Restoring and Improving Livelihoods in Resettlement Sites Through Housing Transformation: Evidence from Gopalganj, Bangladesh

Imran Hossain Foishal¹, Dr. Maartje van Eerd², Sk. Hassan Al-Tanbin^1, and Abdullah Al Noman³

¹Architecture Discipline, Khulna University, Khulna, Bangladesh

²Housing and Social development, Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS), Erasmus University, Rotterdam, Netherlands

³Department of Architecture, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Science and Technology University, Gopalganj, Bangladesh

Cite this paper:
Imran Hossain Foishal, Dr. Maartje van Eerd, Sk. Hassan Al-Tanbin and Abdullah Al Noman. Restoring and Improving Livelihoods in Resettlement Sites Through Housing Transformation: Evidence from Gopalganj, Bangladesh. American Journal of Civil Engineering and Architecture. 2023; 11(3):94-101. doi: 10.12691/ajcea-11-3-5

Abstract

Development-induced displacement and resettlement have triggered the risk of impoverishing and threatening the livelihood of affected people all over the world. Although the explicit objectives of the resettlement policies of international agencies are the restoration and improvement of livelihood, in most cases these aspects are seriously neglected. When resettlement is carried out improperly and without any provision of livelihood restoration, relocatees struggle to cope with the negative consequences of resettlement. In addition to this, the resettlement housing is sometimes perceived as a completed product where the actual needs, norms, culture, and way of life of the relocates are not taken into account. Therefore, relocatees are compelled to incrementally modify, transform, and rearrange their spaces as a coping strategy and these housing transformations assist them to restore their livelihood. This expletory research adapts a resettlement case from Bangladesh and explains how incremental housing transformation contributes to social and financial capital and helps relocates to restore their livelihoods. This research aims to highlight the significance of incremental housing transformation by identifying livelihood outcomes derived from these housing transformations. The article will first present an overview of the literature on development-induced displacement and resettlement, incremental housing transformation, and its importance for livelihoods and then it will zoom into the specific case. The result of this study suggests that for restoring livelihoods, the scope for the transformation of housing should be considered in the planning and design as then housing can become a productive resource for the low-income relocatees.

Keywords:
Development-induced displacement and resettlement (DIDR) Housing transformation Livelihood restoration Social capital financial capital Gopalganj (Bangladesh)

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