




































Bangladesh Journal of Multidisciplinary Scientific Research 

 Vol. 3, No. 1; 2021 

ISSN 2687-850X   E-ISSN 2687-8518  

Published by CRIBFB, USA 

 

33 

URBANIZATION IN BANGLADESH: EMERGING 

CHALLENGES AND THE WAY FORWARD 
 

 

Afroza Islam Lipi 

Lecturer 

Department of Local Government and Urban Development 

Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University 

Trishal, Mymensingh, Bangladesh 

E-mail: afrozaislamlipi@gmail.com 

 

Nazmul Hasan 

Lecturer 

Department of Public Administration and Governance Studies 

Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University 

Trishal, Mymensingh, Bangladesh 

E-mail: nazmul.pags23@gmail.com 

 

 

ABSTRACT 

Urbanization is a natural process of the population shift from rural to urban territories. More 

specifically, urbanization is a process of migration of population from rural to urban areas as 

well as the transformation of society where the rural agricultural economy is being transformed 

to advance the industrial economy.  A major change to be witnessed in Bangladesh over the last 

few decades is the rapid spread of urbanization. Multiple driving factors paved the way for 

spreading the rapid growth of urbanization in Bangladesh. If this spread is not effectively 

managed, emerging challenges like spatial imbalance, environmental challenges, weak policy 

framework, challenges of sustainable cities, urban poverty, urban health issues, etc are likely to 

grow. This study aims at exploring the emerging challenges of urbanization in Bangladesh. It 

also explores the way forward to face the emerging challenges. This study has been conducted 

depending on qualitative and descriptive analysis. It is mainly based on secondary data. 

Available books, journals, documents, newspapers, data, reports, and magazine articles are 

reviewed in detail as a secondary source. In the findings of the study, the rapid growth trend has 

been critically examined. Besides emerging challenges of urbanization in Bangladesh have been 

identified. Finally, some recommendations have been put forward to overcome the emerging 

challenges of urbanization in Bangladesh.   

 

Keywords: Bangladesh, Challenges, Urbanization. 

 

JEL Classification Codes: D8, O15, O18. 

 

INTRODUCTION 

The history of urbanization is the history of people struggle to survive and to move from rural to 

urban areas in search of better opportunities which are absent in the villages or rural areas. In the 

mailto:afrozaislamlipi@gmail.com
mailto:nazmul.pags23@gmail.com


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past, people were satisfied with their rural simple life, but nowadays various factors work behind 

the rapid growth of urbanization such as job opportunities, better service facilities, better income, 

educational facilities, better standard of living, etc. The growth of cities and urbanization of the 

world is one of the most impressive facts of modern times which wrought profound changes in 

virtually every phase of social life (Writh, 1938). Urbanization is an inevitable and dynamic 

process. It has a long urban history through towns and cities that appeared many years ago, the 

process of modern urbanization first began with the industrial revolution in England and then in 

all the continents of the world. The 21st century is becoming an urban century. Urbanization is a 

word that describes the increase in the proportion of people living in urban areas such as towns 

and cities. Urban growth is an unavoidable feature in the process of urbanization. In recent times, 

the tendency of people to live around cities and towns in Bangladesh is increasing day by day. In 

our country, people mainly come from villages to cities in search of multiple opportunities. 

However, urbanization is frequently used as an indicator of development. But unplanned 

urbanization is a threat in developing countries like Bangladesh. Recently, some contemporary 

emerging challenges are complicating urbanization in Bangladesh. Proper planning and measures 

can reduce such emerging challenges, and their impact. Through planned urbanization, 

Bangladesh will surely achieve its desired sustainable urban development goal.  In  2008,  

humankind has crossed a  socio-demographic milestone for the first time in history by having 

half of its population living within the urban areas (UNFPA, 2007). Ultimately urbanization 

accelerates the major socioeconomic and infrastructural transformation of the country with other 

related changes. Bangladesh is urbanizing fast with a new idea for new ways of creating better 

human life. So, the study of urbanization in Bangladesh is a crucial issue today. Various 

contemporary emerging challenges need to identify and address challenges for making 

sustainable cities in Bangladesh.               

