DOMINATION, BARGAINING, OR CONTROL OVER THEIR LIVES: INCLUSION OF THE URBAN POOR IN DHAKA, BANGLADESH

<p dir="ltr">Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh, faces the challenge of providing a quality urban life to its citizens who live in poor neighborhoods due to its rapid urbanization. To understand the definition of quality urban life, I examined here whether people are included in city entitlements such as housing, water, employment, and socio-political life. By “inclusion,” I refer to a quality urban life with these entitlements. I explored two basic concepts: 1) the nature of socio-political inclusion and exclusion regarding entitlements; and 2) people’s patterns of interactions, strategies, and political actions with powerful actors. To uncover the nature of the relationship between citizens and authorities, and the power of people to gain inclusion, understanding people’s political action is an important aspect of this study.</p><p dir="ltr">I collected primary data from 120 respondents, 72 from the informal neighborhood of Korail and 18 from the Bhashantek Rehabilitation Project (BRP). Another 30 respondents were selected from outside the neighborhoods to get significant voices from those involved with them. These included government officials (e.g., city corporation officials), NGOs, police, and political leaders. This study is mostly qualitative. I adopted methods such as in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and participant observation. Respondents were chosen through purposive sampling. I also collected quantitative data to measure respondents’ socio-economic conditions in these two neighborhoods.</p><p dir="ltr">This dissertation challenges a simple-minded understanding of inclusion. I argue that inclusion in one aspect does not necessarily mean being included in others. For instance, although people had access to formal water in Korail, access to sanitation was extremely poor. In addition, greater socio-economic inclusion does not always guarantee political inclusion. Despite living in BRP, a formal state-sponsored project, where housing and utilities were available, the residents experienced obstruction to inclusion in the political spheres of the city and lived under the dominance of a bureaucratic gaze. However, people can use their political networks and organization to achieve greater inclusion. For example, although they lived in an informal neighborhood, the Korail residents were able to participate in formal governance, occupy land for more than fifty years, and gain control over their lives through negotiating with the authorities because they had access to the social and political domains of the city and acted as a “voting bank” in electoral politics. </p>