
114
115

118/1
81

86

95

117
88

118

127/1
92

127
97

99

103
83

124

126

131
85

101

133

140
87

125

134
94

104

130

137
89

138
102

129

139

Johnson Road
90

142, 142/1

140/1
135
141
Patuatuli Raod
141/1

N Sourse:
Legends Dhaka City Corporation
Mixed (Residential+Commercial) Implemented by:
Religious mixed with residential W E Urban Planning Department
Religious
Residential Survey period:
Unused plots August 2003 to March 2004
Commercial S Reconstructed by:
Plot boundary Author through field survey
Road
Shankhari mahalla Reconstructed on:
0.04 0 0.04 Km August, 2006

Fig. 3: Land use scenario of Shankhari Bazar

Analysis on Road
The roads of Shankhari Bazar are very narrow. The Shankhari Bazar road is only 600 feet in
length is accessible by vehicles, like rickshaws and cars, but two of them plying from opposite
directions create a serious level of congestion. Access for ambulance and fire service vehicles
are very difficult in the mahalla. Other roads of the mahalla are accessible for pedestrians
only. Due to heavy pressure of traffic on the roads, all of them remain jam-packed all the
times.
Problems of Road Network: Low and irregular width of the roads, absence of footpaths and
parking facilities and poor road conditions are the main transport problems of the area.
Analysis on Buildings
The buildings of Shankhari Bazar are evaluated from the viewpoint of building age, building
condition, intensity of use and the condition of maintenance activities carried out by the
owner or the occupants. Shankhari Bazar has a total of 153 buildings and most of these
buildings were constructed during the British period, though a good number of buildings have
been constructed after the independence of Bangladesh.
Problems Due to the Construction Period: As most of the buildings were constructed
during the British period, the condition of the buildings are now dilapidated and these
buildings have high chance to collapse which poses threats to the safety of the inhabitants of
the mahalla. Buildings conditions of Shankhari Bazar have been assessed in terms of the level
of risk of each buildings and it is shown in Figure 4.

Building Condition of Shankhari Bazar

70 40.52%
60
No. of Buildings

50
40 20.92%
15.69% 12.42%
30
10.46%
20
10
0
Most risly More risky Risky Less risky Not risky
Level of Risk

Source: Filed survey, August 2006; and findings from the listed 687 worn-out buildings Survey
(DRAFT) by DCC, 2004.
Fig. 4: Building conditions of Shankhari Bazar.

Problems Due to the Condition of Buildings: Most

of the buildings of Shankhari Bazar are found to be in
the risky condition, which is dangerous for the
residents of the buildings and without immediate
initiatives to repair these buildings the inhabitants are
placed in high risk.
The buildings constructed during the period of East
India Company and the British rule used lime, chalk,
brick dust and brick. Construction of most of the
buildings of Pakistan period used the same materials.
These buildings are now in a ruinous condition. Most Fig. 5: Risky buildings
of the buildings in Shankhari Bazar are 3 to 4 storied
in height and they cover 52.29% of the total number
of buildings. Very few single storied and multi-storied (up to 7-storied) buildings also exist
here. However, the average height of the buildings of Shankhari Bazar is 3.83 storied. Some
of the buildings have been extended from 1 story to 3 stories, but most of them are not
approved by RAJUK. The intensity of use of the buildings of Shankhari Bazar is very high
that makes the buildings unsafe for the inhabitants. Most of the buildings of Shankhari Bazar
are affected by cracks, which make the buildings weak. These cracked buildings are more
risky for the inhabitants. Some of the buildings of Shankhari Bazar have been repaired and
maintained locally by the owners or occupants of the buildings. The maintenance works of 66
buildings have so far been completed. After the collapse of the buildings in 2004, the
inhabitants of Shankhari Bazar started fearing to live in the ruinous buildings and began to
repairing them. Inappropriate building design, overuse of the buildings and absence of
maintenance make most of the buildings dangerous for living.
Structural Problems of the Buildings: The land that is existed in the Shankhari Bazar area
was allotted during the Mughal period. The allotted plot size was very small. Due to the
construction of buildings maintaining the small plot size, the houses became very small in
width and large in length. However, most of the buildings were constructed two or three
storied in height. The height of the main door in front of the house is 6 ft. A 20-30 ft long
corridor goes inside the house. A good number of rooms are situated on both sides of the
corridor. Almost all of the houses consist of open space in the middle of the house, where
stairs are located there up to upper floors. There are verandahs around the open space in some
of the houses. The houses of a width of 10-12 ft and a length of 30-50 ft. look like row house
that bears the architectural sign of Mughal and Colonial period.
Irregular and small plot size and full utilization of the plots make the buildings irregular and
compact. The ventilation problem and new construction between the old houses look so odd.
Analysis on Infrastructure
The basic infrastructures relevant to inhabitants’ daily life such as water, gas, electricity etc.
are available in the study area.
Problems of Infrastructure: The condition of drainage, sewerage and toilet facilities of the
study area are in a very inferior condition. Due to improper drainage facilities the storm water
sometimes overflows inside the houses. However, because of poor sewerage and toilet
facilities the flash water of toilets of many houses are not released properly and as a result it
makes a very unhealthy environment and creates stink.

