An Innovative Approach to Assess the Quality of Major Parks in Environmentally Degraded Mega-City Dhaka

Abstract

This study addresses both qualitative and quantitative assessments of the quality of major parks of Dhaka. Four incommensurate factors namely environment, safety and security, landscape and aesthetic factors have been smartly chosen to measure the quality of the parks by formulating new index values. Index value of each factor has been calculated for all the parks. It is shown that the quality of all the parks considered are dispersed. In addition, investigation of universal accessibility of the parks and direct park user’s opinion has been accumulated to concretize the results. Based on the major findings of this study a number of recommendations have been provided for the improvement of the quality of parks in Dhaka city. Involvement of local community and establishment of office for the park authority inside the park can be helpful in the quality maintenance of the parks. The findings of this paper will enhance the existing knowledge of city planners a step forward with a-priori knowledge to ensure quality of parks in further city planning.