Superblock Urbanism in Dhaka as a Sustainable Redevelopment Strategy for Tejgaon Industrial Area
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25034/ijcua.2025.v9n2-9Abstract
Dhaka’s rapid urbanisation has intensified challenges of fragmented land use, congestion, and environmental decline, particularly in the Tejgaon Industrial Area (TIA), once designated for light industry but now marked by unregulated mixed-use growth. This study examines the superblock model as a sustainable redevelopment framework for TIA, aiming to integrate density management, mobility, and environmental resilience. A mixed-methods approach combined GIS-based spatial analysis, traffic observations, policy review of the Detailed Area Plan (2022–2035) and Building Construction Rules (2008), and participatory design workshops. Insights from 151 residents, workers, and students informed scenario testing across three models: plot-based, block-based, and superblock development. Findings show that superblocks reduce congestion by diverting traffic to peripheral roads, enhance permeability with 44% more permeable surfaces compared to block-based schemes, and allocate nearly 50% of land for open and public spaces. These outcomes highlight the potential of superblock urbanism to support Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 3, 11, 13, and 15), improving walkability, public health, and climate resilience. The study concludes that superblocks provide a scalable planning strategy for Dhaka’s transformation and for other fast-growing urban contexts.
Downloads
References
Ahmed, N. (2018, November 9). When will urban planning get its due importance? The Daily Star.
Alawadi, K., Alkhaja, N., & Vall, E. M. (2024). Building with superblocks: Study of Gulf corporation cities. URBAN DESIGN International. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41289-024-00257-0
Amati, M., Stevens, Q., & Rueda, S. (2024). Taking Play Seriously in Urban Design: The Evolution of Barcelona's Superblocks. Space and Culture, 27(2), 156–171. https://doi.org/10.1177/12063312231159229
Apatenko, T., & Bezliubchenko, O. (2024). Priorities and Disadvantages of City Block Development. Municipal Economy of Cities, 1(182), 35–42. https://doi.org/10.33042/2522-1809-2024-1-182-35-42
Babic, N. (2021). Superblocks—The Future of Walkability in Cities? Academia Letters. https://doi.org/10.20935/AL747
Barcelona City Council. (2016). Superblocks—Architecture Walks and Tours in Barcelona [Graphic]. Retrieved from https://barcelonarchitecturewalks.com/superblocks/
Bredikhina, N., Bredikhin, V., Los, K. I., & Bredikhin, A. (2023). Redevelopment of Real Estate in Urban Industrial Zones: In N. Cobîrzan, R. Muntean, & R.-A. Felseghi (Eds.), Advances in Finance, Accounting, and Economics (pp. 215–241). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-6684-8238-4.ch010
Butler, C. (2019). Exploring the contours of the right to the city. In M. E. Leary-Owhin & J. P. McCarthy (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of Henri Lefebvre, the city and urban society (1st ed., pp. 457–466). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315266589-48
Carlos, A. F. A. (2020). Henri Lefebvre: O espaço, a cidade e o “direto à cidade” [Henri Lefebvre: Space, the city, and the "right to the city"]. Revista Direito e Práxis, 11(1), 349–369. https://doi.org/10.1590/2179-8966/2020/48199
Castells, M. (2023). The Network Society Revisited. American Behavioral Scientist, 67(7), 940–946.
