Knowledge Sharing of Mymensingh Strategic Development Plan (MSDP)

Urbanization issues in Bangladesh are addressed by two major Ministries namely, (01) Ministry of Housing and Public Works (MoHPW) and (02) Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives (MoLGRD). The first one, MoHPW is the focused ministry for physical planning of Bangladesh, especially concentrated on all cities and towns. The second one, MoLGRD is the key ministry for providing all kinds of basic services and management for all urban and rural centers in Bangladesh.Urban Development Directorate (UDD) under the MoHPW is the central physical planning agency of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. The major functions include prepare and co-ordinate regional plans, master plans and detailed layout plans and site plans for the existing as well as new urban centers.Considering the framework of Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme (CDMP)-II under Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, a pilot project on preparing a module for mainstreaming disaster risk preventive measures into comprehensive landuse development planning and management for Mymensingh Municipality and its surrounding ten unions (lowest tier administrative unit) entitled“Mymensingh Strategic Development Plan (MSDP), 2011-2031”has been prepared. Both the natural (earthquake, flood, cyclone, tidal surge etc.) and man-made (fire, urban flooding, building vulnerability etc.) disasters have been considered while preparing the plan. The eco-sensitive regional planning approach was considered as a planning principle for this project. Besides, social space was also framed and adopted as a fundamental guiding principle for human settlement planning. The Participatory planning approach has been followed at all stages of plan preparation as well.It is one of the best demonstrative examples in Bangladesh to show how the implementation of the New Urban Agenda of Habitat III may perform successfully by creating inclusive employment opportunity, conserving the ecology, selecting new growth centers, and good governance ensuring participation from all strata of the society. This project would create a platform for urban dialogue to achieve the objectives of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015- 2030.MSDP project has achieved “2014 Asian Townscape Jury’s Award” for its outstanding contribution to Risk Sensitive Landuse Planning in Bangladesh. As a subsequent action, UDD has started a new project for mainstreaming Disaster Risk and Climate Change Issues into National Urban related Policies, Plans, Acts, Rules etc. It is noteworthy to mention that Mymensingh will be the piloting city for the new project.