13/08/2025
There is no alternative of REFORM ⚠️
🏙️ Dhaka’s Built-up Area Has Surged Sevenfold
In just four decades, built-up coverage has surged 7x, consuming open land, trees, and wetlands at an unprecedented pace.
Between 1980 and 2024, built-up coverage expanded from 6.8% to 48.9% — growing by nearly 1% every year and swallowing open spaces, greenery, and waterbodies.
Urban saturation is now the norm: Adabar, Mirpur, Rampura, Uttara Paschim, Kafrul, Bangshal, Sutrapur, Wari, Kalabagan, Dhanmondi, Shyampur, Kotwali, Chawkbazar, Paltan, and Hazaribagh are all 80–90% built-up. Out of 50 thanas in Dhaka, 37 already exceed the safe construction threshold — leaving little room for ecological recovery or climate resilience.
This isn’t just poor planning - it’s a violation of nature’s rights.
🛑 We need urgent reform, not just restoration.
📘 Read the full report here: https://www.changei.earth/post/dhaka-without-nature-rethinking-natural-rights-led-urban-sustainability