Analysis of Social, Economic and Legal Problems

Since urban renewal is not only relevant to physical factor, it encompasses different aspects of
intervention namely, physical, social, economic, political, cultural, health, and environmental;
the social, legal and economic problems in case study area is analyzed in this section, which
in turn contribute to the physical problems more or less.
Social Problems
In this section, first is to analyze the population and density scenario and then how the
different socio-economic stratum of people influences their views and attitudes. How their
different views and attitudes influence the physical condition require a detailed analysis.
Population and Density: Total population of Shankhari Bazar is estimated 9726 (Field
survey 2006 and Findings from Listed 687 Worn-out Buildings Survey -DRAFT by DCC,
2004) and this people live within an area of 4.63 acres where the density of population is 2101
persons per acre. As the density of population in the study area is very high, it creates
unexpected crowd and hamper the suitable living environment of the area and the privacy of
the residents.
Socioeconomic Status of People: In this section the residents of owners are compared with
the tenants and consequently the information on occupational status of the residents, income
scenario of the inhabitants and land ownership pattern have been analyzed. Significant portion
of the people of Shankhari Bazar are somehow owner or occupier, which covers 20.56% of
the total population and the rest 79.44% people are tenants. There is ownership problem due
to more than one sharers of the same property and they live in the occupied building in a
packed situation over the capacity of the buildings.
Occupational Status of the Residents: Most of the inhabitants (income group people) of
Shankhari Bazar are engaged in business, which covers 62% of the total employees. The
traditional professionals like artists and shonkho shilpi covers 12% out of the total employees.
Due to the changing character of the economic activities, most of the people shifted from their
traditional profession of shankha processing to many different professions. The century old
profession such as shankha shilpo is now become a weak sector and over the last 15 years
around 200 Shankhari families moved away from their traditional crafts seeing prospects in
other businesses.
Income Scenario of the Inhabitants: Highest income group people lie down between 3001-
5000 Tk. and over 60% of people earns up to 5000 Tk. Thus it can be said that, it is the area
inhabited by low-income groups. As most of the people of Shankhari Bazar area fall into the
low income group they are unable to repair and maintain the dilapidated buildings on a
regular basis.
Land Ownership Pattern: Most of the owners possess the land through heirship. Some of
the owners have mixed ownership through buying and heirship. Some of the owners occupy
the land due to the original owners migrated to India permanently or to treat the property as
vested property. Due to multiple ownership problems, it is difficult to take any kind of
development activity in the study area and some buildings are used for religious purpose and
cannot be demolished.
View and Attitude of People: This factor includes the willingness of people’s caring about
physical situation of this neighborhood, and the willingness of people’s living in this
neighborhood. In this study, these two variables mainly focus on householders’ view.
Willingness of Dismantling and Financial Ability- a Comparison: After processing the
questionnaire data, two different types of attitudes can be observed to dismantle the buildings
and the attitudes of the people are graphically presented in the following chart.

Willingness of Dismantling and Financial Ability

Willingness of Dismantling 37%

63%

Financial Ability
4%
96%

-120 -100 -80 -60 -40 -20 0 20 40 60

No Yes

Source: Filed survey, August-2006 and findings from listed 687 worn-out buildings survey
(DRAFT) by DCC, 2004.
Fig. 6: Willingness of Dismantling and Financial Ability.

Form Figure 6, it is clear that the opinion of the people regarding the willingness to dismantle
is lower than willingness of not to dismantle, but the financial ability to dismantle and
reconstruct the buildings is very low. Only 4% of the householders’ have the ability to
reconstruct. So, it can be said that the reconstruction of the dilapidated buildings of the
mahalla is a tough job and it is not affordable for the inhabitants.
Expectation from the Inhabitants for Development Activities: The inhabitants of the
mahalla during the questionnaire survey said their opinion about any kind of development
activities that can be taken for the mahalla. A large number of the inhabitants (39.39%)
especially the owners or occupiers support for repairing the dilapidated buildings, while
36.36% of the inhabitants support full co-operation for any kind of development activities that
will be taken for the well being of the mahalla. As a good percentage of people support
development activities by government in the one hand, on the other hand, a good percentage
of people do not support it, so it is very difficult to initiate any kind of development activities.
Economic Problems
In this study, the economic problems are analyzed from the viewpoint of financial assistance
from governments or other organizations to develop the mahalla or carryout the maintenance
work needed for the mahalla. Most of the people want financial assistance in the form of long
term bank loan, which covers 70.31% of the owners or occupants of the holdings. The
concern authority, Dhaka City Corporation has proposed a draft model of pilot project for the
development of the Shankhari Bazar area integrating the identified 91 dilapidated buildings.
The special features of this project are mentioned in Table 3.

