Integrating Accessibility: A Critical Review of the Transportation Policies and Plans in Dhaka
摘要
TransportationTransportation planning has long been centered on mobility-orientedMobility-oriented approaches, where level-of-service (LOS)Level-of-service (LOS) measurements and new road construction have been prioritized. However, in the past few decades, there has been a gradual shift from a mobility-orientedMobility-oriented to an accessibilityAccessibility-oriented approach in both research and policymaking processes worldwide. Instead of prioritizing LOSLevel-of-service (LOS) measurements, accessibilityAccessibility-based planning considers land useLand use-transportationTransportation interactions and people’s ability to reach desired destinations. Nevertheless, mobilityMobility-oriented approaches still frequently dominate policymaking and planning processes. In this context, this chapter aims to critically evaluate the extent to which Dhaka's policy and planning documents meaningfully integrate the concept of accessibilityAccessibility. Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, is one of the fastest-growing megacities globally. While Dhaka's policy and planning documents increasingly include accessibilityAccessibility, the relevance and usefulness of such integration remain underexplored. To fill this research gap, the five most extensively used policy and planning documents applicable to Dhaka have been critically examined using a mixed content-structuring analysisMixed content-structuring analysis method. The findings revealed that accessibilityAccessibility had been defined ambiguously across the documents, including a clear lack of explicit inclusion of accessibilityAccessibility in the vision, goals and objectives. Furthermore, the documents also do not identify any measurable accessibilityAccessibility indicators. This critical evaluation is expected to offer insights into accessibilityAccessibility in Dhaka’s context and aid policymakers and planners in the Global South in more substantial integration of accessibilityAccessibility in the planning processes.