A study of architectural heritage management by the informal community bodies in traditional neighborhoods of old Dhaka

Abstract

This study examines the role of informal community bodies in managing the architectural heritage in the traditional urban neighborhoods of Old Dhaka, the historic core of the capital city of Bangladesh. The traditional community organizations have a significant role to play in sustaining them in their original form. Often they work parallel to formal government. It may be beneficial to examine the way these communities in the traditional neighborhoods retain their cultural continuity. A major part of this can be revealed through detailed observation and analysis of their living environment and the system of architectural heritage management. This study examines the ways the local communities in the traditional neighborhoods of Old Dhaka have retained their cultural continuity and managed their architectural heritage withholding development pressure in a fast changing urban environment around them, with Grounded theory method as a qualitative approach for three selected case study areas of Old Dhaka.