Keywords: ,Urbanization,ChangingScenario,PublicOpenSpace changing scenarioofpresentRamna Area. to itsuniqueness. space due public open one ofthemajor has become the attempts tounfold This paper throughconsecutive manipulations. garden duringMughalperiodisoneofthosepartsthathasgone This through manyphysicalandfunctionaltransformations.Ramnaareawhichwasproducedasa pleasure ABStrAct Department ofArchitecture,AhsanullahUniversityScienceand Salma Begum the caseoframna Area, dhaka Space inaBritishcolonialcity: changing ScenariosofPublicopen 7 can betracedbackto and itsantiquity metropolis center toa trading has grownfromasmallHindu transformations, throughoutthehistory. gone throughvariousphysicalandfunctional city in the with over12millionpeople,have world of Bangladesh,thethirdmostdenselypopulated Differentperiod.” capital the is which Dhaka, partsof in different conditions and political socio-economic developed or deliberately plannedunderdifferent of itsdifferentparts,whicharespontaneously andreadjustment a continuousprocessofchange (2009), to KhanandNilufar According Introduct Bangladesh period(from1971 onwards). 1947), the period (1947-1971), and the (1757-1858), theBritishcolonial period(1858- period (1610-1757),the East India Companyperiod theMughal (1205-1610), these arepre-Mughal governance phasescanbedivided intoSixperiods, ofgovernance. manyphases state through The over fourhundredyearsandhascometoitspresent city ofDhakahasevolvedmoreorlessorganically Volume 14,June2018 Nakhara: JournalofEnvironmentalDesignandPlanning D th century A.D. according to Nilufar (2010). The among the world. In the process of urbanization, throughoutits history, many partof Dhaka hasgone 9th ranking of 15million megacity withapopulation asoneofthefastestgrowing haka isconsidered i on “Cities arein The city Udyan whichisformerlyknownasthe nationalist movements, the Ramana area established nationalist movements,theRamana areaestablished processes, historic-cultural developmentsand of thecity. Through thedemocratization has playedavitalroleinthestructuring andevolution different throughout manipulated periods political andconsecutivelyreproduced, re-appropriated The Ramnaareawhichhasbeenre-structured, periods ofadministration. has experiencedtransformationthrough public places have taken diverse forms. multi-dimensional politicalbackgroundof Dhaka, Inthis period. Colonial aftertheBritish changed districts. Forthisreasonthesocietydrastically (Ahmed, 2014). This attractedpeoplefrom different was established as the capital of Dhaka. Dhaka City period, After theBritishcolonial place) wasthefirst formal public space in old site alongtheriverofBurignagaandChowk(market regime of Mughalthey started buildingacommercial In the of MughalsasthecapitalBengal. the rule Dhaka cameto prominence during1610 AD under C ourse Changing ScenariosofPublicOpenSpaceinaBritishColonialCity:

grounds

is oneofthosepublicspacesthat The CaseoftheRamna Area, Dhaka Technology, R

Suhrawardy Suhrawardy amna different R ace ace

Nakhara 39 Nakhara 40 of the Capitalof Mughal Bengalandbecameacenter as wasdeclared Dhaka the Mughalperiod During Dhaka’3). (Figure the north towards thatexpanded known as the indigenous or ‘’ and the ‘new built areashavingnarrowandirregular streetpattern, growth; the‘historiccore’ with compactanddensely its during patterns thatdeveloped urban dominant into two So, theattributesofcitycanbedivided by Ahmed) (Figure2). (Chowdhury,in everydirection rapidly as cited 2012 towards thenorth,andlateritcontinued primarily During thePakistaniperiod, development was during theMughalandBritishperiods(Figure1). The city then expandedto the west and to the north area thatisnowapartofOldDhaka(Ahmed,2014). the southern river bank in the pre-Mughal period, an century. The development of Dhaka started from the conquered the territoryin16 Empire conquered the Mughal Dhaka was named as H Udyan Suhrawardy of scenario changing the tounravel tries a role to build the nation inmany ways. This study of meeting, greetings andexchangewhichplayed that holds historical and cultural importance, a place space public open an of meaning the reflects best character.density treesformingitsunique Ramna area revealsavast opengreenspace linedwith high guides thepathofurbanization,interestinglyRamna cities, wherethecitycenterremainsemptyand majestic geographical conditions like many other are evaporating.EventhoughDhakadoesnothave morphology ofDhakawhileotherpublicopenspaces urban in factshowsacontrasttothedense area morphology. urban dense extremely green lush This the middleofcityincontextDhaka’s landscape forthenation,standingasanoasisin It hasalsobecomeapre-eminentrepresentative and post-colonial contemporary part of the city. traditional, the indigenous, between fact athreshold the center of the metropolitan Dhaka. This area is in pleasure gardento acontested spacewhichbecame Colonial period it has been transformed from a changes. FromtheMughalperiodtoPost- due toitsconsecutive space layered and a unique Salma Begum M U is dy ughal Period Dha tor a orRamna Area. n i k c a a

