Juteplant

The jute plant grows six to ten feet in height. It has no branches. The stem of the jute plant is covered with thick bark and it contains the fibre. Jute is harvested in the rainy season in Bangladesh and grows best in a warm and humid climate, the plants grow up and then they are cut, tied up in bundles and kept under water for fermentation for several days. Thus the stems rot and the fibres from the bark become loose. Then the cultivators pull of the fibres from the bark and wash the fibres very carefully, dry them in the sun and put them in bundles for sale. Jute grows well in moist and swampy lands. Bangladesh has plenty of low lands that go under water during rainy season. Eighty percent of the world's high quality jute grows in Bangladesh.

(source: www.coirtex.co.za/services/process.htm)

Critical analysis of the 2002 KDA plan and masterplan from 1961

The existing Master Plan for Khulna City was prepared in 1961 and consists of 4 documents. First a strategic plan: a long term policy guideline (20 years), for long term urban development emphasising decentralisation of development activities with focus on participatory planning, evolving appropriate strategies, making realistic assumptions and a formulation of strategic options, based on certain assumptions and forecasts.

Planning vision: to remove long stagnation of the city by revitalizing its growth and to make it a poverty free, liveable and economically vibrant city.

The 1961 master plan was prepared in Macro framework. Most of the proposals were made in the form of outlines, instead of programmes and projects, and can be classified in four categories: land use, basic infrastructure, development and plan implementation. The plan made a number of specific proposals but few were implemented.

2002 Planning strategies:
1. development of strategic infrastructure
2. creation of employment opportunities
3. densification of existing urban areas
4. lateral physical growth for a compact shape
5. poverty alleviation and promotion of spatial Equity
6. regional integration
7. rural urban linkages
8. provision of public utilities and services
9. growth management

2002 Strategic options:
- Make a number of strategic infrastructure, Rupsha Bridge, Mongla port and airport, completion Dhaka mawa road.

mapping of the jute mills and their changing relation to the city morphology

After 1950 Khulna witnessed a significant industrial progress. The jute mills came into operation during this period (1954-71). All are sponsored by the former East Pakistan Industrial Development Corporation.

From a first mapping of the mills, their location within important industrial areas as Kalishpur, Daulatpur and Atra is evident. Further their proximity to waterways and the railway line is strategic for the import of raw material and the export of the end products.

Meaning of Water in Islamic Urbanism

Islam originated within a harsh, desert climate and hence water is seen as a scarce resource meant to be revered and preserved. Islam ascribes to water qualities such life-giving, sustaining, purifying resource… It considers water as the origin of all life on earth. The water of rain, rivers and fountains is considered benevolent, meant to wash away sins. Islamic Law emphasizes on the fair and equitable distribution of water to everyone within a community. Water is also used as a symbolization of Paradise; Quranic references to cooling rivers, fresh rain, fountains of flavoured drinking water in Paradise, show that water is the essence of the gardens of Paradise.

1. Purification through ablution – obligatory component in Islamic prayer ritual.
- The oju-khana within the mosque serves this function.
2. Water tanks, springs, fountains - mostly still representation of water i.e. in its calm state in gardens and within fort complexes. Persian gardens, tomb complexes etc. exhibit these. Eg. Shalimar Gardens in Kashmir, Humayun’s Tomb in Lucknow.
3. Construction of summer palaces, combined with mosques with existing water bodies such as lakes. The lakes are bounded within a geometric edge wall. Eg. Sarkhej in Ahmedabad.
4. There is no concrete reference of natural water-bodies such as rivers or seas (flowing water) as a factor in planning of an Islamic city, or of its presence playing a major part in urbanization. Such phenomena are mainly for scenic viewing and pleasure activities.

Riverfronts have been a major factor for urbanisation and constitute an integral part of Hindu daily life. Khulna was once part of Bengal, eastern India, and was pre-dominantly Hindu in history. Rivers in the Islamic context have been harnessed for irrigation, drawing of canals for water supply to the city, fort and palace complexes. There does not seem to be a direct relation with the riverfront and daily Islamic life.

Historical and potential links

Khulna is a post Industrial River city, located in one of the largest river delta’s in the world at high elevation of natural levee of west side of the Rupsa and Bhairab riverbeds. The History there shows that there is a link between Calcutta and Khulna through railway and water, where commercial and trade were established by the British colonial era. Railway used for transportation of Jute, rice, tobacco, sugar cane, wood, and other raw materials produced along the river front.

