A tale of two wards: political participation and the urban poor in Dhaka city

Abstract

This paper investigates the extent of political participation of the urban poor in Dhaka, identifying the actors with whom the urban poor interact for problem solving and gaining access to services. Through a comparison of the different experiences of “active” and “non-active” poor residents across two wards, the research identifies barriers to effective political participation; it then considers how opportunities for participation can be advanced. The experience of the Coalition for the Urban Poor's (CUP) Basti Basheer Odhikar Surakha Committee (BOSC) illustrates how collective mobilization of the poor has been successful in incorporating the urban poor into municipal governance. However, alongside its successes, the research investigates constraints to such initiatives in terms of securing national commitment to urban poverty reduction.