Middle-Class Household Consumption in Dhaka, Bangladesh: Understanding Current Practices Related to Food, Electricity, Transport and Attire
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School of Design and the Built Environment Middle-class Household Consumption in Dhaka, Bangladesh: Understanding Current Practices Related to Food, Electricity, Transport and Attire. Mohammad Solaiman This thesis is presented for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy of Curtin University July 2019 Declaration To the best of my knowledge and belief this thesis contains no material previously published by any other person except where due acknowledgement has been made. This thesis contains no material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university. Signature: Date: 31 July 2019 ABSTRACT This research is the first study of the consumption practices of middle-class households in the city of Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh. Consumption patterns relating to four categories of consumption - food, electricity, transport and attire - are analysed from the perspective of sustainability. Middle-class household consumption practices in each of the four categories are explored to understand their origins and social, historical and cultural drivers, track the changes that are taking place and interpret their contributions to the city’s poor liveability. Dhaka is a 400-year-old city which has gained and lost its status as the provincial capital of Bengal several times during its history. As a result, the population of Dhaka has periodically increased and decreased. Since the independence of Bangladesh in 1971, Dhaka has experienced consistent development, characterised by unplanned expansion, rapid urban migration, the creation of slums, unplanned infrastructure and a road network that encroaches on the rivers, canals and wetlands within the city’s boundaries. Dhaka is identified as one of the world’s least liveable cities and has been for several years. Many issues contribute to Dhaka’s poor liveability and environmental deterioration, such as a large migrant population, paralysing transport and congestion problems, poor water and sanitation, encroachment of land and waterbodies, pollution of rivers and canals, poor solid waste management and a lack of good governance. Being the centre of major development, industrialisation and educational institutions, Dhaka attracts large-scale migration because it offers employment opportunities, education and other services such as better health care. Recently, climate change victims from different areas of the country have joined this migrant population. As a result of employment and educational opportunities, Dhaka hosts a large segment of the country’s educated middle class, constituting about 50% of the city’s population. This middle class, and its consumption patterns, is the focus of this PhD research. Adopting a mixed-method approach, this study builds on the existing literature and combines a survey of middle-class households and interviews with experts to explore consumption practices in Dhaka related to food, attire, transport and energy. Surveys were completed in 301 middle-class households in different locations in Dhaka. In ii addition, 14 interviews were conducted with senior-level public policymakers, local government and sectoral experts, academics, and relevant ministry officials. This study establishes that middle-class household consumption practices in Dhaka substantially impact on the city’s sustainability. The food consumption practices of Dhaka’s middle-class people are changing rapidly, with increased reliance on eating out and for consuming fast food. Limited access to safe or unadulterated food is identified as a major concern in the city. These changes have serious sustainability implications, especially in terms of residents’ health and the management of food waste in households. The level of electricity consumption in Dhaka’s households is primarily influenced by tariffs. High tariffs encourage householders to reduce electricity use, rather than concern about sustainability issues. Dhaka’s transport system is notoriously unsustainable. Its public transport system is undisciplined, uncomfortable and unsafe. This means people seek alternative transport modes. Middle-class residents prefer to travel by rickshaw, although increasing numbers of them are buying cars, which are considered to be symbols of social status. This will inevitably create more sustainability problems. Middle-class residents of Dhaka are reluctant to cycle or walk despite being aware of the benefits of walking, partly because of the lack of appropriate infrastructure. Overconsumption of attire leads to major sustainability problems. Middle-class householders in Dhaka buy new attire to observe social, religious, cultural or national occasions. Most residents have unused attire, and rarely consider environmental impacts when purchasing new outfits. However, the traditional practice of disposing attire in Dhaka by donating it to needy acquaintances instead of throwing it away has elements of sustainability. The Theory of Planned Behaviour is applied to help to understand the individual attitudes and subjective norms that shape the intention and behaviour of consumers. This theory holds that the historical evolution of a city and its social formation play a significant role in shaping the individual attitudes and social norms that underpin particular lifestyles and consumption choices. This is the case with Dhaka’s socio- cultural and historical formation. Increased understanding of sustainability and adoption of sustainability values can improve Dhaka’s liveability significantly. Emphasised “Perceived Behaviour Control” is offered as a revised model of the Theory of Planned Behaviour in order to support policy reform more effectively. Such iii an approach can facilitate behavioural changes for sustainability. This new model can be customised to suit other cities. A framework of policy recommendations to be implemented by the Government and various other institutions to make household consumption practices more sustainable is presented. Policy levers to encourage social, educational, local government and business entities to adopt initiatives to improve the sustainability of household consumption are clearly articulated. Regulatory and policy tools such as religious teaching, media broadcast, curriculum reform, regulatory reform and business development can be used to create greater awareness of social, economic and environmental values among residents, to encourage more sustainable consumption practices. This study opens avenues for further research related to household consumption practices in Dhaka and other cities in Bangladesh, as well as in other countries facing similar challenges. iv Acknowledgements This research grew from inspiration that started when I began my career as a civil servant with the Government of Bangladesh in 2006. Joining the civil service exposed me to the public policy regime of Bangladesh, which has inherited the British colonial tradition and structure. It also brought me to Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, to give me my first experience of living in this 400-year-old city. From 2014 to May 2016, I worked in the Prime Minister’s Office at a policy research unit called the Governance Innovation Unit (GIU), where I had the opportunity to work on issues such as the Sustainable Development Goals and Dhaka’s traffic. The experience in the GIU motivated me to undertake this research into Dhaka’s liveability, its history of urbanisation and the consumption practices of residents. I was eager to know what went wrong with Dhaka to cause it to become one of the least liveable cities in the world for consecutive years, recently. What did the Government and residents do wrong to come to such a point? The long list of people I am immensely grateful to for their help in undertaking this study begins with my principal supervisor Professor Dora Marinova for having faith in me and becoming my mentor in many aspects of my life in Australia throughout this journey. Dora has been always there for me with patience and guidance throughout the chapters of my thesis and phases of my life. I am equally grateful to Dr Amzad Hossain and Dr Atiq Zaman, two of my co-supervisors, for their all-out support, assistance and guidance. Like Dora, they also have supported and guided me in every possible way. Similarly, I am immensely grateful to Curtin University for offering me the CIPRS scholarship, research stipend and a suitable environment for this study. The team at Curtin University Sustainability Policy (CUSP) Institute has always been like a family to me. I am grateful to CUSP for all the conferences, seminars, morning tea sessions and all-out support by Imran and Christine. My fellow researchers at CUSP, especially at the Research Hub, have been so kind and friendly to me. We studied together, discussed our research issues together, and made the kitchen space warm with discussions and chats for so many days. My sincere thanks to the Government of Bangladesh for allowing me the study leave for this long period. v I am thankful to the respondents of my study who gave their time to fill out the survey questionnaire and return it. I am also thankful to the fourteen interviewees who spared their valuable time to participate in the interviews which provided the core information of this study. Finally, I am grateful to my family members, my parents, especially my mother who inspired her son to achieve the milestone of a PhD. I cannot thank my wife and daughter enough, for without them I would not have been able to fulfil my responsibilities while pursuing this