Posted on

“Land-Related Issues, Dhaka, Bangladesh,” Urban Sector Strategy Report, for Dhaka and Chittagong, Bangladesh, 2006

Abstract

In 2006, Mona Serageldin and other I2UD team members prepared the report on “Land-Related Issues, Dhaka, Bangladesh” for the World Bank. The project formulated an urban sector strategy summary for Dhaka and Chittagong, Bangladesh, emphasizing employment generation and poverty reduction.

The report was based largely on fieldwork in Dhaka and Chittagong, consisting primarily of interviews with residents of slums, evaluation of squatter settlements and informal areas, meetings and interviews with government officials, meetings with NGOs and micro-finance institutions, and visits to key projects.

The report discussed in detail the urban land market in Bangladesh, defined the different types of land tenure held by urban dwellers, assessed the role of local and district authorities in land management, evaluated land-related impediments on housing and development finance, and highlighted issues related to access to land and services by the urban poor.

Project Year:2006
Project Type:Development Strategy
Geographic Regions:Dhaka and Chittagong, Bangladesh
Reports:Land Related Issues, Dhaka, Bangladesh: (Mona Serageldin, April 2006)
Authors:Mona Serageldin; Arif Ahamed; Felicity Chan; Christa Lee-Chuvala
Sponsors:World Bank
Categories:Informal Settlements and Urban Upgrading
  
ID:2006_01_001
Posted on

“Housing Microfinance Initiatives,” Case Study for USAID Microenterprise Best Practices Initiative, 1999-2000

Abstract

Team members at the Unit for Housing and Urbanization (later the Center for Urban Development Studies) at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design worked on the “Housing Microfinance Initiative” case study from 1999 to 2000, accompanying USAID’s Microenterprise Best Practices effort. The Unit produced reports to highlight the achievements of housing micro-finance initiatives around the world. Findings noted the challenges facing the extension of microcredit to poor households for funding shelter construction and improvements, land acquisition, and infrastructure provisions. Geographic regions covered include South Asia, Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Documents include a final report, a 1998 draft background report on Guatemala, an inception brief, multiple summary and synthesis reports, supporting overviews, and case studies with photos. Regional overviews address the broad geographic areas noted above.

See related I2UD projects below

Project Year:1999-2000
Project Type:Case Study
Geographic Regions:South Asia (India and Bangladesh) / Southeast Asia (Philippines) / Latin America (Guatemala) / Sub-Saharan Africa (South Africa)
Reports:
Authors:John Driscoll; Graciela Fortin-Magana; Christopher Rogers; Mona Serageldin; Sameh Wahba; Christine Williams; Kimberly Wilson
Sponsors:USAID Microfinance Office; Development Alternatives, Inc. (Bethesda, Maryland)
Categories:Urban Planning
  
ID:1999_00_001

Related I2UD Projects

Beginning in 1982, the Unit for Housing and Urbanization at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design hosted International Training Programs (ITP), an annual series of 2- to 4-week summer seminars designed to strengthen the decision-making skills of senior professionals in public and private agencies responsible for urban development.

The I2UD Digital Library holds curriculum materials for ITPs from 1988, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1997, and 1998:

The tradition of ITPs continued after 2000, when the Center for Urban Development Studies (CUDS) (a re-organization of the Unit) continued training seminars as International Education Programs (IEP) from 2000-2004:

Programs included inter-linked modules, lectures, case studies, interactive computer simulation models, site visits to urban projects, discussion groups and networking with professional counterparts from international metropolitan regions. Sessions had a modular format and structured team teaching, taught by a team of senior faculty and guest lecturers. Programs ended with a synthesis presented through a project evaluation exercise. Participants used case projects to examine strategies from the viewpoint of both public and private partners — to assess the feasibility and potential impacts of policies and projects on the community and the city. Presentations by guest speakers, representing U.S. and international agencies, NGOs, and community groups, were also integrated within the pedagogic framework of each module.

Posted on

Design Studio 1981: “Housing Design in Islamic Cultures” in Algeria, Bangladesh, Egypt, Iraq, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia, Seminar Curriculum

Abstract

The 1981 Design Studio, “Housing Design in Islamic Cultures,” was held jointly by the Unit for Housing and Urbanization at the Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design and the MIT Laboratory of Architecture and Planning in August 1981.

Documents include a program syllabus, an essay on “Determinants of Housing Design” by Professor Vigier, an essay on the “Role of the Public Sector” by Ismail Serageldin, and a bibliography on “Housing and Housing Design in the Muslim World” by Aga Khan/MIT librarian Richard Dewey.

Supporting materials include background papers on M’Sila, Algeria; Dhaka, Bangladesh; El Mounira Imbaba, Egypt; Iraq National Context; Karachi, Pakistan; Yanbu Industrial City, Saudi Arabia; and Indonesia.

See related I2UD projects below

Project Year:1981
Project Type:Urban Design Studio
Geographic Regions:Dhaka, Bangladesh / Karachi, Pakistan / Yanbu Industrial City, Saudi Arabia / Iraq / Egypt / M’Sila, Algeria / Indonesia
Reports:
—
—
National Urban Context Background Papers:
Authors:Mona Serageldin; François Vigier; Ismail Serageldin; Assia Khellaf; Altaf Mulla; Aminul Haq Khan; Nadia Al Hasani; Akhtar Badshah; Isam Alimam; Javed Sultan; Mohamed El-Sioufi; Richard H. Dewey
Sponsors:Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture
Categories:Design Studios; Education
  
ID:1981_08_001

Related I2UD Projects


Gallery 1: Algeria: Algiers (1987-1988)

Galleries 6-7: Egypt: Cairo and Helwan (1986, 1990)