PLAN PLUS

UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ PERCEPTION ON CITY’S AIR QUALITY: A TALE OF THREE CITIES IN BANGLADESH

2021-08-17T06:02:22+00:00

The underlying endeavor of this paper is to understand the air pollution situation, particularly PM _2.5, in the major three cities of Bangladesh through the lenses of university students. In order to achieve this aim, a structured questionnaire was developed and scheduled interview was performed with the students from three universities of Bangladesh, namely Khulna University, Chittagong University, and Dhaka University. Data was collected on three categories: demographic, seasonal variation and consequences, and lastly some prevention perceptions. Accumulated data were analyzed by deploying descriptive statistics. Multinomial logistic regression, Pearson correlation along with PCA and cluster analysis were performed to understand the prevention perceptions. The result shows that air pollution has adverse effects on participants and air quality is most deteriorated during summer season. Statistically, pollution in Dhaka city is the most while least was found in Khulna city. Participants witness and bear the consequences of air pollution, but they think individual prevention measures are not at work. This study unveils the air quality problem in three major cities in Bangladesh and pollution problem is out of individual control. Further studies are encouraged to understand individual pollution control measures and policies.

AUTOMATIC BUILDING FOOTPRINT EXTRACTION FROM HIGH RESOLUTION STEREO SATELLITE IMAGE

2021-04-15T04:45:14+00:00

Automatic buildings footprint extraction is of great importance to city planning, urban growth management, and landscape visualization. Although traditional building footprint extraction from two-dimensional images is relatively easy, but are often both time-consuming and costly. Automated building footprint extraction from imagery has been studied extensively based on image segmentation using the pixel value, while the other dimension of segmentation, such as height value, have not been fully explored to extract the building footprints that have been used in this paper. This approach uses the Digital Terrain model (DTM) and Digital Surface Model (DSM) generated from the stereo imagery using the panchromatic bands with high spatial resolution to calculate the Normalized Digital Surface Model (nDSM) to separate the features which are above the ground surface. After extraction of Elevation (Height) of each building feature, the image segmentation has been performed to separate the building features using the threshold value. When the building features are separated, the Canny Edge Detection algorithm is used to delineate the actual building boundary. After the extraction of building boundary, it is vectorized. After simplification of the vector data, the building footprints are extracted. The vector data is compared to the digitized data sets, which show that the approach can be consistent and precise as the building segmentation approach has achieved greater accuracy because of incorporation of height value. There is no human error involved in the whole process.

LIVELIHOOD DIVERSIFICATION OF COASTAL COMMUNITIES THROUGH GENDERED LENS: A CASE STUDY ON KOVALAM VILLAGE, TAMIL NADU, INDIA

2021-08-17T07:13:07+00:00

This study has assessed livelihood diversification occurred in Kovalam, which is a coastal village in Tamil Nadu state in India. Livelihood diversification is a strategy which enables people to surmount the vulnerability of conventional income-generating activities by diversifying and expanding the number of activities for an improvement in their standard of living. Participatory Rural Appraisal tools, which are focus group discussion, key-informant interview and semi-structured questionnaires, have been used to collect primary data. The result suggested that fishing and fishing allied activities are the major livelihood in Kovalam village, whereas nowadays, small business, services, day laborer, vendors and other different activities are also practiced as livelihood options on a smaller scale. The emerging issue of freshwater insecurity interlinks with the gender division of labor corresponding to livelihood strategies. Gender can be integrated in a better way to ensure sustainable livelihood which will safeguard the wellbeing of coastal communities.

ESTIMATION OF CARBON STORAGE CAPACITY OF DIFFERENT WARDS THROUGH MAJOR CARBON ABSORBING SINKS USING REMOTE SENSING AND GIS TECHNIQUES: A CASE STUDY ON KHULNA CITY, BANGLADESH