a l nd Su D evelo “ Nagar” h r p a ment w a rdy when th established byforeigntraders”. Nilufar (2010) was rather unplanned (Figure 6). According to ofthe citywhich was foundontheperiphery Udyan of theKing),whichisnowknown asSuhrawardy can befound.Bagh-e-BadshahiorShahbag(garden gardens pleasure historic corelarge the peripheral gardens werefoundinsidethefortandoutsideof encampment period class. InMughal to theruling creation of open spaces by the people belonging Old Dhaka had another attribute, which was the purpose and as a central gathering place (Figure 5). (square) wereusedaspublicspacesfor commercial the development.HistoricallyBazzarandChouk the fort. beside place the focusof was The ‘bazar’ ormarket bank oftheriverandestablisheda‘bazzar’ commerce. They built their Fort (Lalbagh) on the (Figure 4)fortrade,transport and river Buringanga the of commerce,hencethesettlementgrewalong (Source: ) Evolution ofBoundaryDhakaCity Figure 1: “Moreover, some garden houses were

(Source: Nilufar, 2011 Two dominanturbanpatternsofDhaka Figure 3: (Source: Ahmed, B.,Hasan,R.,&Maniruzzaman,K.M.2014) Physical developmentofDhakaCityatdifferentstagesitsgrowth Figure 2: ) Changing ScenariosofPublicOpenSpaceinaBritishColonialCity: The CaseoftheRamna Area, Dhaka