After division of India in 1947, Bangladesh become independent in 1971, no more effort was made in terms of infrastructure to overcome the conditions of the link between the two cities due to political misunderstanding. Currently the boarder of India and Bangladesh doesn’t allow any access neither by river nor railway.

The existing river kabadak could save for transportation purposes and be a link between Khulna and Calcutta.

River and The City

Rivers have been an important transportation channel in the early history of Asian cities, colonized by the British and used as colonial trading ports used as a navigable and the major transport system in the region with a huge traffic flow. River has always been seen as a sacred place for many religions, for e.g. a dip in the ocean, where the river drains into the sea is considered to be one of great religious significance. Cities like Banaras, Hoogly (India) have adapted itself to this kind of sacred value.

The river provides perennial supply of water to the plain of Bangladesh and West Bengal for irrigation and human & industry consumption. With the exploding urban growth the proper development of waterfronts in Asian cities has become a major issue not just for the livability of the city for its residents but also in terms of branding and positioning that city. Could a public/private partnership help in developing this kind of development?.

It has become a major component of the competitive advantage of the city and requires an approach to design, execution and on-going place management that maximizes the return on investment. The development of Khulna has been turning its back on the river which was once used as a transport medium and a lot of industrial and employment setup along its edge. The planning of the new highway by-passing the city would also be a major drawback in the expansion of the city away from the water edge creating derelict pockets of potential development of industrial lands within the city.

The Sundarbans

[“Green &Water-Scapes”]

In the south western part of Bangladesh, in the district of greater Khulna, lies the Sundarbans, "the beautiful forest." It is a virgin forest which until recently owed nothing to human endeavour and yet nature has laid it out with as much care as a planned pleasure ground.

It is a collage of different tissue patterns as visible in the plan of sundarbans area and its surrounding. It is a habitat of the world famous Royal Bengal Tiger, spotted deer, crocodiles, jungle fowl, wild boar, lizards, rhesus monkey and an innumerable variety of beautiful birds.

Fish further add to the serene natural beauty of the Sundarbans. They provide livelihood to approximately 160,000 people.

[1994, pg 11]

The mapping of the soft areas recognises the Bay of Bengal as a base of the sprawling forest as potentials that might be instrumental tool in shaping of a green and water-scapes for the design.

On mangrove

The mangrove forest [Sundarbans, meaning ‘Beautiful Forest’] is mainly divided into two types, the ‘freshwater’ forest, with the lowest level of salinity and the ‘moderately saltwater’ forest. Man, wind, rivers and animals constitute the main threats to the destruction of this forest. In 1907, Prain recorded 245 genera and 334 plant species. Mangrove forest represents the resource of large part of the industrial economy, Excoecaria agallocha wood, for instance is largely used in the newspaper mills industry.

The Sundarbans forest is populated by 4 million people, most of them living without shelter. Professor Hazra declared in the BBC News: ‘the Sundarbans appears to be a lost cause’. 6000 families have lost their home in the last two decades. Scientists believe 1000 sq km will be inundated due to one metre rise of the sea level within the next 50 years. Professor Hazra predicts 15% of habitable area will be lost by 2020, displacing 30.000 people.

Research: Case Studies Post Industrial Sites

Through a number of projects on the re-use of post industrial sites, a basic practical frame can be provided to project upon the Khulna cases. Since there are already many examples to be found, the investigation will be narrowed down by extrapolating characteristics of the Khulna context and selecting projects that hold similar situation within them.

Because of this starting point, the projects themselves can become relevant for Khulna context and can hold in themselves already part of the solution or kick off point for re-adapting the Khulna post industrial sites to present needs.

If possible and the information is present, a mapping of the post industrial sites and their specification of the characteristics will be very useful for the continuation of the studio.