 

Objectives of the Study 

This study focuses on urbanization and the emerging challenges in Bangladesh. It suggests some 

ways forward measure as well. The objectives of this study are:  

 To examine the nature and trends of urbanization in Bangladesh. 

 To explore emerging challenges of urbanization.  

 To make the way forward measures.  

 

LITERATURE REVIEW 
Urbanization is not a modern phenomenon. It has a long historical culture. During the last few 

decades, Bangladesh has experienced an extremely high rate of urbanization. Urbanization is a 

pattern of change from rural life to urban life. Misra (1978) explained, "urbanization is a process 

of change in the demographic, social, economic, technological, and environmental context of life 

in a given society. These changes reveal themselves in the growing concentration of population 

in human settlements larger than rural areas. (Misra, 1978). Estimates show that the gradual shift 

of population from rural to urban areas, combined with the global population growth,  could add 

another 2.5 billion people to urban areas by 2050, with close to 90% of this increase taking place 

in Asia and Africa, according to United Nations data 2019.  Since independence, the average rate 

of urbanization in Bangladesh is 5% (World Bank, 2012) and the rate has been increased 

tremendously. The first Bangladesh census completed in 1981 shows a low level of urbanization 

where only 15% of the total population lived in cities (Farhana, 2015). But recently our country 

has experienced a high rate of growth in its urban area. A variety of driving factors has been 



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35 

identified to explain rapid urbanization in Bangladesh. The micro-credit program is very popular 

to reduce poverty and improve the standard of living both in rural and urban areas. Sometimes 

rural people cannot repay micro-credit loans in time due to the high-interest rate of credit and 

very short time of repayment loan etc (Banu, Hossain, Haque, & Ahmed, 2021). As a result, 

people moved to the urban areas in search of new jobs to pay off their loans. A lot of economic 

opportunities such as industrialization, infrastructure, commercialization, trading, etc result in 

rapid urbanization in Bangladesh. The contribution of the urban sector to  GDP  is increasing 

gradually in Bangladesh and it is now about  65%.  Due to industrialization, more and more 

people are moving from rural areas to urban areas for better employment. Hofmann and Wan 

(2013) examined that trade promotes urbanization through at least two channels: (1) Trade 

development is accompanied by growth in transportation hubs, which are usually located in 

cities; and (2) The setup and maintenance of international trade connections increase demand for 

marketing and financing services that also concentrate on cities (Hofmann & Wan, 2013). So, 

modern trade and commerce have also resulted in rapid urbanization. The role of infrastructure 

has been prominently featured in the core-periphery literature that analyzes urban concentration 

in core regions, and periphery regions in the presence of technological progress, which is often 

indicated by lower transport costs (Wan & Zhang, 2017). At the end of the 20th century in the 

1980s, the garment industries grew to start, and still, now, there are 4296 factories. The growth 

of such industries drives rapid urbanization in Dhaka and other cities. In this regard, a large 

proportion of people migrated from rural to urban areas in search of a better life with a job in 

factories. As a result, urbanization started to grow in faster motion. A report from BGMEA 

(2019) showed the rise of working people and the number of garment factories in the last 30 

years. In 1985, only 120000 people worked in 384 garment factories. After 15 years the number 

of people and factories were increased. After 15 years in 2000, around 1.6 million workers in 

