Dr. Md. Shanawez Hossain, Research Fellow and Head of Urban, Climate Change and Environment (UCCE) Cluster of BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), BRAC University delivered a presentation on “Informal Settlement in Bangladesh: Social Capital Context”, at the side event of third session of the Preparatory Committee for the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (UN Habitat PrepCom3) held in Surabaya, Indonesia from 24-28 July, 2016. As a member of the Bangladesh delegation, he participated in all the sessions of the conference.
Dr. Hossain made the presentation on “Informal Settlement in Bangladesh: Social Capital Context” at a side event titled “Small towns and informal settlements: can they learn from each other?” on 26 July. In his presentation, he highlighted service delivery issues in informal settlements and the role of Civil Societies and Social Capital in this context.
In the side event, researchers discussed different challenges and solutions that could provide new ways of thinking informal settlement in small towns. They emphasized on in-depth diagnosis and critical approaches to current practices and existing network-based solutions; suitability of existing sanitation technologies for small settlements, especially for climate and environmental resilience; and experiences for ecological transitionin informal settlements and small towns, including non-network solutions, like septic tanks and septage management systems. They highlighted that many sustainable innovative urban forms or adaptation to climate change can be a source of inspiration for new urban interventions.
Dr. Hossain also participated in number of field visits organized by Surabaya City Government to see sustainable urban management practices. The three days conference was attended by more than 4000 participants from more than 140 countries of the world. The conference came up with a draft New Urban Agenda which will be adopted in the UN Habitat III conference in Quito, Ecudor from 17 to 20 October 2016.