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The potential for GIS applications in Bangladesh is significant.  However, this would require coordination by a central agency that have resources and believe in the potential of GIS as a tool for development and planning.  I would think the Government of Bangladesh should take the lead in bringing large nonprofit and/or educational institution at the forefront of GIS education in Bangladesh.

Some examples of GIS application in Bangladesh

Analysis: Where do female or male students dominate with respect to their overall concentration (Location Quotient)?

Teaching the Development Informatics course was a rewarding experience for me.  The students in this course are full-time professionals working for Government or nonprofit agencies in the country.  As practitioners they came with good practical experience, particularly in running large organizations.  They were all enthusiastic about incorporating GIS into the course and had a positive attitude to learn.  The infusion of GIS into the course had tremendously improved the applied nature of the course; infomration technology was utilized for initiating practical implementing strategies for planning and development.  I was very impressed by the quality of students and their willingness to do their best given their tremendous pressure at work and home.  As part of the finals, the student had to do conduct a research about developing strategies for socioeconomic development for Bangladesh.  GIS was the tool given to them to develop such a strategy.  The projects ranged from Education policy in Bangladesh, to disability issues, women empowerment, economic activity in Bangladesh and the city of Dhaka, income distribution, and health.

My students at BRAC University summarized the use of GIS like this: “GIS is the single most important course that can change the way we think about public policy in Bangladesh’; “After taking this course, It seems to me I can focus on a career that I can be proud of”; “I think I can make use of my Master of Development Studies degree with this single course in GIS.” I hope I can come back to Bangladesh and offer the course again to the other students in this program.

Project presentation can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ahaqueusa/

Although GIS has been introduced in Bangladesh for sometime now, its exposure is limited to a small community of GIS users.  Unlike the evolution of GIS seen within the developed world, its application has been ad-hoc without any systematic guidance from the Government of Bangladesh.  For example, the US Bureau of Census, US Department of Defense, USGS and some major GIS software developers had a stake over the proper development of GIS in the United States. The Government of Bangladesh is yet to appear as the major developer or disseminator of GIS in Bangladesh (short history of GIS can be found here http://search.com.bd/banglapedia/HT/G_0076.htm).  The academic community (Department of Geography, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Jahangir Nagar University) and Center for Geographic Information Services (CEGIS) has taken the lead in shaping a GIS community that is struggling to make its way into the larger community.  The Government of Bangladesh took some major projects in GIS (Dhaka Municipal Corporation City Master Plan, RAJUK Master plan; Department of Land Development (LGED) and the Transportation Planning Department took projects on their own but failed to capitalize on their projects due to shortcomings within the goal of the projects and due to lack of coordination among participating agencies.  Furthermore, the GIS professionals have been called upon on as-needed-basis leaving them in the dark about future goals of various GIS projects in this country.  As I have argued in my seminars and presentations here in Dhaka, perceiving GIS as a technical tool is short-sighted.  In order to effectively utilize this tool, it must be exposed to policy planners beyond its technicalities.  In this regard the Government of Bangladesh should seek funding and resources to help the academic and the GIS community in this country. 

Three months of mapping experience has been incredible.  The project will end in a few weeks. The accomplishments we have made have been rewarding.  My students are finishing up their project to map the socioeconomic disparities in Bangladesh at the district level.  After looking at some interesting socioeconomic maps of the United States, the sudents wanted to utilize Bangladesh census data in GIS to research socioeconomic disparaties in Bangladesh. Census data in Bangladesh is hard to come by.  They are available in hard copy only; one source of basic population data by districts (states) can be found on the Bureau of Statistics Web site (http://www.bbs.gov.bd .  The government of Bangladesh does have a soft copy of the data, but for some reason they are unwilling to share that with the students.  This would have made our life easier, yet the students told me that they could show some interesting work by entering parts of the socioeconomic data themselves.

In the meantime, I am working on cleaning the digital road data by matching it with satellite images (see a snapshot below).