Table 3: Special features of the pilot project (draft) proposed by DCC

Category Description
Extended width of Shankhari Bazar road 30 ft
Footpath width 5 ft
No. of Buildings to be constructed 20
Height of each building 12 storied
Open space 60%
Covered area 40%
Total cost 69,85,50,000 Tk.
Source: Work paper of secretariat committee of DCC, 05.10.2005

Legal Problems
Problem of Legitimacy: The legal problem is analyzed, from the viewpoint of property acts/
ordinances of Bangladesh, building control laws of Dhaka City Corporation and different
litigations due to ownership problems between person to person or government that lead to
the problem of unclear land ownership in the distressed neighborhood directly.
Vested Property Act of Bangladesh and Shankhari Bazar: About 80-90% houses in
Shankhari Bazar are listed as vested property (The Daily Star, 2006). Living in the same
houses, which were built by there forefathers the Shankharees continue to live a life in a state
of perennial dislocation. They do not have the legal rights to their parental houses any more.
As a consequence of this ‘Vested Property Act’, huge ownership problem exists in the
Shankhari Bazar area, which creates obstacle to initiate any kind of development activity
thereof.
Building Control Law: The ‘Building Control Law’ under the section 111, chapter VI of The
Dhaka City Corporation Ordinance, 1983 was promulgated for Dhaka City Corporation
including some power regarding ruinous buildings for securing any area, but due to massive
ownership problem in the Shankhari Bazar area, it is difficult for the corporation to take
immediate actions
State of Rule Violation by the Inhabitants: Ten buildings of Shankhari Bazar were
identified as high risky and vulnerable by the Dhaka City Corporation in 2001. The City
corporation authority by notice required the occupiers of these risky buildings in January,
2005 to demolish the buildings by their own effort. But till now, no buildings are demolished
by DCC. Thus the owners or occupiers of the buildings are violating the ‘Building control
law’ of Dhaka City Corporation Ordinance, 1983.
Reasons behind violating the law: Multiple ownership patterns and legal problems of
ownership, inability to afford the reconstruction work, high density of buildings, common
wall between two buildings, Presence of several Hindu Temples are some of the reasons that
obstruct implementation of building control laws.
Litigations: Through the survey some court cases have been found due to the ownership
problems. Though the number of cases is small, there are huge ownership problem in the
properties of Shankhari Bazar due to different acts and ordinances of the government which
are promulgated in different times.

Recommendations
Recommendations provided here are based on physical, social, economic and legal aspects
that have been analyzed above.
Recommendations on Physical Aspects
The recommendations are made on four aspects of land use, road, building and infrastructure.
Land Use
An effective plan should be prepared for the study area to ensure planned growth and to
restrict haphazard and spontaneous development. Open space should be provided and
incompatible land uses should be rearranged. The standard building coverage ratio and
standard floor area ratio should be followed to make the buildings more livable. Enforcement
of the standards should be strengthened.
Road
The width of the Shankhari Bazar road should be increased and the irregular width should be
regularized. The condition of Shankhari Bazar road and the branch roads should be improved
and hard landscaping e.g., footpath should be constructed in the primary thoroughfare to
ensure smooth flow of pedestrians. Traffic management at certain times of the day can be
applied and parking facility should be provided.
Building
♦ Considering the historic value of the buildings of Shankhari Bazar, a detailed technical
assessment of the buildings should be done.
♦ Documentation of the buildings should be completed before any decision is taken
regarding demolition of the structures.
♦ Safety of the buildings should be ensured by retrofitting of the structures so that it will
ensure the cultural value of the area together with safety.
♦ Renovation and upgradation of the buildings should be done for improvement of the
living condition of the inhabitants.
♦ Immediate actions or repair activities should be taken for the highly risky buildings of
the area.
♦ Appropriate design approval for the buildings that will be constructed should be ensured
and illegal extension of building height should be restricted.
♦ The buildings should be repaired and maintained properly in a regular basis and the
 capacity of the buildings should be maintained through rehabilitating the extra people or
increasing the capacity of the buildings.
♦ Set back rules should be applied for constructing new structures.
♦ For structures with heritage values, restoration of elevation and other elements like
courtyards, authenticity should be ensured.
♦ Construction of new buildings should be maintained between the old historic structures
that look so odd beside the old structures.
♦ Architectural renovation of the structures should be done.
Infrastructure
♦ The quantity and quality of water supply should be increased to the level that can fulfill
the demand of the inhabitants of the area and effective management system should be
developed for supplying water.
♦ The capacity of the drains of the study area should be increased and regular cleaning of
the drains should be ensured and the condition of toilets and sewerage facilities of the
Shankhari Bazar area should be improved.
♦ The supply of electricity for the study area should be increased sufficiently and illegal
and unplanned electricity connection should be regulated and the electricity wires
should be passed in a planned way.
♦ Fire protection facility should be provided in the entire study area and a community
center should be established in the study area so that different festivals particularly
religious functions can be organized in a smooth manner and can avoid the use of road
for these functions.
♦ Sufficient amount of dustbins should be placed in appropriate locations.
♦ Programs should be taken to increase the basic sanitary knowledge and public health
education of the people of the area.
♦ Dustbins should be located in such places so that waste collecting vans of the city
corporation can collect the wastes easily and regularly.
♦ Appropriate coordination and cooperation between the public and the concerned
authority, DCC should be increased.
Renewal and Renovation
Renewal of Shankhari Bazar Area: The following tasks are important for the renewal of
Shankhari Bazar Area:
♦ Conservation of the Mahalla
♦ Investment and financial support should be increased for the shankha and other
traditional crafts
♦ Community development program
♦ Introduction of cultural tourism
Two alternative recommendations are suggested here for the conservation and renovation of
Shankhari Bazar area.
Conservation of the Site as a Heritage and Historic Spot: For conservation of the area, the
following tasks are important:
♦ Designation of Shankhari Bazar as a heritage zone.
♦ Retrofitting or consolidation of structures.
♦ Restoration of the historic elevation and other architectural elements.
♦ Reconstruction of part of elevations in significant buildings.
♦ Upgrading by providing necessary modern utilities and services.
♦ Adaptation by shifting to different functional uses relevant to the area, when the
buildings cannot accommodate the present use properly.

