Abstract Body

Traditionally, Bangladesh is home to a vast agrarian community. The vernacular agricultural systems of native riverine Bangladesh have shaped the characteristic features of her cultural landscapes. To a large extent, these romantic landscapes as well as the natural beauty and diversity of traditional Bangladeshi villages, come from the plentiful measures of producing food. Contrary to the green refuge offered by the countryside, the drastic urban settlements of Bangladesh convey a sense of acute congestion, pollution, insecurity, and increased tension. An obvious example for this could be the megacity of Dhaka. The city’s decaying and dispersed green and blue patches are proof enough that the city never had a planned green-blue infrastructure. Therefore, very few city dwellers have adequate access to green and healthy public realms, not to mention the increasing loss of ecology and biodiversity.

Dwelling in such an overburdened metropolis, the urban population have almost forgotten their ancestral practices of producing and become entirely focused on a mechanized urban living based upon the act of consuming. To ensure a healthier living environment with more outdoor activities for the city dwellers, the city needs to fill the gaps in its green infrastructure. One of the socio-economically as well as spatially viable ways of achieving that could be the retrieval of the native practice of food production. In recent times, community gardening and foodscapes have become a popular urban culture in many cities worldwide. Mapping some sample streets of Dhaka, few such spontaneous practices are noticed. Therefore, in the scope of this research, appropriate urban foodscape ideas would be proposed in a case study area as part of Dhaka’s future green infrastructure. The cultural landscape of Bangladesh as well as contemporary urban foodscapes from around the world may provide valuable design principles for Dhaka’s foodscape. Keeping Dhaka's dire spatial inadequacy in mind, the point to be explored here, is how the essence of this impulsive native practice of the Bangladeshi people can help attain a healthier living environment ensuring a balance between ecology, economy and social participation.