3200 garments factories and again more than 15 years in 2015, 4 million workers in 4296 

factories. This industrial boom is one of the major driving factors for rapid urbanization in recent 

times (BGMEA, 2019). Nazrul Islam in his writing ' Urbanization in Bangladesh: Recent Trends 

and Challenges' mentioned various challenges of urbanization in Bangladesh briefly. He added 

urbanization brings along economic and social benefits, but it also poses some serious 

challenges, especially when it takes place at a pace as rapid as the one in evidence in Bangladesh 

today (Islam, 2018). Islam examined that, rapid urbanization without planning and development 

control has led to massive degradation in the urban environment. This is evident in air and water 

pollution. There is also a high level of noise pollution and land degradation. Uncollected garbage 

adds to an increase in harmful odors as well. In big cities particularly Dhaka, air pollution is one 

of the highest in the world.  Lots of traffic jams have become a regular feature. In addition to 

contributing to the pollution of air, traffic jams also cause economic loss. It has been caused by 

rapid urbanization. There is very little planning activity, and urban management is weak and 

uncoordinated. The situation has been created for a long time. Lack of adequate financial 

resources is also an important issue, but equally critical has been the lack of awareness on the 

part of the authority as well as of the people.  Deforestation, cutting down of hills, encroachment, 

and filling of reservoirs, or other situations are caused mainly due to overpopulation, and poor 

governance (Islam, 1999). Rapid urbanization creates the challenge of disaster vulnerabilities in 

our cities. Disaster risks are obvious and immediate, and they gesture special challenges. 

Bangladesh was known for rural hazards previously, but nowadays urban hazards are becoming 

severe day by day. In this regard, many governmental and non-governmental initiatives have 

been launched to reduce disaster vulnerabilities. But there is still much to be done (Rahman, 



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36 

Islam, & Ahmed, 2012). In the context of Bangladesh, the challenges of future urbanization are 

enormous. Poor management, inefficiency, and lack of coordination among implementing 

agencies combined with inadequate financial resources have been aggravating the situation. 

Proper planning, and well-thought-out strategy, strong coordination, and a compact 

implementation plan supported by ample finance are necessary (Zaman, Alam, & Islam, 2010). 

To reduce the flow of rural-urban migration, balanced development is urgently needed. 

Otherwise, Dhaka city may be the worse place in the entire world.  So Government should make 

and implement sustainable urban policy.  Besides, a strategic plan can encourage resisting urban 

growth.  To make sustainable and healthy Dhaka city, proper management is essential. Urban 

administration should make a proper effort to improve the overall conditions of livelihood of 

urban poor (Sohel, Islam, & Muhibbulah, 2017). Reviewing the above research literature, it 

appears that while there are many research works on urbanization in Bangladesh but it is a 

considerable shortage of details and updated work on contemporary emerging challenges of 

urbanization in Bangladesh. The content of this article is about the nature and the trends of 

urbanization and unplanned rapid urbanization as well as emerging challenges. It also attempts to 

discuss the updated concept of Urbanization and to make the way forward measures to overcome 

emerging challenges. So hopefully this research will contribute to explore a detailed analysis of 

emerging challenges and the way forward of urbanization in Bangladesh, and filling the prior gap.  

 

METHODOLOGY 

This study has been conducted depending on a broad descriptive and analytical approach. It is 

mainly based on secondary data. Secondary data has been collected from different published 

materials like the publication of the United Nations, World Bank, Worldometer, and relevant 

writings of some scholars. The data from the year 1955 to 2020 have been analyzed to evaluate 

the trends of urbanization in Bangladesh, and the emerging challenges of urbanization have been 

explored. The collected data has been processed and prepared to make the study more 

informative, analytical, and useful for the readers, and the researchers.  

 

FINDINGS OF THE STUDY 
Reviewing previous literature, in this section, there is an attempt to identify multiple challenges 

and the way forward. First of all, nature and the trends should be examined.             

 

The Nature of Urbanization  

Urbanization is an ongoing process. At present, the issue of urbanization is very important in 

Bangladesh. The following features are found when analyzing the nature of urbanization. Such 

as - 

 Urbanization is a dynamic process of social transformation. 

 Densely populated in small areas. 

 Slum areas are available in the city to create housing for the urban population. 

 Municipalities, city corporations, or local governments are the governing bodies of urban 

areas. 

 The main center of industrial production, business, trade, etc is located in urban areas 

The Trends of Urbanization  

Bangladesh has a long history of urbanization. At the beginning of the 20th century in 1901, only 

2.43% (or about 0.7 million) of the total population of present Bangladesh areas of British India 

lived in urban areas. In the first half of the century, urban population growth was almost static. In 



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37 

1941, less than 4% of the population lived in urban centers, and the total urban population was 

1.54 million. Urbanization got impetus after 1947, when the Indian subcontinent became free of 

British rule creating the two independent states, India and Pakistan, with East Bengal (present-

day Bangladesh) as the eastern part of Pakistan. Between 1951-1961, there was significant 

growth in the urban population (45.11%) compared with the 1941-1951 period (18.38%). The 

total urban population increased from 1.8 million in 1951 to about 2.6 million in 1961. The 

important reason behind this rapid growth was the large-scale migration of Muslims from India 

after 1947, who mostly settled in urban areas (Banglapedia, 2012). Urbanization has slowed 

down during the beginning of the 20th century. The following table shows a very low share of 

the total population lived in urban areas in 1955 when only 4.7 % people lived in cities. After the 

independence of Bangladesh in 1975, the share increased from 4.7% to 10.0 %. The level of 

urbanization is increasing but at a decreasing rate. The growth of urbanization took place during 

the period from 1980 to 2000. It is said that the 21st century is becoming an urban century. This 

perception and projection have developed all over the world even in Bangladesh. Approximately 

64.81 million people are living in urban areas in 2020 in our country. This was an increase from 

2005, in which approximately 38.45 million people in Bangladesh were living in urban areas. 

Between the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century, multiple driving 

factors paved the way for rapid urbanization. In 2010, urban population increased to 31.4% from 

24.3% in 2000. In 2015, this rose to 35.4%. As in previous decades, both migration and natural 

growth contributed to this growth. But the most important contributory factor for recent times is 

the development of industrial sectors and changes in sociopolitical conditions.  Now 39.4% of 

people live in urban areas in 2020. That means about 40% of people are now living in cities 

whereas, only 10% people lived in cities after independence in 1975. The level of urbanization is 

shown in the following table -   

 

Table1. Level of Urbanization in Bangladesh 

 

Year Total Population Urban Population Urban % of population 

2020 164689383 64814953 39.4 

2015 156256276 55305132 35.4 

2010 147575430 46347089 31.4 

2005 139035505 38452976 27.7 

2000 127657854 31040651 24.3 

1995 115169930 25751454 22.4 

1990 103171956 21037450 20.4 

1985 90764183 16305971 18.0 

1980 79639491 12099053 15.2 

1975 70066301 7013461 10.0 

1970 64232482 4938975 7.7 

1965 55385112 3467675 6.3 

1960 48013504 2474987 5.2 

1955 42086301 1974441 4.7 

Source: Worldometer, 2020a 

 

From the above information, we can get rapid trends of urbanization in Bangladesh.    

 



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Emerging Challenges 
Due to the rapidly growing population, cities are facing multiple emerging challenges. The 

emerging challenges are described in this section. These are given below-  

 

Spatial Imbalance 
Rapid urbanization creates the challenge of spatial imbalance between the rural and urban 

proportion of the population. The spatial imbalance and the changes of share of rural and urban 

population for the last 60 years in Bangladesh is shown in the following table –  

 

Table 2. Level of urbanization with the share of the rural and urban population  

 

Year Rural population  Rural % of 

population   

Urban population   Urban % of 

population  

2020 99874430 61 64814953 39 

2015 100951144 65 55305132 35 

2010 101228341 69 46347089 31 

2005 100582529 72 38452976 28 

2000 96617203 76 31040651 24 

1995 89418476 78 25751454 22 

1990 821345506 80 21037450 20 

1980 67540438 85 12099053 15 

1970 59293507 92 4938975 8 

1960 45538517 95 2474987 5 

Source: Worldometer, 2020b 

 

Currently, 39 % of the population of Bangladesh is urban (64814953-people in 2020). On 

the other hand in 2020, 61 % of the population of Bangladesh is rural which 95 % was in 1960. 