2021-08-17T07:17:20+00:00

In recent decades, with the rapid growth of urbanization, the amount of carbon emission in urban areas has been globally accelerated. In this study, the carbon storage capacity of different small administrative regions (wards) of Khulna city has been estimated based on four major sinks types- trees, vegetations, soils, and water bodies. To estimate carbon storage capacity, the total coverage area of each of the sink’s types has been estimated by Sentinel-II satellite image data of 2019 through supervised image classification of remote sensing techniques. A comparison of more carbon-absorbing capacities between the wards has been assessed through GIS techniques as well. Results show that the north-west part of Khulna city has some extent of carbon sinks. However, the lower portion in the southern part is congested with built-up areas and has a huge lacking of carbon sinks. The obtained amount of carbon about 9306992 kg, 7733698 kg, 7328298 kg, and 6030692 kg have been absorbed through respective trees, vegetations, soils, and water bodies which is about 31%, 25%, 24%, and 20% of total absorption, respectively. The result shows that carbon absorption capacity is very high in ward no. 3 whereas ward no. 1, 2, 4, 6, 9, 14, 16, and 31 are high carbon-absorbing wards. Ward no 8, 13, 15, 17, 18 and 24 are moderate, ward no 5, 10, 12, 21, 22, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 and 30 are lower and ward no 7, 11, 19, 20 and 23 are very lower carbon-absorbing wards of Khulna city. The findings of this study opt to provide valuable insights amongst significant stakeholders, i.e., local people, urban planners, policy-makers, and non-government organizations regarding the emission and absorption of carbon.

CHALLENGES OF ACCESSIBILITY OF A DISASTER-PRONE ISLAND: EXPERIENCE OF HATIYA, BANGLADESH

2021-08-17T07:32:14+00:00

Accessibility of Hatiya, one of the most disaster-prone islands in Bangladesh, has many layers of challenges. Institutional arrangements guide the availability and quality of transports while islanders make travel decisions based on the geophysical character of the estuary and weather. These factors contribute to increasing disaster risks in transportation. The paper assesses accessibility using both primary and secondary data. Semi-structured interview responses helped in determining the Level of Services and Accessibility Indicators and generating Modal Suitability Matrix. Triangulating the findings with existing knowledge on geophysical dynamics and institutional arrangements illustrate, socially and politically constructed anthropogenic process to exacerbate risks arising from exposure to natural hazards in transportation. The supervision and monitoring of operation demand accountability and transparency. Thus, an integrated transport system can reduce disaster risks in the island's accessibility. The system needs to be culturally appropriate and use both technical and non-technical approaches.

CHALLENGES AND POTENTIALS OF (NON-)MIGRATION AS CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION IN BANGLADESH AND BEYOND

2021-08-17T07:22:17+00:00

Climate-induced migration is an increasingly prominent global issue, but it is more complex than the conventional picture of ‘environmental refugees’ suggests. Climate and migration's nexus entails various concerns for both climate-induced migrants and non-migrants. This article summarises the complexities surrounding climate-induced migration, outlining the variables that influence why people choose or decline migration as an adaptation strategy. It identifies the main challenges and gaps that current environmental migration trends and their management present, offering examples of improving practices in response to climate-induced movement. It concludes that migration and non-migration in response to climate change should be facilitated based on consideration of needs and aspirations rooted in local contexts, opining that non-migration should be prioritised where possible for the welfare of affected peoples.

IMPACT OF TRANSPORTATION NETWORK COMPANY (TNC) SERVICES ON OTHER MODES: THE CASE OF DHAKA, BANGLADESH

2021-08-17T05:18:53+00:00

Widespread popularity of TNC services has significantly changed the realm of urban transportation. This study presents an empirical investigation of the impact of TNC services on the other conventional modes in megacity Dhaka, the capital of the developing country Bangladesh. For this study, multinomial logit models have been developed using data collected from household travel survey. The no TNC scenario information has been collected by asking the respondents about their preferred mode for a similar kind of trip in a no TNC scenario when a trip made by TNC has been found. This study has found that TNC services are drawing passengers mostly from the CNGs. The finding is actually similar to several other researchers who concluded that TNCs are actually competing with taxi services in the cities of the first world countries. Considering the nature of these CNG vehicles, they can be compared to the taxi services of the first world countries. This study has also found comparatively higher impact of TNCs on public transit than many other studies.

