Dhaka, 24 September, 2016

Poverty Dynamics in the Urban SpectrumTwin challenges of perspectives and statistics

Hossain Zillur RahmanPower and Participation Research Centre (PPRC)

10 facesPictures by Imrul Islam, student (political science

and psychology major) at Vassar College, New York, USA(pictures commissioned by PPRC)

Rubel (17), factory worker, Puran Dhaka

Factory worker, speech impaired, works to supportWidowed mother, did not go to school

School drop-out Jewel, Construction WorkerConstruction workers in Uttara at night. After a long day of work, showering and eating dinner. Jewel, came to Dhaka from Narsingdi to live and work with his uncle (who also works at the same construction site). He dropped out of school because he needed to earn and support his family.

Abdur Rob, worker in small mattress factoryAbdur Rob’s work place is located in an under construction building. He migrated to Dhaka alone and later brought his family. He has two daughters, both of whom go to school. His wife works as a household maid. His greatest struggle now is to make sure he keeps earning enough to put his children through school.

Amol (43), rickshaw-puller, Uttara, DhakaAmol comes from Mymensingh. He came to the capital to work till Eid and go back home with his earnings. During conversation, he confided he was thinking about what gifts to take back for his children.

Badshah, fruit-seller, Sadarghat, DhakaFruit sellers in Sadarghat, come on launches with their wares and return once they’ve sold enough. Badsha finds it hard to make ends meet, especially with the rise in price of amenities.

Rahul (middle) is Abdul Mollah’s only son. Although he sometimes helps Mollah out, he has been told by his father to concentrate on his studies. Rahul dreams of becoming a businessman like his father, but one who has a chain of grocery stores in all parts of Dhaka.

Abdul Mollah (60), petty businessmanAbdul Mollah oversees the offloading of produce. In the background, the Buriganga. Mollah has a son who is in college, and someone he hopes will be able to get a “real” job in the future

Rahul, student, Abdul Mollah’s sonRahul sometimes helps his father in his business but has been told by his father to concentrate on his studies. Rahul dreams of becoming a businessman, but one who has a chain of grocery stores in all parts of Dhaka.

Nilima (50) finds a moment of relaxation

Meena (11), student, Shakari Bazar, DhakaMeena lives in a little one bedroom house with her family. Her dad works at a neighboring carom board factory. Her biggest desire at the time of photo was an air conditioner for her house. She wants to be a nurse.

PPRC-BBS research on the Urban Spectrum, 2012-2016

• 4 tier urban spectrum - Dhaka City, 2012 & 2016 - Chittagong City, 2016 - 8 City Corporations, 2016 - 14 Pourashvas, 2016

• Research supported by The World Bank

• Data on Dhaka 2012, Chittagong 2016 and Pourashavas 2016 presented in this conference

5 Questions• Is urbanization an undifferentiated reality? - Metropolitan to Mofussil - Diversity of slums

• How adequate is the income measure to capture the multi-dimensionality of urban poverty?

• Do urban poverty statistics face a problem of being ‘outdated’ vis-à-vis changing urban realities?

• Do the urban poor face a reality of ‘economic opportunity but social disadvantages’?

• Is urban poverty about the poor or about anti-poor urbanization?

Metropolitan-Mofussil divide:income realities

Income class(Monthly income BDT)

Metropolis:Dhaka City, 2012

Incipient Metropolis:Chittagong City, 2016

Secondary Cities: 14 Pourashavas, 2016

% of hh Average income BDT

% of income share

% of hh Average income BDT

% of income share

% of hh Average income BDT

% of income share

Below 10,000 11.3 7,444 2.2 7.8 8.027 2.3 28.0 7,717 10.3

10,000-25,000 47.1 15,200 18.8 56.6 16,029 33.8 49.3 16,383 38.7

25,000-50,000 25.8 32,072 21.7 24.6 32,544 29.8 17.4 35,425 29.5

50,000-100,000 10.5 63,197 17.4 9.1 63,206 21.6 4.1 67,441 13.2

100,000 & above 5.4 284,088 39.9 1.9 174,398 12.5 1.2 149,810 8.3

All 100.0 38,127 100.0 100.0 26,817 100.0 100.0 20,897 100.0

Metropolitan-Mofussil divide:income details

• Average pourashava income (2016) 45% lower than average Dhaka income (2012)

• Average Chittagong income (2016) 30% lower than average Dhaka income (2012)

• % of poor in Dhaka (2012) on the global criterion of $1.25 per capita per day was 27%

• The top income class (above 1 lac per month) in Dhaka (2012) constitutes only 5.4% of households but enjoy 39.9% of total Dhaka income

• Average monthly income for the lowest income class across the urban spectrum is below BDT 8,000.

• The lower middle class (monthly income between 10,000 and 25,000) constitutes the majority of the population in all urban centres: 47% in Dhaka, 56% in Chittagong and 49% in pourashavas

Metropolitan-Mofussil divide:Quality of life

Indicator Dhaka, 2012 Chittagong, 2016 Pourashava, 2016

%

Owner-occupied housing 20.5 33.2 69.7

Vulnerable housing: Kutcha dwellings + Jhupri

5.0 26.0 39.5

Non-sanitary latrine 2.6 1.8 3.1

Shared latrine-use n/a 38.9 23.8

Unhygienic garbage disposal 9.6 40.5 82.2

Interrupted electricity supply 92.2 96.8 91.3

Access to piped water 96.5 59.2 20.5

4 examples of ‘outdated’ urban statistics

• Housing - structure improvement versus new poverty-relevant tenure forms eg. sublet - from land tenure insecurity to rental insecurity• Sanitation - from latrine types to compulsions of shared-use• Access to infrastructure - quality of neighbourhood (inner) roads vis-à-vis arterial roads• Access to electricity - access to a connection versus intensity of interrupted supply

Addressing urban poverty:Challenges in lesser focus

• Elitist bias in setting urban priorities - Low priority to public transportation, urban social protection, urban health, low-cost housing

• Viable pro-poor urban solutions: a challenge of innovation

- WASH, low-cost housing, skill education

• Political economy of urban land-use - Policy propensity for slum eviction as easy option - Inefficient land-use out of focus - Potential of land pooling approach not yet on agenda

• The financing challenge

Addressing urban poverty:A dual challenge

• The challenge of perspective - Reversing ‘anti-poor’ urbanization rather than narrow focus on urban poor - Prioritizing the urban spectrum rather than primate city - Importance of both structural and non-structural solutions • Challenges of action - ‘Big’ and ‘small’ solutions - Prioritizing innovations