Chen, X. (2022). An eastern supergrid and superblock urban model. In X. Chen, Supergrid and superblock (1st ed., pp. 25–35). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003037194-2
Chérrez-Rodas, K. (2020). Relectura de dos ciudades desde los conceptos de Lefebvre [Rereading two cities through Lefebvre's concepts]. Diseño Arte y Arquitectura, 9, 213–229. https://doi.org/10.33324/daya.v1i9.343
Corbusier, L. (2020). A contemporary city. In R. T. LeGates & F. Stout (Eds.), The city reader (7th ed., pp. 392–400). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429261732-46
Damnjanović, N., Jevremović, S., Trpković, A., & Gajić, R. (2024). Superblock: The modern urban traffic concept of sustainable city development. In Ekološko inženjerstvo – mesto i uloga, stanje i budući razvoj (16): Zbornik radova [Ecological engineering – place and role, status and future development (16): Proceedings] (pp. 194–206). https://doi.org/10.5937/eko-eng24015d
Das, A. (2018). The changing face of a megacity's key industrial hub in Bangladesh: Towards assessing its emerging transformation pattern for pertinent future urban development. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3641759
Friendly, A. (2024). Right to the City. In A. Friendly, Urban Studies. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/obo/9780190922481-0081
Fuller, M., & Moore, R. (2017). The Death and Life of Great American Cities. Macat Library. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781912282661
Gasca Salas, J. (2022). El derecho a la ciudad en Henri Lefebvre: Consigna civilizatoria, espacio político y utopía [“The right to the city” in Henri Lefebvre: Civilizing slogan, political space, and utopia]. Revista de Direito da Cidade, 14(3), 2154–2179. https://doi.org/10.12957/rdc.2022.67871
Ge, X., & Han, D. (2020). Sustainability oriented configurational analysis of the street network of China’s superblocks: Beyond Marshall’s model [Graphic]. Retrieved from https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S2095263520300509
Ge, X., & Han, D. (2020). Sustainability-oriented configurational analysis of the street network of China's superblocks: Beyond Marshall's model. Frontiers of Architectural Research, 9(4), 858–871. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foar.2020.07.001
Geyer, H. S. (2024). The theory and praxis of mixed-use development—An integrative literature review. Cities, 147, 104774. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2023.104774
Hossain, S. T. (2020). Critical Review of Street Connectivity Between Tejgaon Industrial Area and Adjacent Hatirjheel Development. Creative Space, 8(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.15415/cs.2020.81001
https://doi.org/10.1177/00027642221092803
Jahan, S. (1990). Urban Planning in Bangladesh: A Review. In N. Islam (Ed.), Urban Research in Bangladesh. Centre for Urban Studies (CUS).
Kan, H. Y., Forsyth, A., & Rowe, P. (2017). Redesigning China's superblock neighbourhoods: Policies, opportunities and challenges. Journal of Urban Design, 22(6), 757–777. https://doi.org/10.1080/13574809.2017.1337493
Khan, A. M., Hossain, S. M. N., & Reza, F. (2017). Revisiting density concepts for city planning and its implications for Dhaka City. Journal of Bangladesh Institute of Planners, 10(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.3329/jbip.v10i1.76761
King, L. (2019). Henri Lefebvre and the right to the city. In S. M. Meagher, S. Noll, & J. S. Biehl (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of philosophy of the city (1st ed., pp. 76–86). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315681597-7
Krier, R., & Rowe, C. (1991). Urban space (5th ed.). Academy Editions.
Laurence, P. L. (2006). The death and life of urban design: Jane Jacobs, the Rockefeller Foundation and the new research in urbanism, 1955–1965. Journal of Urban Design, 11(2), 145–172. https://doi.org/10.1080/13574800600644001
Lefebvre, H. (2000). Writings on cities (E. Kofman & E. Lebas, Eds.; 4th ed.). Blackwell Publishers.
LeGates, R. T., & Stout, F. (Eds.). (2020). The city reader (Seventh edition). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429261732
Marchand, B. (2016). La ville radieuse de Le Corbusier: Les paradoxes d’une utopie de la société machiniste [Le Corbusier: The paradoxes of a utopia of machine society]. Urbia, 19, 63–78.
Merrifield, A. (2021). The right to the city and beyond: Notes on a Lefebvrian reconceptualization. In N. Brenner (Ed.), Implosions / explosions (pp. 523–532). De Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783868598933-032
Montavon, M., Steemers, K., Cheng, V., & Compagnon, R. (2006). “La Ville Radieuse” by Le Corbusier once again: A case study. In PLEA 2006: The 23rd Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture, Geneva, Switzerland.
