Coordination of urban planning organizations as a process of achieving effective and socially just planning: A case of Dhaka city, Bangladesh

Urban planning and development management in developing countries were restructured following the basic notion of decentralization. Dhaka has a number of other municipalities and rural bodies, which are within its functional jurisdiction under different forms of decentralization. Theoretically it has been assumed in different literature that decentralization promotes good governance for achieving effective and socially just planning. However, this paper argues that coordination of urban planning is essential for such attainment, which is not essentially an output of decentralization. Rather reviewing the case of Dhaka Metropolitan Development Plan, it is evident that there is an ongoing conflict among different actors for promoting planned urban development in Dhaka city. But in the era of participatory planning for promoting social justice, the commencement of coordinated development is essential. In this regard, this study is an attempt to understand the importance of coordination for effective and socially just planning in Dhaka city of Bangladesh.