Nakhara 41 Nakhara 42 (Source: TheBritishLibraryLondon) The Chouk,viewofmarketplace in1885 Figure 5: (Source: Banglapedia Dhaka cityinMughalperiod Figure 4: Salma Begum ) (Source: TheBritishLibraryLondon) Gate ofBah-e-Badshahi,Mughal pleasuregarden Figure 6: comfort andeasyaccessto thewaterroutesas were builtneartheriverinorder to have buildings the functionalzoningthereforeallresidential encouraged notions the layoutofDhaka.Colonial attributes broughtafundamentalstructuringin components (Mowla, 2014). These combined railway colonyandthecantonmentaremain by the English; the Civil lines, the civic station, a Dhaka’s physical environment was mostly influenced Mughals. race courseandclubswhicharedifferent fromthe of theriverfront,a were seeninthedevelopment European authority. The influences of colonial regime power to manage andcontrolratherthanimposing British used the local elite and existing institutions of factories (BPWD, 1862 ascitedbyMowla,2014). British, closertotheriveraswellsomeoftheir civic spacesin locations that was preferred bythe of which leadto the Britishpower the development the city’sof followedthe consolidation morphology from theEICaftermutiny. A restructuringof Government tookovertheadministrationofIndia by theEIC settlers (Figure 7). In 1858, theBritish one ofthemwiththeconstructionaracecourse settlements wereoccupied.Bagh-e-Badshahiwas district the colonial administration manyof the older 1840 ascitedbyMowla,2014). To accommodate 44,000 housesin 1801 to 10.830 in 1838(Taylor. the territory. The city’s housing stock had fallen from of and the de-urbanization de-industrialization rapid as observedbyDasguptacitedMowla(2014),was immediate consequencesofthetake-overBengal, the civil administration of the country. One of the (Figure11). ofBengal control EICtookover In1765, the BritishEastIndiaCompany(EIC)gainedmilitary state ofDhakabeganin1757,when The Colonial influence onDhaka Spatial ImprintsofColonial of 19 the citydidnotexpandmuch.But the secondhalf and around 1760theimportanceofDhakadeclined ofBritishpower in1706.Withtheinception Dhaka lost its status as capital when it shifted to (Farida, 2010). water supply spaces, streetlightsandpiped open A roads, metaled rose with Dhaka modern new th century showed a new beginning of Dhaka. a newbeginning centuryshowed old Mughalarea. in the their headquarters they established , (power to collect the administrative revenues) In 1872,whentheBritishEICwasgained (Figure 7). in Dhaka urban morphology the colonial Buckland. This river front promenade determined by in 1864 front ofthecityinrivershoreline along thesouthern embankment withapromenade event ofthisperiod,istheconstructionan significant a is which development, Another line. as civil isknown of thisdevelopment formation new 2010). (Habib, by1866 this newlocation The whole other private andpublicorganizations wereshifted to with along offices subordinate other and Collector city. The courts for theDistrict Judge, Magistrate and public roadtothenorth(alongJohnsonRoad)of of the from thewestside administration the colonial Divisional CommissionerBucklandtoconcentrate meters. (Figure8&9) The landwasseclectedbythe moved toonesiteonastripoflandabout1000 were administration colonial and offices the orders On his 2014). (Mowla, Dhaka after visiting situation Beadon, expressed his dismay over the chaotic begun whenthe Lt. Governor of Bengal, Cecil In 1862,theformationofaEuropeansectorwas Peel Khanamilitaryarea(Habib,2010). Fort and Lalbagh of DhakawhichistheOldMughal area shiftedtotheold part cantonment 2014).The Committee (Mowla, over totheMunicipal handed vast ground) with constant care. The groundwas it asaMaidan place, preserving how theunhygienicplaceturnedintoabeautiful range. formilitaryandashooting ground isThis other vacantpartwasusedforathletics,aparade open spacewas converted into a gardenandthe Purana PaltanorOldPlattoon.Lateronpartofthis to itsunhygienicsituation. The siteisknownas to be in1853due unhealthy andit was abandoned proved But thesiteselection ground. a parade and quarters officers’ barracks, with built formally was just beyond the northeast of the city (by clearing A areawasbuiltbyDawestothe newcantonment cantonment inthe Mill Barrackarea(Mowla,2014). which wasclosetotheirfactorysitesandthenew 8) (Figure area / core ofBangla quarters promptedthemtomovetheindigenous But by1820,thediscomfortoflivinginMughal’s that wasthemajorsourceofcommunication. Changing ScenariosofPublicOpenSpaceinaBritishColonialCity: Nawabpur and Thatari Bazar). It The CaseoftheRamna Area, Dhaka (large open field or Dilkusha -an area dewani of of

Nakhara 43 Nakhara 44 Mowla, 2014,originallyfoundinBengal PWDProceedings,XVI59). (Source: Race CourseoverBagh-e-Badshahi layout: Colonial over indigenous Urban Morphology Footprints ofColonial Figure 7: Salma Begum The beginningoftheColonialImpact: clusteringofcolonialstructures(Source:Mowla,2014) Figure 8: Changing ScenariosofPublicOpenSpaceinaBritishColonialCity: The CaseoftheRamna Area, Dhaka

Nakhara 45 Nakhara 46 The birthofcolonialcivillinesin1858 (refertofig8)(Source:Mowla,2014) Figure 9: Salma Begum (Source: Mowla,2014) Station of Civil the establishment 1906 prompted in capital into aprovincial of Dhaka the upgrading Map of1924showing Figure 10(a): acres of land were acquired and developed. The city fifty about colony railway the and quarters staff urban morphology. To developthestation, workshop, reduced. It had a lasting impression onDhaka’s The StateRailway, ofriverfrontwas theimportance With of the the introduction railway, in 1885-86by developments. (European) new fromthe (indigenous) the old demarcated the stationpractically and line the rail rail line. According toDani,ascitedbyMowla(2014), partbeyond towardsnorth densified and expanded Changing ScenariosofPublicOpenSpaceinaBritishColonialCity: The CaseoftheRamna Area, Dhaka

Nakhara 47 Nakhara 48 a racecoursewasestablished (Mowla,2014).In and railings by wooden enclosed and was cleared oval inBagh-e-Badhahi The ShahBaghoralarge the area, cleared it and laid out a large green space. a “racecourse”(Figure11 &12).Dawes,takenwith byBritishas it wasappropriated Bagh-e-Badshahi In 1825,whentheMughal’sthe garden abandoned New ColonialStation The MughalGardenversusthe Buildings. (Source:(Mowla,2014) Universitythatstarted to usetheCivilStation of Dhaka Dhaka rightafterestablishment Colonial map of1924showing Figure 10(b): Salma Begum was built. a tickethouse and Skinner by Magistrate reclaimed the Pakistanperiod.In1840, theracecoursewas theracecourseuntil Club whichoperated Dhaka as now known is club This event. significant a is area fromVictoriashifted toShahbag Parkwhich Gentlemen’s Club(thatwasestablishedin1825) course, where they built their villas. In 1851, the from EIC, which is situated at the opposite of race 1840, theNawabfamilypurchasedShahbaghestate (Source: Banglapedia) historic mapofDhaka1859showsBagh-e-Badshahi’ gardenasRaceCourse Figure 11 (a): Changing ScenariosofPublicOpenSpaceinaBritishColonialCity: The CaseoftheRamna Area, Dhaka

Nakhara 49 Nakhara 50 (Source: Morad,2015) Ramna RaceCoursewithMilitary Paradein1880 Figure 12(a): (Source: Habib,2010) Map ofDhaka1924showstheraillineandIndigenousnewEuropeandevelopmentsCity Figure 11 (b): Salma Begum (Source: DhakaTribune) Ramna RaceCoursein1890 Figure 12(b): area and was composed of the Governor’s House area andwascomposedoftheGovernor’s the in developed was stations, civil the to similar Badshahi of the Mughals. The gardencity-pattern, Bagh-e- the previous over overlaid This newcore the raillineandaroundRamnaracecourse. which isthenewcore,wasestablishednorthof of development inDhaka. The newcivil stations, scope significant a brought which region, Assam capital ofnewlyformedEastBengal- the provincial After partitioning of Bengal in 1905, Dhaka was made (Source: Habib,2010). Map showingRamnaandsurrounding area-howthecitygrewdifferentlyin1952,1960,1989and2008 respectively Figure 13: into aneducationalinstitute. civil stationhasbeentransformed previous Colonial byUniversity.part ofracecourseissurrounded The to theUniversity(Figure10).Nowsoutheast Government Buildingsof the civil stationweregiven the inaugurationofDhakaUniversitymost With In happened. importantincident 1921, another Survey Schoolandmanymoreimportantbuildings. Dhaka Medical), Town Hall(present Curzon hall), (Old HighCourtbuildings),Secretariat(present Changing ScenariosofPublicOpenSpaceinaBritishColonialCity: The CaseoftheRamna Area, Dhaka

Nakhara 51 Nakhara 52 b SheikhMujibur Rahmangivinghistoricalspeechon7 (b) c Surrenderof Pakistan Militaryin16 (c) a Imagesshowingpartoflanguagemovement,studentgatheringin 21 (a) Figure 14: (Figure14). 21 the domination of the Pakistani Government University became locations for protests against andDhaka Racecourse nearRamna station open spacessuchastheOldPlatton,civic response to different political situations. Colonial modified, re-constitutedbypublicneedsandin development the open spaces were continuously east toPostagola(Nilufar,this Inbetween 2010). , to Mirpur in north-west, and in the south- were determinedbytheMughalsinnorthto thelimitsthat 1989 thegrowthofDhakafollowed to 1949 from So, stratifications. socio-cultural and to economic differences, political disagreements partition inbetweentwowingsofPakistandue A tensepoliticalrelationdevelopedjustafterthe used politicallyasawayofinternalcolonization. and thereforewasa common ground tool that was as being physically apart. Religion was the only were very different socially and culturally as well of political subjugation. East and West Pakistan era into another entered Bangladesh This iswhen Pakistan Period(1947-1971) D the statusofasovereigncapitalin1971. acquired Dhaka yearsofcolonization. two hundred from Britishafterthe independence achieving 1947, status of the provincial capital of the East Pakistan in Bangladesh after independence. Dhaka obtained the was capitalof Pakistan andsecondlythe capital of two majortimeframes.First,Dhaka,after1947, periods ofDhakacanbedividedinto Post-Colonial Post- Salma Begum haka asthe C olonial st February 1952, was marked as C D apital inthe haka th Decemebr, (Source:Google). 1971atRamnaRacecourse th March,1971atRamnaRacecourse (Source:Wikipedia), in theOldcantonmentareawhichwasaplacefor constructed was stadium first Dhaka’s Defense. of Ministry the for office an with along Pakistan Assam was adapted as the High Court of East the and of EastBengal house oftheGovernor old administration andinstitutions.Forinstance,the now usedfordifferentwere purposesbythenew BritishpowerBuildings thatwereusedtoshow in 1951 andgave part of it toDhaka University. gardenfromtheNawabfamily away theShahbagh government ofEastPakistan. The Governmenttook and therestofareaswastakenoverby bythe1950’sthe RamnaParkandracecourse, city. Ramna had been dividedin to two precincts: threshold for the new urban area and the native drawn towardstheRamnaareawhichactedas Many of the state programs were systematically transformed thearea(Habib&Meulder, 2015). and newareaswereaddedwhichdramatically as amoderncapital. A seriesofsymbolicelements and construction wasimplementedto remakeDhaka development planning, scale Large priorities. new in tothe capital of East Pakistan, which resultedin In 1950s,thecolonial-eraUniversityCitywasturned Bengali languagewasclaimed. status forthe equal where stage fordemonstrations movement. Inthiscontext,Ramnaperformedasa as equalstatus as which hasacceleratedthe ‘martyrs’. After alongstruggleBanglawasgiven in commemoration of the language movement’s was built small monument, known as ‘Shahid minar’, a Where theywerekilled College). Dhaka Medical Bengali protesters in front of the colonial secretariat (present the on fired force police the as day that killed were demonstrators Many officials. Pakistan laws of University protestedagainsttheLanguage of Dhaka when students day significant first the st February, 1952(Source:mtholyoke.edu), terms of cultural, social and political aspects. The But theimportanceofcolonialpartincreasedin area, whereas the new urban core has shifted north. institutional arearemainsinthecolonialRacecourse transformations. The city’s administrativeand In thisperiodtheopenspaceshaveendured of thecountryafterfewyearsindependence. smooth. The military tookoverthepowerandcontrol In the post-independenceperiod the journeywasnot Post-independence scenario Colonial RacecourseMaidan. its birthintheformerMughalgardenwhichis as anewnationsaw (Figure 13&14).Bangladesh military. Pakistani of surrender the to movement events for many years starting with the first language space hasbeenintricatelyrelatedtothepolitical (Nilufar, 2010). Ramna’s openness. The Institutional connected thenewextensionandMughalDhaka which road in toawide track wasconverted railway as thrust. necessitated bythe developmental The the mid 60’s, the track moved (Figure13)eastward against government. The Railway line was shifted in mass protest and demonstration by political parties Present Shahbaghmapadopted by author Figure 15: ves a new context to the park. gives anewcontexttothepark. of historywhilethemodernistarchitecturalapproach public spaceswhichevokesasenseofBengalivision elements thisarticulatestheplaceasoneofonly architecture withBengaliideology. Withallitsdesign design intervention is symbolic, as it represents an was finally completed in 2013 (Figure 15 & 16). This public, even though the work was unfinished. Later it tower. In 2012 the government opened it to the government in2009completed it with the abandoned by thegovernmentin2006,andthennew initiated was phase first The phases. two in done on 7 commemoration of the nation’s father historic speech using the(formerracecourseof65.68acres),in a ended andin1996,thegovernmentdecidedtobuild (Suhrawardy Uddyan).In1990themilitaryregime park drasticallytransformed the quality of thespace recreational completely a to area protesting gathering park. Byimpedingtheuseofspacefromamass speech) wasturnedintoachildrenamusement (where gave historical racecourse currentlyknownasSuhrawardyUddyan converting itintoaparklinedwithtreesandthe rulers military the by modified first was area Ramna , monument of freedom Changing ScenariosofPublicOpenSpaceinaBritishColonialCity: th March. The constructionofthemonumentwas The CaseoftheRamna Area, Dhaka

