A Case Study on Neighborhood Revitalization of a Rapidly Urbanizing Metropolis of the Global South

<div> <p>Urban revitalization is indispensable for many cities of the Global South that are undergoing rapid, often uneven urbanization. Conventional macroeconomic indicators such as GDP frame this growth as progress, yet this research shows that it can be deeply detrimental to marginalized communities living in deteriorating inner-city squatter settlements, particularly in countries such as Bangladesh. Dhaka, the capital city (and former provincial capital under both the Bengal Sultanate and British India), is a vulnerable historic metropolis experiencing haphazard growth. Its old downtown district, Puran Dhaka, is increasingly taking on the characteristics of a slum-like inner city, exacerbated by obsolete planning policies, outdated construction methods, and defunct financing mechanisms. These historic neighborhoods have become unintended by-products of rapid urbanization due to the absence of coherent revitalization strategies—a pattern observable in many cities with similar geopolitical conditions.</p> <p>In contrast, since the late nineteenth century, many Western global cities have implemented successive waves of policy intervention, investment, and financing strategies for urban revitalization. Despite different histories and socio-economic contexts, they confront urban redevelopment challenges that parallel those of emerging megacities in the Global South. Against this backdrop, the paper analyzes Shakhari Bazar, an inner-city neighborhood in Puran Dhaka, and examines its post-colonial reality through the lens of architecture. The thesis comprises a research component and a design component. The research component develops macro-level policy measures based on precedent case studies, published literature, and interviews with local officials and community stakeholders. It argues that while heritage conservation is essential, revitalization of the old city is equally critical to accommodate the evolving needs of a rapidly expanding metropolis; conservation and revitalization must therefore proceed in an integrated manner. The study proposes four key policy measures: revitalization of the entrepreneurial ecosystem, redevelopment and adaptive reuse of shophouses, community reinvestment, and affordable housing provision via incentives to private developers. It concludes that adaptive reuse of historic inner-city building stock—now often functioning as deteriorating squatter settlements—offers a resilient response to land scarcity while limiting peri-urban sprawl. Building on this, the design component develops prototype building typologies that promote adaptive reuse informed by the architectural character of traditional shophouses, aiming to strengthen the community’s entrepreneurial ecosystem while conserving the essential socio-spatial fabric of the neighborhood.</p> </div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div></div> <div> <div></div> </div> </div> </div> </div>