Transformation of spatial pattern and declining of social capital in Dhaka city, Bangladesh

Abstract

In human settlement, there is a strong link between spatial quality and societal values. A space has
two facts: physical phenomenon and a mental arena. Both of them are influenced by the social
process (Sheikh, 2006). Nowadays in our country, we are experiencing rapid unplanned
urbanization due to the pressure of huge population and globalization. In course of time urban areas
are developed for business, education, and administrative purposes. People are coming to urban
area for livelihood. To accommodate the huge population, there occurs lot of changes in their living
space and pattern. Our traditional living space is being demolished. In the past, people lived in
horizontal space but now people are living in a tight and congested area where the traditional space
is not respected. The community space, interaction spaces are very rare there. So social bonding is
being destroyed. They are living like a machine which is very much contrary to our culture (Sheikh,
2006). This trend is destroying our social capital. This paper aims to study how transformation of
spatial pattern affects our living style and turns our social capital (focusing on community network,
trust, dependency and cooperation) towards the declination. It also aims to give some
recommendations to make this transformation of spatial pattern organized and planned to prevent
the declination of our social capital.