Nakhara 53 Nakhara 54 cultural centerandanaturalpark withinthecity. as a university campus, an administrative center, a a broad definition. Therefore, Ramna can be defined within thedenseurbancontext, Ramnaincorporates holding a hybrid quality. Due to its central position central space at the junction between north and south and native city on the other hand, Ramna became a city ofthe onthenorthside the massivedevelopment cultural, educationalandrecreationalbuildings.With demonstrates multipledualitieswithitsadministrative, At present,Ramna’s parklikeenvironment death penaltyofthewarcriminalfrom1971. people werestayinginthe ofShahbagh Gonojagoron Mancha. Thousands speech on7 Sheikh MujiburRahmandeliveredhishistorical ABangabandhu where venue at thehistorical rally jagaran Mancha,aplatformforawakeningthenation. of warcriminal. The protestwasknownasGono- for activists demonstrated the highestpunishment 2013, students from Dhaka University and online for protests.In This placeisstillinuseasavenue actually inauguratedduringthePakistaniperiod. with amorningeventintheRamnaPark, which was former racecourse. The celebrationeventuallystarts the Fine on thewestsideof Art Institute,located starts at the Bengalinewyearwhencelebration of day first the on people the by appropriated also Uddyan alsohoststhebookstalls. This placeis where a partofthis book fairtakesplace a national February, to commemorate the languagemovement, throughout theyear. Everyyearinthemonthof hosts several nationaleventsand cultural activities space This life. everyday the in significance a has area Ramna the suppression, political the from Apart PeoplewerejoiningrallyofGonojagoronmancha(Source:Dailystar, 2103) (b) View ofSwadhinotaStambha(Source:Wikipedia), (a) Figure 16: Salma Begum th Marchin1971,wasorganisedby Mancha demanding the demanding C number of political and cultural manifestations cultural and ofpolitical number is oneofthecity’s largest spaces that hosts a the LiberationWar Museum. Today thisplace of theparkbyconstructing Tower ofLightand symbolic monuments, through the restructuring to suppression can be seen in the production of Bengali’s of hostility and nation the of struggle building paradigm. The collectivememoryofthe with anemphasisonthenation was re-established In the post-colonial era, the colonial environment of thecity’s civicaxis. a backbone became park Ramna and institutions spine ofgovernmentfunctions, the interconnected provincial capital was stripped from Dhaka. With thestatusof the perspectivewhen broadened as aUniversityCitywhich The citywasre-imagined and capitalofEastBengal as theprovincial Assam. power inRamnawhentheBritish envisionedthecity architecture wasusedasamediumtoshowpolitical as a recreational parkwithcivicamenities.Colonial component wasreconstructedduring colonial period superimposed plan. The fundamental Mughalgarden of rebirthwasanorganicprocessratherthana space. contested public This changeortheprocess to educationcenter, and from a racecourse to a recreation, fromagarden to Britishcolonial garden character throughouthistory; the Mughal’s pleasure The transformation, certain phases were still significant. Although thecityhasgonethroughagradual socio-economic phases in its social evolution. that three dominant phases represents three different of Dhaka,itisseen area alongwiththemorphology of theRamna nature thechanging discussing While onclu area (Ramna) shows its everchanging area (Ramna) shows its everchanging si on Amsterdam: Amsterdam UniversityPress,pp.217-240. In: Bracken, G. ed. Habib, K. & De Meulder, B. (2015). CitiesandBuildings. XIth N-Aerus-conference & theCitiesinSouth. Procedingsof the Knowledge Representative Public Spaces of Dhaka.In: its Cultural Diversity: The Case of National-Cultural Habib, K. (2010). The Post-Colonial Public Spaces and doi:10.3390/ijgi3041412. Journal of Geo-Information, Bangladesh, UsingSpaceSyntax.ISPRSInternational Urban Morphological Change Analysis of Dhaka City, Ahmed, B.,Hasan,R.,&Maniruzzaman,K.M.(2014). published 1986). Development 1840-1921. Ahmed, R turned thecityintoanunplannedmetropolis. or masterplanhave any properguideline following of adaptations, alterations, and additions without city. Simultaneously, thecollectionofnumber use gives it a hybrid quality inthe center of the space alongwiththenumberofvarioustypes demonstrate. The multilayeredhistoryofthis a groundforthenationtocelebrate,protest,and a huge flow of people and makes it a central space, Ramna’s spatial settings and poroustissueallows nationalism process. are patronized in the new liberal society and the urban life; where politics, tradition and culture a partofeveryday Dhaka cityandbecame within played avitalroleinthehistory ofurbandevelopment Ramna of transformation. history magnificent its and otherfestivalsalongwith celebration, religious Independence Day),cultural(springfestivalday), of spectacular events; whether national (i.e. is inevitably themainvenueholdingavariety Ramna, memorial-cum-cityparkatpresent the politicalobjectivethroughtime. of transformation of the region. The physical boundary cultural and of thesocio-political is arepresentation the year.throughout scenario changing The whole eference Shahbagh S. U. (2003) .Dhaka: A Study in Urban History and s area has been changed in tandem with area hasbeenchangedintandemwith Asian Cities: Colonialto Global. Dhaka: Curzon Press. (Originally Dhaka: CurzonPress. (Originally , Brussels. Vol-3(4), pp. 1412-1444. Urban 18.05.2017]. http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Dhaka [Accessed Figure 01- Dhaka City Evolution of Boundary Source ofImagesand Period [Accessed14.06.2017] Parks_and_Open_Spaces_in_Capital_Dhaka_Mughal_ Availableat https://www.academia.edu/245119/Gardens_ Capital Dhaka: Mughal Period. Nilufar, F. (2010).Gardens, Parks and Open Spacesin Urban_Core[Accessed 14.06.2017] City_Spatial_Dynamics_of_Growing_City_and_the_ academia.edu/245137/Urban_Morphology_of_Dhaka_ Core. Spatial Dynamics of Growing City and the Urban Nilufar, F. (2010). Urban Morphology of Dhaka City: Bangladesh Project Bangladesh since 1947 to 1971 for Cultural Survey of Nilufar, F. (2007). A TALE OF A MUGHAL GARDEN,MaHS.KULeuven. Morad, T.Md.(2015). pp. 11-36. ed., ed., Local Traditions in the Morphology of Dhaka. In. Rahman, Mowla, A.Q. (2014). ColonialSpatial Planning versus pp. 5-16. DHAKA CITY.Constructii, Urbanism. Arhitectura. CHANGING NATURE OFURBANPUBLICPLACESIN Mishu, R.M., Barua, U., & Stoican, A. I. (2014). THE Technology IACSIT International Journal of Engineering and Use: of DhakaCityforSustainable A Syntactic Approach. Khan, M.(2014).StudyofOpenSpacesintheContext KTH, pp.-052:01-052:15. Koch, LarsMarcusandJesperSteen,Stockholm: Daniel Space SyntaxSymposiumEditedby the 7thInternational - Unplanned Planned of Areas inDhaka.In:Proceedings Khan, N.,&Nilufar, F. (2009). Transformationof Paradigm in PlanningHistory, SaoPaulo,pp.1-20. SOC I ETY CON F ER EN C E, Cities, Nations and Regions In: 15thINTERN ATION AL P LANNINGHISTORY DEVELOPMENT OFDHAKA – A STORY OF 400 YEARS. Kabir, A., & Parolin, B. (2012). PLANNING AND (02), pp.26-29.16.doi:10.4038/cpp.v1i2.8. 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