ENVIRONMENTAL AND LIVELIHOOD ASSESSMENT OF HANDMADE CLAY TILES FROM KOLAROA UPAZILA FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

2022-01-30T06:54:06+00:00

Handmade clay tiles from the south-western part of Bangladesh initially found a new market in the European construction industry. Traditional pottery product has been integrated into the global construction industry with few local entrepreneurs and agents. This international integration has produced an immediate standard set of economic and social outcomes as increased income, reduced migration, and reduced decay of the culture of the potter communities. Recently, the development of more durable and cheaper mass-produced alternatives to traditional potteries has pushed the traditional pottery industry, the livelihood, and the potter communities' cultures almost to the brink of extinction of the potters of Bangladesh. This research aims to assess the environmental and livelihood aspect of the export-oriented handmade clay tiles of Kolaroa Upazila its significance in local economic development. For this purpose, the economic and social contributions of clay tiles toward the livelihood of the potter communities have been analysed and, in contrast, environmental issues of this industry are highlighted. The results explore the upgrading aspects for the sustainable development of the handmade clay tiles industry.

POTENTIALS OF PRIVATE DAIRY COOPERATIVE IN PROMOTING WOMEN EMPOWERMENT IN RURAL AREAS OF BANGLADESH: A STUDY ON KAZI SHAHID FOUNDATION

2022-02-21T21:12:24+00:00

Although Bangladesh has changed a lot due to economic development, most of the people of Bangladesh still live in villages. And, the rural economy of Bangladesh still depends on agriculture. Besides farming and agricultural activities, a large portion of the rural population is involved with dairy production. Our rural women are largely engaged in agriculture and with dairy farming, but often their contribution is unrecognized. On the other hand, due to the traditional rural society of Bangladesh being highly dominated by men, rural women are still lagging in earning income and getting economically empowered. Thus, many non-governmental organizations (NGOs), local, national and international level donor agencies are aiming to change the lives of these rural women in Bangladesh. One of the popular approaches practiced by different organizations to empower the rural poor women is through lending them cash money. However, there are some other non-profit organizations as well who provide other means, like assets and services (for example, dairy cooperatives) to empower women rather than providing cash money. This paper tries to explore whether the initiatives of a private dairy cooperative offer an organizational approach for promoting women empowerment in rural areas of Bangladesh. From the literature, four interconnected factors have been identified as the operational indicators or the dimensions of women’s empowerment to understand the impacts of a private dairy cooperative on its women beneficiaries. This research used multiple methods (in-depth interviews, focus group discussion, survey) to explore the contact points and interactions of different dimensions of women’s empowerment through studying a private dairy cooperative (Kazi Shahid Foundation). The research findings support that the private dairy cooperative could make a positive impact in enhancing the economic, physical and social assets of women, as well as developing their mobility and leadership qualities. The beneficiaries of the project showed highest participation in economic activities, followed by access to savings, purchasing and marketing activities and decision-making capacity, while achievements in other areas of empowerment were also decent. Importantly, the private dairy cooperative played the key role in empowering rural women in the study area. This research finding asserts that more planned projects and dynamic principles of staff and officials of a private dairy cooperative are needed for empowering rural women as well as to achieve sustainable development and eradicate the overall economic adversities in the rural areas of Bangladesh.

ANALYZING THE FACTORS INFLUENCING ROAD TRAFFIC ACCIDENT SEVERITY: A CASE STUDY OF KHULNA CITY

2021-08-17T06:51:38+00:00

Road traffic accident occurrences are terrible global phenomena all over the world. With more and different motorized vehicles, Bangladesh and Khulna city face a more significant number of fatalities and injuries. The metropolitan city is one of the riskiest places for road accidents because of its higher population density than in any other location. Road accidents in Khulna city are a significant problem, and they are increasing day by day. So, to reduce the severity of road accidents, the factors influencing road accident severity in Khulna city must be studied and analyzed. Binomial logistic regression is selected and applied to predict the risk or severity of 266 accidents from 2010 to 2019, collected by the Traffic Branch of the Deputy Police Commissioner of Khulna Metropolitan Police. The response variable for this study is accident severity (fatal and non-fatal). According to the study's findings, the number of injuries, number of fatalities, vehicle velocity, accident time, collision type, type of vehicle, and vehicle ownership influence the severity of road traffic accidents in Khulna. This study and its recommendations will aid in developing and implementing future road traffic policies and safety measures.