Footnote:
In: OIDA International Journal of Sustainable Development, Vol. 6, No. 6, pp. 109-128, 2013
Nach Informationen von SSRN wurde die ursprüngliche Fassung des Dokuments 2013 erstellt
Description:
Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, has undergone rapid urbanization in an unplanned manner over the years. The high growth rate of urban population has made the city unable to cope with the changing situations of urban life. This large proportion of urban community is bestowed with various types of problems throughout their daily life. This paper provides an overview of the existing problems at community level in an urban area through PRA (Participatory Rural Appraisal) approach. In this research, an attempt has been made to investigate the physical and social characteristics of the community, activities of the Community Based Organization (CBO), its relationship with other institutions and stakeholders, existing problems of the community, the underlying causes and effects of those problems etc. Finally some internal and external factors reflecting the prospects and limitations of the community, possible solutions of the problems have also been discussed in this research. CBOs are nonprofit groups that work at a local level to improve the standard of life for residents within the community. A CBO can hold a great role for the overall improvement of a community and can also be used as means to route information and other resources for improving the living conditions in a community. The CBO of Monipuripara residential area of ward no. 27 of Dhaka City Corporation North, named “Monipuripara Kallyan Samiti” has been selected for this study. Different PRA tools have been used (i.e. social and resource map, time line, pair-wise ranking, cause-effect diagram, Venn diagram, SWOT analysis) to identify and evaluate the problems, obstacles, prospects and solutions toward a self-sustained and convenient community as a whole. The research identifies that the community leaders of the study area and Monipuripara Samabay Samiti (an organization, providing microcredit facility) have great influence on the CBO. They take almost all decisions in CBO considering others’ opinion. It is revealed from the local residents that the community faces several problems among which traffic congestion, increased number of roadside hawkers and inadequate community services are severe. Key Informant Interview has been also conducted to verify the identified problems and cause-effects of those problems. Throughout the research the mass people and the CBO of this locality have been facilitated to share, enhance and analyze the knowledge of their own neighborhood. However, the community itself affirms possible solutions for the associated problems and some recommendations have also been drawn by the facilitators considering the strength and weakness of the community to reach to a credible conclusion