Learning from Puran Dhaka – 2025

Background
Puran Dhaka, or Old Dhaka, serves as the historic and cultural heart of Bangladesh’s capital. Rich in heritage, trade, and religious diversity, it offers a unique blend of history, architecture, and community life. The area is famous for its mosques, churches, temples, vibrant markets, and signature cuisines. However, rapid urbanization threatens its cultural and economic fabric. The challenges include:

High levels of pollution (noise, air, solid waste, sewerage).
Aggressive real estate development leading to the disappearance of heritage structures.
Decreasing green spaces.
Restricted public spaces, particularly affecting women and vulnerable groups.
Gentrification pushing out production-based commercial activities. Improving Old Dhaka’s livability requires an opportunistic, bottom-up approach rather than rigid master plans. This event seeks to explore solutions based on existing dynamics.
Proposed Explorations
A four-day learning and knowledge-sharing event will take place from February 20 to 26, 2025, featuring public discussions, workshops, social and cultural events, and dedicated presentations. The event will focus on three key themes:

A. Climate Comfort and Vegetation Cover
Rising temperatures and pollution levels necessitate rethinking Old Dhaka’s vegetation cover. A preliminary tree mapping has already been conducted, revealing that most trees are located on private land and are at risk due to construction. Activities under this theme include:

Tree heritage of Puran Dhaka: Further mapping and raising awareness of their ecological and cultural importance.
Beating the heat: Identifying and improving parks, open spaces, and tree-lined pathways as cooling refuges.
Enhancing green spaces: Negotiating ownership to increase access for diverse groups of citizens.
Expanding vegetation cover: Promoting new tree plantations and reclaiming wooded areas for public use.
B. Heritage as a Resource
Old Dhaka hosts numerous historical structures, many of which are vanishing. The transformation of the Lalkhuthi Heritage Complex (Northbrooke Hall and Johnson Hall) into a community space provides a reference point for future conservation efforts. Key activities include:

Mapping heritage structures: Creating networks to improve accessibility and encourage adaptive reuse.
Community-based heritage development: Establishing shared spaces for local crafts, galleries, educational initiatives, and economic activities.
Cultural engagement: Encouraging community participation through events like the Kite Festival, boat competitions, and religious gatherings.
Archiving Dhaka’s history: Initiating documentation efforts centered on the Dhaka Kendra.
C. Economic Diversity and Work
Old Dhaka remains a major economic hub with diverse industries, crafts, and trade networks supporting thousands of workers. Activities will focus on:

Preserving traditional crafts: Providing platforms for artisans to showcase and transmit their knowledge.
Integrated urban fabric: Exploring models where housing and productive activities coexist harmoniously.
Facilitating movement of goods and people: Addressing transportation bottlenecks and accessibility issues.
Supporting transient workers: Enhancing facilities and services for daily laborers and small traders.
“Learning from Puran Dhaka – 2025” aims to foster a deeper understanding of Old Dhaka’s challenges and opportunities, promoting collaborative, community-driven solutions for a more sustainable and livable urban future.