Moudon, A. V. (1997). Urban morphology as an emerging interdisciplinary field. Urban Morphology, 1(1), 3–10. https://doi.org/10.51347/jum.v1i1.4047
Nevozhai, D. (2019). Building China: Rise of the Superblock [Graphic]. Retrieved from https://radii.co/article/building-china-rise-of-the-superblock
Nieuwenhuijsen, M., De Nazelle, A., Pradas, M. C., Daher, C., Dzhambov, A. M., Echave, C., Gössling, S., Iungman, T., Khreis, H., Kirby, N., Khomenko, S., Leth, U., Lorenz, F., Matkovic, V., Müller, J., Palència, L., Pereira Barboza, E., Pérez, K., Tatah, L., … Mueller, N. (2024). The superblock model: A review of an innovative urban model for sustainability, liveability, health and well-being. Environmental Research, 251, 118550. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2024.118550
Palenzuela, S. R. (2021). Superblocks: Base of a new model of mobility and public space. Barcelona as an example. In International encyclopedia of transportation (pp. 249–257). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-102671-7.10709-2
Pichkalova, A. D. (2022). The emergence of mixed residential and industrial areas. Chronos, 7(5[67]), 4–5. https://doi.org/10.52013/2658-7556-67-5-1
Postaria, R. (2021). Superblock (Superilla) Barcelona—A city redefined. Public Realm [Graphic]. Retrieved from https://www.citiesforum.org/news/superblock-superilla-barcelona-a-city-redefined/
Rabaça, A. (2016). Le Corbusier, the city, and the modern utopia of dwelling. Journal of Architecture and Urbanism, 40(2), 110–120. https://doi.org/10.3846/20297955.2016.1183529
Rahman, M. M. (2024). Measuring Compact Development Potential of an Emerging Urban Area: A Case of Savar. Journal of Engineering Science, 14(2), 107–125. https://doi.org/10.3329/jes.v14i2.71234
Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK). (2022). Detailed area plan for Dhaka Metropolitan Region, 2022–2035 [Graphic]. Ministry of Housing and Public Works, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh.
Rana, M. S. (2021). Tackling Dhaka's planning issues: Philosophical ideologies and planning remedies. Academia Letters. https://doi.org/10.20935/AL3736
Rodríguez-Lora, J.-A., Navas-Carrillo, D., & Pérez-Cano, M. T. (2021). Le Corbusier's urbanism: An urban characterisation of his proposals for inner cities. Frontiers of Architectural Research, 10(4), 701–714. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foar.2021.05.002
Roy, S., Sowgat, T., Ahmed, M. U., Islam, S. M. T., Anjum, N., Mondal, J., & Rahman, M. M. (2018). Bangladesh: National urban policies and city profiles for Dhaka and Khulna [Research report]. Khulna University.
Siksna, A. (1996). The evolution of block size and form in North American and Australian city centres. Urban Morphology, 1(1), 19–33. https://doi.org/10.51347/jum.v1i1.4048
Sung, H., Lee, S., & Cheon, S. (2015). Operationalizing Jane Jacobs's urban design theory: Empirical verification from the great city of Seoul, Korea. Journal of Planning Education and Research, 35(2), 117–130. https://doi.org/10.1177/0739456X14568021
Talen, E. (2024). New urbanism. In E. Talen, What cities say (1st ed., pp. 82–84). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780197647769.003.0014
Tanvir, H., Paliwal, S., & Soni, S. (2025). Assessing urban transformation and land-use dynamics in unplanned settlements: Case studies of 10 No. Market and Bittan Market. International Journal of Scientific Research in Engineering and Management, 9(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.55041/IJSREM41129
Tavassoli, M. (2020). Design of urban block. In M. Tavassoli (Ed.), Form, space and design: From the Persian to the European experience (pp. 81–97). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15831-6_5
Whitehand, J. W. R. (2001). British urban morphology: The Conzenian tradition. Urban Morphology, 5(2), 103–109. https://doi.org/10.51347/jum.v5i2.3896
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Shahriar Iqbal Raj, Tajwar Hossain Wasif, Mujtaba Ahsan, AKM Saleh Ahmed Anik
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
How to Cite
