।। Dr. Forqan Uddin Ahmed ।।
Healthy modern urban planning is said to be a technical and political process through which the proper use of land and a complete design of the civic environment can be formulated. These processes include air, water, urban infrastructure, transportation and service management. Healthy urban planning is another name for ensuring proper development of human settlement through urban planning. An ideal city plan starts with a health plan made primarily by experts for the benefit of city councils, functions or regional committees. Government and non-government organizations are working in all cities to contribute to the development of the city.
The primary responsibility of healthy urban planning is to compile a list of projects of all these different organizations and to assess the overall health impact. Many projects under implementation are not enough compared to the total needs of the city. Only at the initial stage all the projects are experimental so only a very small part of the designated population enjoys the project benefits. Healthy urban planning can identify expansion projects by identifying such tests. If there is no opportunity for financing for expansion, the cooperation of international donors can be taken.
In order to formulate the new projects described above, detailed information on various topics is required. The first thing that a city health plan can do is to identify and list all the projects under implementation and planned projects. By covering the total amount of funding for these projects and identifying the beneficiaries of the project, healthy urban planning can see who is benefiting from the city or how much is being deprived. In addition, what development work is going on in some areas of the city, where a project needs funding, will also be considered in a healthy city plan. The work of the task forces will be considered. The task forces will be tasked with collecting and storing the above information to help present the current picture in different fields.
The role of urbanization in the overall economic development of a country, especially in modern times, is significant. Although a small part of the total population is urbanized, about half of the total production of developing countries comes from urbanization or urbanization. This role will be even stronger in the future as the global urbanization process grows. The total population of 20 to 30 cities in the world is expected to exceed one crore in the next 15 years. This means that in a few short years, most of the world’s people will live in a man-made or altered range.
This huge population in the cities is putting tremendous pressure on the environment. Cities are no longer easily kept in a healthy environment. The quality of various types of urban services such as housing, transportation, drinking water and sewerage, waste management, etc. is gradually declining. City authorities are struggling to ensure basic civil rights, such as employment or health. As a result, the number of slums is increasing in big cities; urban life is ending in slum life.
Healthy urban activities of the World Health Organization (WHO) have been adopted as a way to get rid of such a bleak future. The role of city governments is also changing as globalization spreads and the size of cities increases. Central or national governments have limited capacity to solve urbanization problems. The problem of urbanization is a local problem. As a result, the responsibilities and powers of city governments are increasing. The responsibility of the city government is to address the problems of urbanization such as drinking water supply, sewerage, housing, entertainment, environmental pollution or waste disposal. Failure to manage this environmental problem arising from urbanization means deterioration of the social and health system of the city dwellers. This will reduce the productive capacity of the people and increase unstable urbanization. ‘Health development’ is the improvement of health only when it is possible to come up with an acceptable solution to all kinds of problems of the city dwellers. At present, health is a priority in most city governments around the world.
The main feature of a healthy urban programme is to cultivate spontaneity and volunteerism. Systematically its management is simple. The people of the city or the development partners will decide the main programme of the healthy city and its implementation process. It is the people or development partners of different cities who decide on the main programmes of a healthy city and the process of its implementation, as well as the wealth management and personnel management of different cities. Healthy urban programmes have been started in eight cities of Bangladesh including Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar.
Chittagong is the second largest metropolitan city in the country. Its manpower, financial consistency, etc. are higher than many cities. Initially, it started with a city-wide plan, but now the healthy city programme is mainly confined to the Jamal Khan ward. The main objective of this is to promote Jamal Khan Ward as a healthy ward first and later to bring other wards under its purview using the experience gained by the officers. Many programmes have been taken up in Jamal Khan. These include better measures for waste disposal and active participation of the people in it, development of roads and sidewalks and conducting clean-up operations.
The main component of healthy urban programme is the proper uses of the resources of cities or towns. Healthy urban programmes therefore focus more on the selection and expansion of ongoing activities rather than the introduction of entirely new activities. At the same time new ideas are also welcomed. If local priorities can be addressed through the use of our own resources, then the next big problem can be addressed through development partners.
There is a strong discussion going on in the capital Dhaka about improving the environment. Recently, the government and the people have jointly set a groundbreaking example in the production and use of polythene and the closure of two-stroke scooters across the country. This success has made everyone hopeful and encouraging. Efforts and initiatives have been taken to stop black smoke from vehicles and eliminate tannery waste in the interest of conducting clean-up operations across the country. Again, a separate cleaning campaign is being run for Dhaka city. Such propaganda as ‘Prime Minister’s promise will be covered clean’ certainly inspires hope in the minds of common people. Where there is a promise from the Prime Minister, everyone must come forward to implement it.
This is a great opportunity in front of the newly elected mayors of Dhaka, which can be used to give a clean and beautiful city. Along with all the initiatives of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, the commitment of the Prime Minister, the new initiative of the newly elected mayors to build a beautiful and healthy city – a healthy environment for a happy and beautiful life – gives everyone hope. If the environment is not good, people can easily get sick, clean environment brings fresh feeling in the mind. Cleanliness is an organ of faith. So it is the responsibility of all of us to keep our beloved capital Dhaka beautiful, healthy and clean. With such a commitment, the newly elected mayors can start the ‘Dhaka Healthy Urban Activities’ where there is ample opportunity to build good relations with all departments and coordinate development activities in the form of a metropolitan government.
In Bangladesh, initiatives to create healthy cities and healthy environment in Chittagong, Rajshahi, Sylhet and Cox’s Bazar have been very successful. In the changed context, now is the real time to build a healthy city under the initiative of Dhaka City Corporations with the help of Public Health Implementation Agency to protect public health and uplift the environment.
The writer is former Deputy Director General, Bangladesh Ansar and VDP
