Rise of a Megacity: Bangladesh’s Dhaka Sees Population Boom
Nearly 500,000 migrants flow into Dhaka, Bangladesh, each year, leaving the countryside to try to make a living in the big city. By 2025, the United Nations estimates Dhaka will grow to about 20 million, rivaling Mexico City, Beijing and Shanghai.
The massive influx of people poses challenges of overcrowding, pollution, poverty and overtaxing services such as water and electricity, some analysts say. But this phenomenon is not unique to Dhaka. It’s happening in other urban centers around the world, where people are motivated by economic reasons or environmental ones, such as when monsoons wipe out their farms.
As part of their reporting on Dhaka, the series will probe:
- The dreams of Dhaka’s garment girls.
- The disasters that are driving the mass migration to Dhaka.
- The environmental and societal benefits of these changing tides.
- The fifth part of the series looks at possible ways of addressing the potential risks these megacities pose.
You can watch the first report on Dhaka on Wednesday’s NewsHour. Here’s a preview: