Bottom-up approach key to urban development: Dhaka North mayor

Photo: Courtesy

Local action is the key to national success, and a bottom-up community-led development process will ensure pro-poor urban development, said Dhaka North City Corporation Mayor Md Atiqul Islam today.

He made the remarks while chairing a session on "Good practices of community empowerment and locally led approaches for climate-resilient infrastructure" during a day-long workshop in Dhaka, according to a press release.

The workshop titled 'Mayors' Knowledge Exchange Workshop on LIUPCP Good Practices' was organised by the Livelihoods Improvement of Urban Poor Communities Project (LIUPCP) of the Local Government Division in partnership with the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The objective of the workshop was to share and discuss good practices around pro-poor and climate-resilient urban development emerging from LIUPCP interventions in 19 cities and towns.

Speaking as the chief guest, Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives Minister Md Tazul Islam said, "By 2041, we want to become a developed country and this development journey will leave no one behind. To look forward to using the learnings from this workshop in the coming days."

UNDP Bangladesh Resident Representative Stefan Liller and British High Commission Deputy High Commissioner and Development Director Matt Cannell were present as special guests. Local Government Division Secretary Muhammad Ibrahim chaired the workshop.

In her opening remarks, UNDP Bangladesh Deputy Resident Representative Sonali Dayaratne said, "The government has taken full ownership of our urban resilience programme. It has showcased how community women are tailoring solutions to the community's needs in cities and towns."

Stefan Liller, while addressing the workshop said, "Our longstanding partnership with the Bangladesh Government and the UK spans nearly two decades, showcasing a robust model of urban poverty reduction and climate change adaptation. The programme continues to strengthen resilience at the community level, ensuring that our efforts are integrated into broader urban development strategies of local governments."

Commenting on the learnings from LIUPC, Matt Cannell said, "I am glad to see the partnership between the Bangladesh government, the UK government and UNDP improved the livelihoods and living conditions of 4 million poor urban people in Bangladesh."
Rural Development and Co-operatives Secretary Muhammad Ibrahim thanked the UK Government and UNDP for supporting the LIUPC.

"We look forward to fostering this partnership in the coming years," he said.

Chandpur Municipality Mayor Md Jillur Rahman and Chandpur Town Federation Chairperson Nazma Alam also spoke among others.
Around 120 participants comprising mayors from city corporations and municipalities, development partners, government agencies, NGOs, INGOs, and bilateral and multilateral partners attended the workshop.

The LIUPCP is working for pro-poor climate-smart urban development. Started in 2018, the project has reached around four million urban poor in its program cities and towns and has demonstrated several good practices in community empowerment, affordable housing, adaptive livelihoods, improved socioeconomic conditions, climate resilient infrastructures and pro-poor planning and municipal governance.