It was quite an interesting experience to visit one of the major bridges of the world, the Jamuna Bridge, which connects the Northern part of Bangladesh to the more prosperous Southern part.  Several attempts over the years to create a bridge failed due to Jamuna's course changes and mysterious nature.  However, after many years of research, with the help of some South Korean and Bangladeshi engineers, a milestone was set five years ago.

The mapping project that started some three months ago is coming together. With the help of the Department of Geography, University of Dhaka I was able to aquire some shapefiles (rivers and lakes) and relevant data that made the work much more interesting.  I have been able to cover either full or partially some of the major parts of Dhaka.  Below is a snapshot of Gulshan Dhaka.

The eye of Hurricane Sidr's was bigger than the size of Bangladesh.  Its actual path could not be known until 2 days after assessing the damage of the storm.  An updated path has been provided in the map below. I have also included the population distribution by Districts. The death toll will never be known since most coastal population have been washed away in the 20-30 feet tidal surge. Initial estimate of 5,000 may be too small. Actual count could far exceed 15,000 according to some estimates on the ground. Urgent help is needed. You can donate via the following websites Red Cross and Red Crescent Society:  http://donate.ifrc.org/?navid=02_02 OR Save the Children:  https://secure.ga4.org/01/bangladesh_cyclone_1107

Mapping initially started while I was in Birmingham, AL.  I acquired satellite images of Dhaka City from Digital Globe that I used to create vectorized (lines, shapes/polygons and points) data of some roads.  In fact, I believe any mapping must start from some geo-rectified (geographically correct) base in order to create digitally sound maps.  Modern technology provides high-resolution geo-rectified satellite images (thanks to Digital Globe, NASA and NAVTEQ and others) that have tremendously improved the way we can capture geo-referenced information and process them for wider audience.

So far we have been able to capture major arteries and parts of Dhaka.  Also, my helping hand was Donald Katz a Fulbright exchange student from North Carolina State University, who took GPS handheld in exploring the city areas.  From this picture you will get an idea of how much area we have covered.  Some roads are outside of our satellite shot which is in the outskirts of Dhaka metro-area.  My students are yet to get the GPS since they are busy learning about information management and GIS in general. Their project starts next week after their mid-term exam.  I have used this base map with my Trimble ProXT GPS and Handheld GPS   (Trimble Recon) device to capture the data.

Eid after some 18 years in Bangladesh meant a lot to me. It brought memories of my childhood when I used to go to the “Eidgah” (Eid prayer location usually under open lawn) with my Dad and brothers.  Women normally don’t go to the Eidgah in Bangladesh.  This time I went to the Gulshan Azad Mosque and Eidgah by myself.  It was a cloudy morning with slight drizzle.  I took the rickshaw to go to Azad mosque about 5 minutes away from my home. Prayer started on time and the rain started pouring just about the same time.  Since I was inside the mosque I don’t know how people under the open sky managed to pray – it must have been miserable.  After Eid prayers there was a short sermon about the sacrifice of Ramadan and the renewal of spirits. As I was walking away expecting to greet some people (it is customary to hug each other on this day) I met one of my school friends after some 25 years!  It was quiet a moment.  This is the second time that such had happened at this mosque (earlier it was on a Friday during Ramadan).  The downpour ended abruptly and we walked to our home with hundred others walking in different pathways.  There was a festive mood – children were seen with balloons and festoons hanging on sidewalks.  A busy and fun day of meeting our loved ones and having delicious meals just got started which is expected couple of days.

Ramadan brings quite a mood to this predominantly Muslim country.  During this month of Ramadan, the official working hours are changed from the regular 8 a.m.-5 p.m. to 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. so that people can go home before sunset and break fast. Sunset is around 6 p.m. these days. 

I was told to take it easy during this month – everything slows down.  People are expected to shift from the normal routine.  They take extra breaks for prayer. Some try to pray all five prayers at mosques.  You can see mosques on every street corner of Dhaka.  During Ramadan, they are filled with worshippers.  