Renovation of the Site: Renovation or restoring a building to good condition is as difficult a

task as the construction itself. Renovation involves suitable construction materials, the right
manpower, architectural expertise, and most importantly, the money to bring back the pride of
a building that had once stood in style. So development projects should be taken carefully
considering the heritage value of the structures of the area. However, construction materials,
architectural forms, load bearing capacity of the buildings and so on should be considered for
the renovation of the buildings of Shankhari Bazar area.

Recommendations on Social, Legal and Economic Problems

Social
♦ The density of population in the study area should be decreased to reduce unexpected
crowd and ensure suitable living environment of the area by rehabilitating excess people
in other places.
♦ Ownership problem of the houses in Shankhari Bazar area should be solved and density
of population in each house should be decreased to the level of the capacity of the
buildings.
♦ Investment should be made for the century old profession, such as shankha shilpo which
is now in a weak condition. In addition, productive occupations should be introduced
and technical training should be provided.
♦ The buildings that are used for religious purpose should be repaired and maintained
properly.
♦ The willingness of people’s caring about physical situation of this neighborhood, and
the willingness of people’s living in this neighborhood should be considered for
initiating any kind of activities. Peoples’ participation should be ensured.
Economic
Financial assistance for the study area should be increased so that people can take necessary
actions by introducing long term loan without interest. Development activities should be taken
considering the economic affordability of the people of the study area.

Legal
Vested property act that creates a huge ownership problem in the Shankhari Bazar area should
be reorganized and the Building control law should be followed properly to ensure safety.
Litigations due to ownership problem should be solved.

Conclusion
The most significant policy undertaken by a wide range of cities since World War II is urban
renewal. Since 1954 urban renewal programs have changed the face of many downtown areas
and millions of displaced low-income citizens. This study has concentrated on four aspects
i.e., physical, social, legal, and economic problems, of which the analysis of physical
problems are particularly emphasized.
With regard to physical problems, it is found that the physical status of the area is in a
dilapidated condition. The land use of the area is in a haphazard situation and it has grown in
an unplanned way. The Building Coverage Ratio (BCR) is low which refers to the lack of
open space and the high floor area ratio of the area is another problem. The condition of roads
is poor and narrow.
With regard to the social problem, it is found that the attitude about physical condition is
influenced by the socio-economic status; and the biggest social problem comes from the
inhabitants that fall in the lower income group. A huge portion of the property of the area is
besotted with ownership problem. With regard to the economic problem, it is found that the
financial assistance in the case study area is very limited, which reflects on the poor
maintenance and physical condition in this neighborhood. With regard to the legal problem, it
is found that a significant portion of the property of the area is treated as vested property.
Some court cases also exist due to ownership problem.
Finally, if adequate financial support can be provided to implement the recommendations
made in this research, it could be possible to bring improvement in the Shankhari Bazar area
into the present day standard and consequently preserve the great history of the area and as
well as the Dhaka city.
Note: This article is based on undergraduate dissertation.

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