Urban Transport in the OIC Megacities
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The increase in population is attributed mainly due to rural urban migration triggered by the lack of
employment opportunities, poverty, and natural disasters. The rapid development of Dhaka into a
megacity was coupled with an inadequate urban management system, which led to a chronic shortage
of housing, excessive overcrowding, traffic congestion , increasing informal economic activities and
also, air, soil, water pollution, slum development in flood prone areas and a deteriorating situation for
public health.
5.4.2. Transport network and land use planning
Dhaka’s infrastructure doesn’t match the scale of its population and only 7% of the city is covered by
roads, compared with around 25% of Paris and Vienna and 40% of Washington and Chicago. Dhaka
also suffers from the absence of road hierarchy while there are 650 major intersections, but only 60
traffic lights, which are not maintained properly. The cost of Dhaka’s traffic congestion is estimated at
$3.8 billion a year, including only time losses and pollution, and not deterioration of quality of life and
social capital. The poor infrastructure and undeveloped road network has forced the residents of
Dhaka to crowd into the middle of the city, setting up informal settlements between high rise
buildings and walk to work (Hobbes, 2014).