Author

  • Bayezid Ismail Choudhury

    • Faculty of Architecture and Planning, University of Sydney, Australia
    • Australia

  • Paul Jones

    • Faculty of Architecture and Planning, University of Sydney, Australia
    • Australia

  • Peter Armstrong

    • Faculty of Architecture and Planning, University of Sydney, Australia
    • Australia

Abstract

Urban planning is inherently a political process addressing social justice and social coherence concerns. However, planners are fixated with the physical and superficial social aspects of planning, overlooking its deeper interrelationships. This paper discusses two master plans for the city of Dhaka. The first is the 1917 plan by Patrick Geddes, and the second is the 1959 Minoprio, Spencely and Mcfarlane Plan. Both plans were developed after a phase of social upheaval and unrest orchestrated to suppress the desires and wishes of the people of Dhaka. In both instances, the cross cultural planners lack cultural awareness, failing to perceive the then current issues fronting Dhaka. In essence, they work in isolation as planners. These initiatives can be argued as representing ‘planning for planning’s sake’. In this setting, this paper articulates that the failure of the two master plans were due to a lack of awareness of the social and political realities by these ‘foreign’ planners.

Keywords

References

  • Akhtar, S. (2009). On The Selection of Dhaka as the Capital of Eastern Bengal and Assam 1905-1911. In S. Ahmed (ed.) Dhaka: Past, Present and Future. Dhaka, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
  • Ashraf, M. (1982). Muslim Attitudes towards British Rule and Western Culture in India in the First Half of the Nineteenth Century. Delhi, India, Idarah-i Adabiyat-i Delli.
  • Baxter, C. (1997). Bangladesh: From a Nation to a State. Boulder, West views Press.
  • Beckman, N. (1970). The New BPBS: Planning, Politics, Bureaucracy and Salvation. T. L. B. a. G. Lathrop. New York, Odyssey Press.
  • Bhattachargee, G. P. (1973). Renaissance and Freedom Movement in Bangladesh. Calcutta, Mivera Associates.
  • Biswas, A. K. (1995). Paradox of Anti-Partition Agitation and Swadeshi Movement in Bengal (1905). Social Scientist , 23(4/6), 38-57.
  • Burayidi, M. A. (2000). Urban planning in a Multicultural Society. Westport, CT, London, Praeger.
  • Catanese, A. J. (1984). The Politics of Planning and Development. Beverly Hills, Sage Publications. 22 The Master plan of Islamabad (Pakistan) by Greek Planner Doxiadis is another failed case of cross-cultural planning. The plan did not materialize due to an inadequate institutional framework to support the master plan (Maria, 2006).
  • Chakraborti, R. (2009). Role of Dhaka after Annulment of Partition. Dhaka: Past Present Future. In S. Ahmed (Ed.), Dhaka: Past, Present and Future. Dhaka, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
  • Chatterjee, S. P. (1947). The Partition of Bengal: A Geographical Study. Calcutta, Geographical Society.
  • Chattopadhayay, D. K. (1977). The Ferazee and Wahabi Movements of Bengal. Social Scientist , 6(2), 42-51.
  • Cherry, C. E. (1970). Town Planning in its Social Context. London, Leonard Hill Books.
  • Choudhury, B. I. & Armstrong, P. (2012). Monuments and Architecture Shaping Bangladeshi Identity. Global Built Environmental Review , 8(3), 45-67.
  • Choudhury, B. & Bell, G. (2011). The Engagement of Khan and Kahn in Jatio Sangsad Bhaban. Architecture Plus Design , 28(4), 104-111.
  • Choudhury, B., Armstrong, P. & Jones, P. (2012). Why Geddes Plan Didn’t materialize: Planning for Planning Sake in the Case of Dhaka. 5th International Urban Design Conference: Opportunistic Urban Design2012, Melbourne, Australia.
  • Chowdhury, A. & Faruqui, S. (2009). Physical Growth of Dhaka City. In S. Ahmed (Ed.), Dhaka: Past, Present and Future. Dhaka, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
  • Cronin, R. P. (1977). British Policy and Administration in Bengal, 1905-1912: Partition and the New Province of Eastern Bengal and Assam. Calcutta, Firma KLM Private Ltd.
  • Dasgupta, A. (2004). Islam in Bengal: Formative Period. Social Scientist , 32(3/4), 30-41.
  • Dhar, P. N. (1987). Bengal Renaissance: A Study in Social Contradictions. Social Scientist , 15(1), 26-45.
  • Dimitriou, B. (1973). The Interpretation of Politics and Planning. Pergamon Press , 7, 55-65.
  • EPC, D. E. (2010). Preparation of Detailed Area Plan for Dhaka Metropolitan Development Planning (DMDB) Area, Dhaka.
  • Findley, L. (2005). Architecture, Politics and Cultural Agency. New York, Routledge.
  • Friedmann, J. (2005). Globalisation and the Emerging Culture of Planning. Progress in Planning , 64, 183-234.
  • Gable, R. W. (1967). Bureaucratic Transition: The Case of the British Colonies. Public Administration Review , 27(5), 474-482.
  • Geddes, P. (1917). Report On Town Planning, Dacca. Calcutta.
  • Greer-Scott, D. W. M. (1964). The Political Side of Urban Development and Redevelopment. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science , 352, 62-73.
  • Hayder, Z. (1987). Organic Cities and the Case of Patrick Geddes in Dhaka. Architecture. Massachusetts, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Master of Science.
  • Hendler, S. (1995). Planning Ethics. New Brunswick, New Jersey, Centre For Urban Policy Research.
  • Hoch, C. (1994). What Planners Do. Chicago, Illinois, Washington, Planners Press.
  • Islam, M. N. (2009). The Political Role of Dhaka. In S. Ahmed (Ed.) Dhaka: Past, Present and Future. Dhaka, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
  • Islam, N. (1981). Islam and National Identity: The Case of Pakistan and Bangladesh. International Journal of Middle East Studies , 13(1), 55-72.
  • Jacobs, A. B. (1995). Looking Back. In J.M. Stein (Ed.) Classic Reading in Urban Planning. New York, St. Louis, San Francisco, Aukland, Bogota, McGraw-Hill.
  • Jahan, R. (1972). Pakistan: Failure in National Integration. New York, Columbia University Press.
  • Khan, Z. R. (1985). Islam and Bengali Nationalism. Asian Survey , 25(8), 834-851.
  • Krumholz, N. J. F. (1995). To Be Professionally Effective, Be Politically Articulate. In J.M. Stein (Ed.) Classic Reading in Urban Planning. New York, St. Louis, San Francisco, Aukland, Bogota, McGraw-Hill.
  • Lambert, R. D. (1959). Factors in Bengali Regionalism. Far Eastern Survey , 28(4), 49-58.
  • Lewis, D. (2011). Bangladesh: Politics, Economics, and Civil Society. Cambridge, New York, Cambridge University Press.
  • Maria, S. I. M. I. (2006). Planning of Islamabad and Rawalpindi: What Went Wrong. ISoCaRP Congress. Istanbul, Turkey.
  • Maron, S. (1955). The Problem of East Pakistan. Pacific Affairs , 28(2), 132-144.
  • Mascarenhas, A. (1971). The Rape of Bangladesh. Delhi, Vikas. MacFarlane, T., Minoprio, L. & Spencely, T. (1959). Master Plan of Dhaka. Dhaka.
  • Meller, H. (1990). Patrick Geddes: Social Evolutionist and City Planner. London, Routledge.
  • Njoh, A. J. (2007). Planning Power: Town Planning and Social Control in Colonial Africa. London, UCL Press.
  • Post, J. (1996). The Politics of Urban Planning in the Sudan. Habitat International , 20(1), 121-137.
  • Qureshi, S. M. M. (1972-73). Pakistani Nationalism Reconsidered. Pacific Affairs , 45(4), 556-572.
  • Rabinovitz, F. F. (1967). Politics, Personality and Planning. Public Administration Review , 27(1), 18-24.
  • Ray, A. B. (1977). Communal Attitudes to British Policy: The Case of the Partition of Bengal 1905. Social Scientist , 6(5), 34-46.
  • Ross, J. P. (1974). Theoretical Problems of Democratic Planning. Acta Sociologica , 17, 217-235.
  • Rydin, Y. (2011). The Purpose of Planning. Portland, Policy Press.
  • Schendel, W. V. (2009). A History of Bangladesh. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
  • Schuman, H. (1972). A Note on the Rapid Rise of Mass Bengali Nationalism in East Pakistan. American Journal of Sociology , 78(2), 290-298.
  • SENES Consultants Limited, T. C. I. L. (2007). Dhaka Metropolitan Development Plan Strategic Environmental Assessment. Dhaka, The World Bank Washington, D. C. http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTRANETENVIRONMENT/Resources/2443511222272730742/Final-DhakaSEA-11_Sep_2007.pdf
  • Thompson, H. R. (2007). Bangladesh. Language and National Identity in Asia. A. Simpson. Oxford New York, Oxford University Press.
  • Uddin, S. M. (2006). Constructing Bangladesh: Religion, Ethnicity, and Language in an Islamic Nation. Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina Press.
  • Vasu, M. L. (1979). Politics and Planning. Chapel Hill, the University of North Carolina Press.
  • Zaman, Q. M. & Mahtab-Uz, S. S. Y. L. (2000). City Expansion Policy versus Compact City Demand: The Case of Dhaka. In R. M. Jenks (Ed.) Compact Cities. London and New York.

