The city has witnessed a rapid growth of slum settlements, often without adequate urban planning, and faces unique challenges from rapid urbanization and climate-induced migration
Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh, is one of the world’s fastest-growing megacities and a hub for commerce and culture in South Asia.
The city has witnessed a rapid growth of slum settlements, often without adequate urban planning, and faces unique challenges from rapid urbanization and climate-induced migration.
Home to around 23.9 million people (2024), these densely populated areas face heightened risks from both climate-related and human-induced hazards, and limited access to basic amenities.
As these climate challenges intensify, accurate data on these communities is crucial for planning effective preparedness and response strategies. Open mapping provides a powerful solution by creating detailed, accessible geospatial data for deeper understanding of their vulnerabilities.
According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), an estimated 40% of the city’s population live in slums or informal settlements. A robust geospatial database can provide crucial insights into designing informed, sustainable, and resilient solutions.
At Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team, our approach centers on collaborating with communities to lead mapping efforts, ensuring that data reflects local knowledge, realities, and priorities.
We actively engage youth in mapping to ensure that map data reflects innovation and inclusivity, while also representing local realities and real-world challenges.
Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team’s Asia Pacific Hub (AP Hub) and World Vision Bangladesh (WVB) are playing a vital role in this transformation through the Dhaka Thrive project.
The project aims to foster an open data ecosystem, bringing together local stakeholders in planning and decision-making processes and contribute to a more resilient Dhaka.
Urban resilience in Mirpur
Mirpur sub-district, a bustling neighborhood in the northern part of Dhaka, faces heightened vulnerability as the dense settlement is increasingly exposed to climate disasters.
Focusing on Mirpur, a key entry point for migrants arriving in Dhaka, the project uses geographic data to better understand the vulnerabilities and exposure to disaster, amenities access, and settlement patterns.
For example, AP Hub’s analysis of satellite imagery revealed that since 2017, slum settlements have expanded into existing water bodies, further increasing risk of floods to the vulnerable populations.
In a collaborative effort to tackle urban vulnerabilities in Dhaka’s Mirpur slums, we worked with WVB and local stakeholders, including Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC), through workshops and open-mapping pilot projects.
The project helped identify three critical threats facing the slum communities: flood risks, dengue hotspots, and fire hazards.
The pilot involved the use of tools like Mapillary for geo-coded photos and Open Data Kit (ODK) for detailed slum assessments, enabling a thorough mapping of hazards like improper waste disposal and waterlogged areas.
Early findings revealed connections between dengue hotspots and environmental factors like open drainages and waste build-up conditions worsened by flooding and poor waste management.
This is a perfect example of combining field data with remote sensing and community insights, conducted in a way that built local capacities and helped generate actionable data, which provided a comprehensive view of Mirpur’s vulnerabilities.
The approach aligns with COP29’s framework for action that prioritizes inclusive process for inclusive outcomes. Dhaka Thrive demonstrates how open mapping can address urban risks that are often invisible through remote sensing alone.
The pilot phase in 2024 has mapped 7,700 buildings, 12 KM of roads, and 696 amenities with the support of local and international communities, adding an additional layer of open data that complements findings from remote sensing to develop more comprehensive and accurate vulnerability analysis.
Shaping a sustainable future for millions
The findings from the pilot will be shared with local stakeholders through a dissemination workshop later this month, which will also serve as an important platform to sensitize stakeholders on the helpfulness of open data and mobilise their support for future phases.
By catalyzing a vibrant, sustainable, multi-actor open data ecosystem in the city, we aim to create comprehensive and up-to-date geospatial data on OSM.
Dhaka Thrive will enable humanitarian organizations, local authorities as well as communities to better prepare for, respond to various challenges, including the effects of climate change, natural hazards, public health emergencies, and other urban development needs.
As Dhaka continues to grow, so do the opportunities and challenges for its residents.
From innovations in local tech to community-driven initiatives, the city’s resilience depends on the knowledge and understanding of the current reality and the many future possibilities, which will lead to this dynamic city not only surviving but truly thriving.
Atiya Anis, Global Communications, Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team and Bernard Heng Jia Chuin, Program Associate – Asia-Pacific Hub authored this article. Photo credit goes to Asia Pacific Hub, Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team.
