Urban housing governance challenges in Cumilla City Corporation Bangladesh

Abstract

The lack of institutional coordination and irregularities, corruption in urban housing governance in Bangladesh are growing problem, but most of the existing literatures are concentrated in the major metropolitan cities and limited to secondary cities. The study looks at the institutional and governance gaps that affect the irregularities in urban housing governance in Cumilla City Corporation (CuCC). This study was based on a qualitative methods case study design. Primary data was gathered through 11 Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) with city officials, urban planners and experts and 7 Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) with 49 residents and stakeholders, totaling 60 respondents. The results identify four key problems: (i) poor planning control and weak monitoring during planning, implementation and construction cause irregularities; (ii) widespread corruption, especially nepotism, favoritism and financial manipulation of project funds; (iii) low public awareness and law enforcement of the housing regulations results in serious compliance gaps; and (iv) fragmented institutional coordination causes duplications of work, delays and inefficient service delivery. All of these governance shortcomings lead to environmental degradation, deterioration of infrastructure, and lower urban livability. The study is of significance in the sense that it focuses empirical study on secondary cities and also shows that the housing irregularity in Bangladesh is mainly related to the governance rather than technical matters. It also contributes to SDG 11 and SDG 16, through its focus on enhanced institutional coordination and regulatory enforcement.