Dhaka struggles to house climate migrants and growing population

Every morning, Younus Mridha pedals his rickshaw through Dhaka's congested streets, a journey that belies the weight of his struggle. The 50-year-old lives in a cramped 300-square-foot room in the Notun Bazar slum at Kallyanpur with his wife and four children. 

Their story begins far from the capital, in Barguna district, where Cyclone Sidr destroyed their home and possessions. Forced to migrate, Younus arrived in Dhaka first, struggling to survive on a single income, before bringing his family years later.

"After the cyclone, we lost everything. Surviving on one income was too hard," he recalls. His wife now works as a domestic helper, and his eldest son works at a car garage, together barely keeping the family afloat. "We no longer have a home in the village, and even here, living in a rented slum is a daily battle," Younus said.

Younus is far from alone. Around six million urban residents in Bangladesh lack formal housing, with the Ministry of Housing and Public Works projecting a shortage of more than 10 million units by 2030. 

As the world observes World Habitat Day today (5 October), the urgency of Bangladesh's urban housing crisis — compounded by climate migration, overpopulation, and environmental degradation — is impossible to ignore.

This year's theme, "Urban Crisis Response," resonates sharply in Dhaka, where overcrowding and infrastructure strain have earned the city the label "urban ICU." 

Once a city of gardens and lakes, Dhaka now houses over 23,000 people per square kilometre. Daily migration from rural areas seeking education, healthcare, and livelihoods further exacerbates the crisis.

Middle-class and low-income households under pressure

While rural housing has steadily improved with tin-shed and concrete homes, urban areas tell a very different story. 

In cities, middle-income families spend nearly a third of their earnings just on rent, while poorer households are packed into overcrowded settlements with unreliable water and sanitation. 

Despite hundreds of acres of government land lying unused, only a handful of the nearly 50 housing projects launched over the past two decades have been completed, hampered by bureaucratic delays and political interference. 

Bangladesh Institute of Planners (BIP) President Adil Mohammed Khan said the shortage of six million units affects roughly 25 million people, predominantly slum dwellers and low-income families. 

He argued that without prioritising social housing through public-private partnerships and mandating affordable units in private developments, the gap between policy and people's needs will continue to widen.

Government efforts and limitations

The government has made efforts to address the crisis, most notably through the Ashrayan Project, which, since 1997, has rehabilitated over 507,000 landless and homeless families. 

In Dhaka, about 1,000 rental flats for low-income residents have been built, but only 300 have been allotted, leaving the majority of residents still in informal or substandard housing—a situation UN-Habitat estimates affects 55% of the city's population. 

As Md Nazrul Islam, secretary of the Ministry of Housing and Public Works noted, the government is reviewing new slum redevelopment proposals, with a pledge to prioritise those most in need and prevent past irregularities. 

Yet, for millions of Dhaka's residents, the challenges are immediate and relentless. Climate-induced migration continues to swell the city's population as rising sea levels, cyclones, and salinity devastate coastal livelihoods. 

Flooding and waterlogging, exacerbated by poor drainage and encroached canals, submerge major roads even during moderate rainfall, turning daily life into a struggle for survival.

Against this backdrop, Bangladesh will host World Habitat Day at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre, convening policymakers, academics, and development partners, including Environment Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan and UN Resident Coordinator Gwyn Lewis. 

The event will cast a spotlight on the urgent need for integrated urban planning, resilient infrastructure, and sustainable housing solutions. 

For Dhaka, the message is clear: without decisive, coordinated action, the city's informal settlements, vulnerable families, and millions of new arrivals will remain on the frontline of an unfolding urban crisis, where the stakes are nothing less than the right to shelter itself.