By 1960-70, the total population of Bangladesh was 70 million, of which only 6% lived in cities 

and a large portion of the population lived in rural areas. At that time it was identified that very 

low tendency of urbanization. But gradually percentage of the rural population is decreasing and 

the urban rate is increasing. Such rapid urbanization causes an imbalance between rural and 

urban population growth.     

               

Urban Health Issues 

Due to massive urbanization in Bangladesh, our cities are gradually losing their livability. And as 

a result, public health in urban areas is in dire straits. Infectious and non-infectious diseases are 

on the rise in the city due to air, water, noise pollution, mismanagement of waste, declining 

greenery, rising temperatures, etc. This increases our mental and physical health risks. Many 

people live in unhealthy slums in urban areas also; this population density of slums is a major 

cause of health risks in the city. Lack of potable water, toxic air, poor sewerage management, 

and lack of sanitation and waste management have put our cities at the bottom of the global 

index. The health of the urban poor or slum dwellers is primarily due to overcrowding and 

inadequate access to basic services, such as water and sanitation. Effects of these living 

conditions include stress due to crowding, insecurity due to lack of housing and land tenure, 

various types of illegal or criminal activities, including violence, drug use, prostitution, etc 

(Streatfield & Karar, 2008). 



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Unplanned Urban Growth 

Unplanned urbanization is one of the contemporary challenges in recent times. There is an 

upward trend in all areas along with the level of urbanization. During the British colonial rule up 

to 1947, the level of urbanization was low. Thereafter, the pack of urbanization got momentum 

and continued till 2000 and is still maintaining an upward trend. It is difficult to make proper 

planning for such a dramatic upward fashion of urbanization. In most cases, there has no proper 

planning to maintain urban growth. As a result, unplanned urban growth is continuing in 

Bangladesh. Without proper planning, massive urbanization creates unplanned urban growth in 

cities and towns.                       

 

Rapid Growth of Population in Cities   

At present, the population of cities in Bangladesh is increasing at a tremendous rate. The above-

mentioned table named 'level of urbanization' shows the trends of urban population growth. At 

present, about 40% of people live in cities. Such estimation proves the rapid growth of the 

population in cities. Overpopulation in cities is responsible for extreme traffic, the depletion of 

resources, pollution, and unemployment among many other challenges. Due to the rapid growth 

of population in urban areas, excessive pressure on urban utility services, infrastructure, 

environment, etc. may lead to disaster in the livability and urban health of the city.  

 

Challenges of Sustainable Cities   

Rapid urbanization in the cities of developing countries as Bangladesh has been a dilemma of 

economic development and environmental sufferings (Akash, Jesmin, Tamanna, & Kabir, 2018). 

Sustainability of cities refers to economically viable, environmentally friendly, and socially 

peaceful. But nowadays, it is observed various challenges regarding the sustainability of cities in 

Bangladesh. Such as - Air, water, and noise pollution constitute environmental pollution in the 

cities which hamper its sustainability. The massive growth of industrialization causes unhealthy 

environmental conditions in cities. Ultimately, our cities are suffering from inadequate 

infrastructural services, environmental degradation, social insecurity which are the major threats 

to make sustainable cities in Bangladesh.                                             

 

Urban Poverty 
The global shift in the distribution of the world's population in urban areas has led to the increase 

of poverty in cities.  With the rapid urbanization in developing countries, urban poverty 

concentrates.  In some countries, urban poverty is more significant than in rural areas (Zhang, 

2016). It has been shown from the trends of urbanization in Bangladesh that the urban growth 

rate is increasing gradually. This hasty urbanization creates a burden on cities and towns and 

aggregates urban poverty. Such kind of urban poverty causes serious challenges to the cities, 

most importantly, the issue of health and housing.                