Climate change: projected effects on Bangladesh

Because of its location, Bangladesh has to face a number of natural problems as well as socio-economic ones. The low lying Ganges-Brahmaputra river delta makes up the major part of the country, which makes it sensitive to flooding. Moreover, tropical cyclones and droughts have caused catastrophes in the past. The predicted climate change will aggravate the situation in the densely populated country – these are some of the issues that have to be dealt with

• Khulna is located on a natural levee along the Bhairab-Rupsha banks (4 m above MSL), which protects the city from tidal floods, even with a sea level rise of 1 m. (7)
• Climate change scenarios indicate the possibility of more serious riverflooding (larger predicted peak discharges), affecting mainly central and north-eastern Bangladesh. (5)
• Water shortages (as well as acute moisture stress) will affect western Bangladesh during the dry months. (2)
• Climate change will cause an increase in salinity in the already affected soils in the coastal regions, which will impact the fragile ecological system of the Sundarbans. Local farmers are left with no alternative than to begin raising shrimp where they once grew crops. (1)
• Indirectly, climate change will aggravate health conditions, poverty etc. (3),(6)

(1) Agrawala, S., e.a., Development and climate change in Bangladesh: focus on coastal flooding and the Sundarbans, OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), 2003.
(2) Alam M., e.a., Impacts, vulnerability and adaptation to climate change in Asia, UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change), 2007.
(3) Brouwer, R., e.a., “Socioeconomic vulnerability and adaptation to environmental risk: A case study of climate change and flooding in Bangladesh”, in: Risk Analysis, 27 (2007) 2, pp. 313-326.
(4) Huq. S., e.a., Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Change for Bangladesh, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, 1999 (via http://www.sdnbd.org/).
(5) Monrirul Quader Mirza, M., e.a., "The implications of climate change on floods of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers in Bangladesh Climatic Change", in: Climatic Change, 2003 (57) 3, pp. 287-318.
(6) Nelson, D.I., e.a., “Health impact assessment of climate change in Bangladesh”, in: Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 23 (2003) 3, pp. 323-341.
(7) USAID (United States Agency for International Development), Environmental Mapping and Workbook for Khulna city, Urban and rural Planning Discipline, Khulna University, 1999.

Illustrations:
Students Wageningen University, ‘Scenarios’ presentation, 11 February 2008.
Der Spiegel Online, Photo Gallery: Prawns in the rice field, <http://www.spiegel.de/fotostrecke/0,5538,21321,00.html/> (accessed 12 February 2008).
Sustainable Development Networking Programme Bangladesh (SDNP-SDNBD), World Environment Day (2004-2006), <http://www.sdnbd.org/> (accessed 12 February 2008).

case studies water purification

RELEVANT CASE STUDIES – WATER PURIFICATION PROJECTS IN URBAN CONTEXT.

Water is interwoven with the city of Khulna on different levels and in different scale. The water network knows a strong hierarchy: the river, dens network of waterways in the South-East of the city, the ponds within.
This strong hierarchy and presence in the city can be reflected in the approach of water purification within the city. In other words it can be introduced in different scales and levels. It can be interwoven in the lagooning of the natural landscape. Within the city it can be incorporated in de reviewing of the post-industrial sites.
Relevant case studies:
Harnes, Pas de Calais, France, 2005 Francois Xavier Mosquet
Homebush Bay, Sydney
In local scale water treatment can be introduced in residential neighborhoods linked to the ponds. Water treatment can generate open and public space.
Relevant case study: aerated lagoon in Ho Chi Minh City (article Kelly Shannon)
Relevant literature:
Izembart H, Le Boudec B, Waterscapes, Using plant systems to treat wastewater, Land&ScapeSeries

shrimp farming

The main spatial impact of shrimp farming is that what was once agricultural land, changes into shrimp ponds. And this is a quiet irreversible spatial effect as the saline water of the ponds affects the soil. The land becomes unfit for agriculture and local flora.

The shrimp cultivation makes the living standard of the locals slightly better, but the big profits go to people outside of Khulna[1]. Viruses start to spread easily when there are lots of ponds together, so the slightly better living standard of the people is quiet uncertain.
Moreover the employment rate for the same amount of land is lower than with agriculture.

As the saline water makes growing rice impossible, conflicts occur between shrimp and rice farmers of the same village. The government tries to mix in these conflicts and has the policy to support the rice farmers as rice becomes more scarce and more expensive.[2]

Interesting to know is that shrimp ponds don’t mind to be flood once and a while. They need the saline water of the river and the water flushes the diseases away. [3]

______________

main source: RAHMAN, Matiur, “Geo-political economy of shrimp culture and livelihood shift in southwestern Bangladesh” in: RAHMAN, Matiur (ed.), Globalisation, environmental crisis and social change in Bangladesh, The University Press Limited, Dhaka, 2003, pp. 247-293.
[1] Professor Sarma
[2] Bangladesh Agricultural Development Cooperation
[3] locals