Study on present status and potential locations of open spaces in the Chittagong city corporation area

Abstract

Chittagong does not have any exelusive open ,paee plan. A proper exploratory study on existing provision, which could potcrrtially serve as a benchmark for future planning also, doe, not e",ist. There is no such guideline for the sustainable development of open spaces in the City. This study aims to explore the preserrt condition and the future needs of open spaces in Chittagong City Corporation region and therefore provide some guidelines to develop and manage these open spaces. In this study, an inventory of existing open spaces is prepared from GIS (Geographical Information System) data and field visit. Related data of every open space is collected to prepare a GIS bMed database. Statistical and spatial analysis is performed to derive the status of open spaces based on different parameters. Opinions have been collected from a wide variety of people such as users, nonusers, experts and related government officials to identify problems related to open space creation, management and maintenance. This study found a serious shortage of open spaces in the CCC area It has 132.7 acres of open spaces serving only 3% of the estimated demand of 4,241 acres for the year 2006. In terms of number, the existing 67 accessible open spaces make up 6% oflhe estimated demand of 1,078 for 2006. Spatial distribution, however, indicates that large part remains un-served. This study explores some potential open spaces and gives some recommendations to improve the existing stock of open spaces. As regards management of the open spaces; user perception and existing studies echoed some weakness and user dissatisfaction. Field observation also shows the same result. In this study, some recommendations are made to overcome the management and maintenance problem. This study can be a useful guideline and source of information for the policy makers of the cit)' of Chittagong. Planners and researchers Clln find Borne baseline to continue study on open space planning ofChitlagong.