| Author | Siddique, Farzana |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no. HS-96-16 |
| Subject(s) | Industrial districts--Bangladesh--Dhaka
|
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of
Science, School of Engineering and Technology |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | Thesis : no. HS-96-16 |
| Abstract | The informal sector (IS) consists of mostly labor intensive very small enterprises
which are the only means of earning a living for survival of the poor urban residents and
migrants. One of the major characteristics of these IS enterprises are clustering of same kind
of enterprises in one geographical location. The IS entrepreneurs tend to cluster near to
existing locations of similar enterprises. Clusters and concentrations of the small
manufacturing variety of these enterprises are now denoted as informal enterprise industrial
districts (IBID) in the informal sector and industrial districts literature.
Along with other IS activities, IBIDs have also flourished in Dhaka, increasingly
labeled as a mega-city. IBIDs play an important role in the urban economy of Bangladesh as
a whole in micro economic sense but more importantly as a source of employment to the
urban poor. But, the problems of poor physical environment and lack of access to basic
urban services is a major constraint to the growth and development of IBIDs in Dhaka.
Of several IBIDs in Dhaka, the one at Dholaikhal was purposively selected for this
study with the primary objective of scrutinizing the validity of characterizing the Dholaikhal
area as an informal industrial district and to investigate the condition of work sites and
environmental situation in this IBID as an exercise for identifying the priorities of work site
and environmental improvement plan of this IBID.
The effects of environment are observable in health, safety and economic
productivity. Dholaikhal reflects an urban community where some of the basic community
services are available . The condition and availability of these services however are not
sufficient to meet the demand of all informal enterprises of the area. In fact, some of the
essential services are totally absent in the area or inaccessible to many enterprises and the
workers engaged in those units.
With the view of proposing a work site and environmental improvement plan, a field
survey was conducted on the informal enterprises/workshops of the area in Feb-March,
1996. The findings from the research include: (1) Dholaikhal does resemble features and
potentials of the small firm industrial districts (ID) of other countries; (2) the situation of
work site and environment is in poor condition with lack of accessibility to basic urban
services; (3) some of the enterprises are squatting in DCC land; and ( 4) the IBID
entrepreneurs lack institutional financial supports.
On the basis of these and other related findings, a plan is proposed for the
improvement of the work site and local environment of the area. The three major component
of this proposal are: (1) implementation of a project to provide water supply and installation
of latrines and washing facility for improvement of sanitation facility, (2) providing a short
term leasing program of DCC land, and (3) providing of financial support and assistance to
the informal enterprises (IBs) of Dholaikhal to strengthen their business as well as to support
the proposed project for the improvement of basic urban services. |
| Year | 1996 |
| Corresponding Series Added Entry | Asian Institute of Technology. Thesis ; no. HS-96-16 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Engineering and Technology (SET) |
| Department | Department of Civil and Infrastucture Engineering (DCIE) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Human Settlement (HS) |
| Chairperson(s) | Amin, A.T.M. Nurul; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Archer, R. W. ;Sheng, Yap Kioe |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Sida (Swedish International Development Co-operation Agency); |
| Degree | Thesis (M. Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 1996 |