TITLE:
Green Urbanism Incorporating Greenery-Based Conceptual Model towards Attaining a Sustainable Healthy Livable Environment—Dhaka City’s Perspective
AUTHORS:
Meher Nigar Neema, Khandoker Md. Maniruzzaman, Akira Ohgai
KEYWORDS:
Green Urbanism; Healthy City; Livable City; Sustainable City; Greenery; Tree
JOURNAL NAME:
Current Urban Studies,
Vol.1 No.3,
August
29,
2013
ABSTRACT: In this paper, a model of green urbanism (GU) incorporating the concept of planting trees and greeneries has been proposed. The GU model attempts to address challenges encountered by dynamically changing cities around the globe due to the increasing events of urban greeneries transforming into built-up areas. A framework is designed to develop a greenery-based conceptual model (GBCM) towards attaining a sustainable healthy livable (SHL) environment. The model is applied to mega city Dhaka as a case study considering its adopted greenery-based urban strategies and methodologies to deal with both social and economic aspects. In this context, we first revisit the present state-of-the-art of greeneries in Dhaka, then examine whether Dhaka is a SHL-city and finally, an attempt has been taken to revive Dhaka as GU to bring a sustainable healthy environment. The model has confirmed that greenery is the prime factor of green urbanism which could bring a number of fundamental environmental benefits such as reduction in energy use, pollution, waste generation, emission of greenhouse gas, impacts on climate and occurrence of natural disasters. The model thus developed has an implication on how city planners can adapt a priori approach to ensure sustainable health of populations combating unprecedented social, economic and environmental challenges of unsustainable, unhealthy, and unlivable (3U) cities due to insufficient greeneries.