 

Environmental Challenges 
Due to rapid urbanization, reservoirs, open spaces, and parks in various cities are rapidly 

shrinking, and biodiversity, which is very important for urban life, including plants and animals, 

is under serious threat today. Environmental pollution in urban areas is a burning issue in recent 

times. Air pollution is one of them. The main reasons for higher levels of air pollution in urban 

areas than in rural areas are exhaust fumes from various types and sizes of vehicles, toxic fumes 

from industrial plants, black smoke from brick kilns, smoke from burning tires and plastics. In 



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addition, burning of bitumen used in road repairs in urban areas, a gas emitted from AC, running 

photocopy machines, mosquito coils, aerosols, brick breaking machines, and tear gas used by the 

police for security are significantly responsible for air pollution in urban areas. Moreover, 

household dust, street dust, and urban areas are some of the elements of air pollution. Issues 

related to water and sanitation is surfacing due to rapid population growth. The population of 

cities is suffering from a lower standard of living due to environmental challenges such as water 

scarcity, sanitation, and multiple environmental pollutions. Besides, it leads to the spread of 

diseases, and poor health in heavily populated areas as well. Cities and towns have made a major 

contribution to climate change through the creation of Green House Gases(GHGs) emerged from 

energy supply for electricity generation (coal, gas, and oil); transportation; energy use in 

commercial and residential buildings for lighting, cooking, space heating, and cooling, industrial 

production, and waste (Rahman, Islam, & Ahmed, 2012). 

 

Challenges of Urban Utilities and Services 

Unplanned rapid urbanization is having an adverse effect on the social and natural environment. 

The rapid population growth in the city is putting huge pressure on the city services. Ensuring 

utility services like housing, education, medical, water supply, electricity, sewerage, 

communication facilities, waste management, etc. has become a big challenge. If unplanned 

urbanization continues, it will be almost impossible to ensure these existing urban services for 

all. 

 

Vulnerability in Urban Transport System 
Rapid urbanization has increased the traffic pressure in the cities of Bangladesh. As a result, the 

black smoke from vehicles is polluting the environment. Additionally, the traffic congestion on 

the city roads is also increasing. The transportation system is one of the major determinants of 

urbanization in cities.  The existing transportation system of cities is not developed enough to 

manage the situation.  There are various types of vehicles like rickshaws, motorbike, auto bike, 

taxi, CNG, truck, bus, microbus, minibus, private car, motor vehicles, van, etc. The worse fact is 

that still today there are not developed rail facilities that would be possible under proper 

urbanization process. To deal business occupying footpath, no special car parking system, more 

vehicles and do not maintain traffic rules and regulations are mainly responsible for creating a 

traffic jam. Noise pollution, air pollution, waste of time, emitting carbon and greenhouse gas are 

the common effects of traffic jam that causes the respiratory disease to the city dwellers. The 

lack of effective transportation planning, lack of proper legal and administrative framework, 

insufficient technical skills, etc cause vulnerability in the urban transport system (Bapari, Haque, 

Chowdhury, & Islam, 2016). 

 

Weak Policy Framework 

The status of urban planning and development policies is diverse in Bangladesh but not 

profound. Bangladesh still does not have any sole policy for urban development. Most of the 

fundamentals and essential rules and regulations are failing to respond to the contemporary need 

in the absence of amendments such as the Town Improvement Act, 1953, which is old enough to 

address the current urban challenges concerning urbanization. The Ministry of Local 

Government took the initiative to formulate a 'policy' in 2004 for the planned development of 

urban areas of the country. The draft was finalized in 2014 with changes, refinements, and 



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corrections. This is known as Urban Development Policy 2014. But it has not been implemented 

yet.         

