Cultural and Environmental Transition and Transformation of Two South Asian Cities: Dhaka and Kolkata

Abstract

South Asian cities have entered the group of fastest growing megacities in the world in recent times. Two megacities, Dhaka in Bangladesh and Kolkata in India across borders, have experienced similar political changes in the 20th Century, which have molded and transformed the cities, culturally, demographically and environmentally over the past century. The three major political events have induced migrations beyond borders between the two countries. The transformation of the shape and form of the two cities over time had profound impact on the local environment. Traffic congestion, air pollution, increased whereas natural landscapes decreased. Thus in this study, comparison of Dhaka and Kolkata have been performed in three steps - the political events and its influence on urban growth; the impacts of urban growth on land cover and local environment in terms of particulate matter pollution; and correlation between land cover change, environmental impacts and peoples accessibility to healthy environment.