Tenth International Conference on The Constructed Environment

Abstract

Water features in Dhaka contribute significantly to improving the quality of life in adjacent neighbourhoods, but the city currently underuses their potential benefits in terms of urban ecology. Dhaka is increasingly becoming earthquake-prone due to groundwater-depletion, which can be primarily attributed to a lack of soakable ground in the city. Substantial groundwater-recharge can occur through the edges of large waterbodies, but continuous hard surfaces currently undermine its possibilities. Stubborn waterfronts also prevent natural habitats to flourish, and as a result, the city ends up with polluted water, stench, compromised environment, and disturbed ecosystems. However, since waterfronts are popular destinations in the city, paved surfaces and built structures become apparently inevitable to facilitate public activities, and to retain waterbodies’ boundaries. Moreover, recommended policies for urban waterfront development, e.g. maintaining water quality, fostering economic activities, protecting ecosystems and providing public access, become conflicting as well. Thus the design of waterfronts must strike a balance between natural and built-up areas. This character will be investigated, at first, by means of literature review and parametric study; followed by a study of history, morphology, and geology to obtain information regarding landform, hydrology and native species. Next, a comprehensive mapping of a designed waterfront at Hatirjheel will be compared to that of a natural water-edge of similar landform, such as selected lakes at Jahangirnagar University, which are, to date, a recognized haven for migratory birds. The differences in these lakes’ functional, spatial, and biological compositions can help specify the qualitative and quantitative aspects of required parameters.