Urban Housing as an Issue of Redistribution through Planning? The Case of Dhaka City

The rapid growth of population, the mushrooming of poor settlements and unplanned urbanization have crucial implications for the efficiency and equity of urban services. The resultant infringements of critical human rights throw into focus the importance of housing as a social policy issue. Urban services are strained in Dhaka city. Urban management has been disrupted as a result of spatial encroachment and environmental degradation. In addition to land scarcity, land speculation and endemic corruption, the high price of land is also a product of the system of land registration. The dearth of valuable urban land, together with delays in urban planning and its implementation, have made the acquisition of land for housing prohibitively expensive for middle and low‐income households. Consequently, the quality of the housing environment is deteriorating. The problem of housing finance is intrinsically linked to its affordability, being currently the prerogative only of the affluent. This article delineates the inherent lack of integrated urban planning, the lacunae within institutions responsible for urban management – and, contextually, the nature of housing as a social policy issue, where reinforced, coordinated planning and administration could ensure distributive benefits even to the poor.