Downloads

No downloads have been recorded for this article yet. Figures appear here once readers begin downloading the full text.

How to Cite

Choudhury, B. I., Jones, P., & Armstrong, P. (2013). The Failure of the 1917 Geddes Master Plan and 1959 Minoprio, Spencely, Macfarlane Master Plans: Some Reflections. Journal of Social and Development Sciences, 4(10), 449-460. https://doi.org/10.22610/jsds.v4i10.784

Share this article

License

Copyright (c) 2013 Bayezid Ismail Choudhury, Paul Jones, Peter Armstrong (Author)

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Author (s) should affirm that the material has not been published previously. It has not been submitted and it is not under consideration by any other journal. At the same time author (s) need to execute a publication permission agreement to assume the responsibility of the submitted content and any omissions and errors therein. After submission of revised paper in the light of suggestions of the reviewers, the editorial team  edits and formats manuscripts to bring uniformity and standardization in published material.

This work will be licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) and under condition of the license, users are free to read, copy, remix, transform, redistribute, download, print, search or link to the full texts of articles and even build upon their work as long as they credit the author for the original work. Moreover, as per journal policy author (s) hold and retain copyrights without any restrictions.

Keywords

Section

Research Paper

Published in

Vol. 4 No. 10 (2013) Development, Governance & Consumer Culture View issue contents

Published

2013-10-30

Submissions

Have research to publish? Journal of Social and Development Sciences welcomes submissions.

Make a Submission