Turag riverfront civic nucleus: weaving the urban fabric at Abdullahpur, Dhaka

Abstract

Urban waterfronts have served throughout history as critical junctions between natural systems and the built environment, expressing both the problems and prospects inherent in human settlement patterns. Such spaces have time and again represented commercial hubs with incredible cultural and civic identity, where communities of various backgrounds had a floor for engagement between each other, and the water. However, in rapidly urbanizing cities like Dhaka, these critical thresholds often experience fragmentation of the urban fabric, as urbanization escalates without sufficient planning to bridge ecology and the public space. The Turag riverfront at Abdullahpur, Dhaka is one such threshold—a strategic location and a major transit hub between Dhaka and Gazipur, where communities are segregated, suffering from urban disconnection and riverfront degradation, failing to live up to its civic potential. This thesis proposes Abdullahpur as a “civic nucleus” that attracts surrounding communities like a gravitational center, where intersecting urban edges that currently segregate are transformed to vibrant seams that connect adjacent urban spaces. The proposed scheme integrates a riparian park, a comprehensive market hub, and new cultural anchors to stimulate urban development. By reorienting the city to its river through adaptive sponge landscapes, the design addresses ecological challenges while creating a new identity for Abdullahpur—one where urban development harmonizes with natural systems, allowing diverse communities to converge in shared, multifunctional civic spaces.