 

The Way Forward 

The rapid urbanization in Bangladesh has accelerated various cultural, socioeconomic, and 

political progresses but this rapid growth is facing enormous challenges too. So, urbanization is 

not only bringing fortune to us but it bears some adverse effects as well. It should take some 

ways forward measures to prompt urbanization in Bangladesh. Such as -         

 To reduce uneven urbanization or spatial imbalance, there is no alternative to provide 

urban services at the rural level. In this regard, a project named my village, my city has 

been initiated by the government.         

 Assuring health facilities, safety, and security of basic needs of all citizens through 

multiple initiatives. To protect urban health by ensuring affordable and quality housing 

for all, and ensuring disease control, and human well-being by developing solid waste 

and sewage management as well as the city's environment. 

 Creating area-based primary health centers through proper planning as well as ensuring 

affordable and accessible health services for all in urban areas and eliminating social 

inequalities in public health protection. 

 Proper planning should be taken to reduce unplanned urbanization and rapid population 

growth in cities. Adequate steps and legal measures should be taken to reduce urban 

crime and violence. 

 Ensuring sustainable development by creating a livable environment in urban areas by 

reducing all types of environmental pollution including air pollution, water pollution, 

noise pollution, etc. 

 Urban poverty should be minimized by enhancing income-generating methods and 

improving productivity as well as eradication of poverty through appropriate regulatory 

frameworks and infrastructure provisions. 

 It is needed to protect, preserve and enhance the urban environment, particularly water 

and air pollution should be reduced and ensuring access to area-based playgrounds, parks, 

reservoirs, gardens, and accesses to all to ensure the health of people of all classes, 

professions, and ages. 

 To build human settlements and society by creating public spaces, recreational facilities, 

community centers and organizing regular social events to increase the opportunities for 

socialization to ensure mental health. 

 Various Urban utility services such as health, education, water, and sanitation, housing 

should be expanded to villages and providing income-earning opportunities to reduce 

rural-urban disparities. Besides, an urban transport system should be developed and to 

increase rail transport facilities to reduce traffic congestion on urban roads.               

 To formulate a city plan by determining the desired population and area-based population 

density on the amount of existing civic services and community facilities, road and 

drainage infrastructure, parks-playgrounds-reservoirs-open space, etc. 

 A comprehensive National Urban Sector Policy should be implemented for maintaining 

rapid urbanization in Bangladesh. 

 

 

 



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CONCLUSION 

In fine, it can be said that there was a low tendency of the urbanization in our country. Most of 

the people were living happily in their villages working in the agricultural sector. But with the 

change of time, the needs of people are also changing. At present, one-third of the total 

population is now living in urban areas. It is a concerning issue for our country. If we do not 

manage the impetuous urban growth, we will suffer in the long run. Urbanization makes a vital 

contribution to the socio-cultural, political, and economic upliftment of the country. People are 

attracted to be urbanized in the search of a better food supply, reducing poverty, multiple job 

opportunities, the proper infrastructure like roads, water, electricity, etc. a wide variety of 

entertainment, availability of services like health, education, postal, police station and so on. If 

urban growth and development are poorly managed, it will emerge multiple challenges. The 

study tries to examine the trends of urbanization and the emerging challenges. Additionally, the 

various way forward measures are mentioned in the above discussion. In the long run, 

urbanization should be planned. Most importantly a comprehensive urban development policy 

must be implemented to overcome emerging challenges.     

 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 

We are thankful to the Almighty Allah for the good health and well-being that was necessary to 

prepare this paper. This study becomes successful with the kind support of many individuals. We 

would like to express our gratitude to the all respected teachers of our department to encourage 

us. We also thank our family members, our colleagues, and friends for their encouragement, 

support, and attention. 

CONFLICT OF INTEREST 

The authors declare no conflicts of interest concerning the present research work. 

 

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