Just after 2 p.m., you can see a sudden increase in traffic as commuters head home for “iftar,” meaning breakfast or snack.  Most people eat at home, but a growing number of people who can afford to eat out.  Preparing for iftar is a festive occasion.  The snacks are decorated in a plate or plaque with multiple items, some sweet, some sour or very hot. The menu can be so grand and colorful that your eyes can fill your appetite.  

In the Bangladeshi tradition, there are two essential items that you wouldn’t think of Iftar without them – “chola,” which are black chickpeas, and “muree,” or puffed rice. Chola is cooked with different spices and sprinkled with tomato and cilantro. Muree is mixed just before you are ready to eat.  One would normally break fast with imported dates or lemonade or some other fruit drinks.  Soft drinks are not as common as you might think even though they are widely available.  Fruits also are an important part of iftar. I love the guava and “Amra,” a crunchy, round, dark green fruit that tastes little sour. You can eat it with a touch of salt and pepper.  

You can tell when iftar begins when you hear the simultaneous call for prayers from the mosques and local tv stations. When Iftar begins, the bustling streets almost come to a halt for about 30 minutes as people take a break to have iftar. At night, the streets are busy again. Some people go out to shop in preparation for “Eid,” one of the main festive occasions at the end of 29- or 30-day Ramadan period. Others head out to the mosques for praying “taraweeh,” a special prayer held in congregations during Ramadan where the whole Quran is recited in parts each day until the end of Ramadan. 

This is my second week in Dhaka, Bangladesh.  Being away from Dhaka for so many years gives me a refreshing look at the people and places.  More about the people of Bangladesh coming up later.  

It was not intentional. It took a while to get to know the place and getting connected to the Internet took some time. Despite the long 33- hour journey (18 hours of flying time), and traveling with two kids, we managed to do quite well.  We were received by the expeditor from the U.S. Embassy who took care of immigration and customs in no time and we were on our way to our new home.

You always wonder what you will see the first time you come outside of the airport.  For me it was the hot, humid weather with pleasant green surroundings across from the parking area. Once we were on the main street, it seemed we were rushed into traffic in the middle of a bustling central city, although the airport is at least 15 miles from the central city.  The streets are filled with vehicles and people.  Some photos I took will give you some idea of what the traffic was like. Click HERE.  The busy streets seemed busier with the signs and posters on vehicles and both sides of the street in some sections.  Although there were no speed limit signs that I could see, you can hardly go more than 30-40 miles/hr just because it is not possible to do so.

Once you enter the northern suburb, Gulshan or the Banani area, you can see some spectacular high rise buildings.  From the type of cars, to shopping areas and the buildings around Gulshan, you could sense that this suburb is one of the high income areas of the city.  Despite the income in these areas, the infrastructure network - the roads, pavements, etc - is very poor.  This may be due to heavy down pours but also poor maintenance.  So if you bring a new car to Dhaka City, you have to forget about alignment and wheel balance the first few days in the city. Potholes in the northern United States, like Detroit, will seem like heaven to Dhaka's city dwellers.  If think you are a good driver, try your driving skills in Dhaka.  It took me a while to realize if we were supposed to be driving on the left or right side of the road because we were driving on both sides! I'm not kidding.  I will send you video clip next week.

Next week, I will begin teaching in the Masters of Development Studies Program at BRAC University.  I was asked to teach Development Informatics.  This course is designed to provide Information technology-based knowledge and skills for economic development and social emancipation. GIS fits quite well within the scope of the course.  The first few weeks will involve training and conceptualization of GIS as a development tool. 

The holy month of Ramadan started yesterday.  Bangladesh is predominantly a Muslim country. About 88 percent of the population is Muslim.  During this month the mood of the city changes dramatically. I will write about the Ramadan experience and more soon. Stay tuned...  

As we embark on this journey, I would like to welcome you all to UAB in Bangladesh and invite you to learn about Geographic Information Systems (GIS).  Although GIS is the abbreviation for Geographic Information Systems it can appropriately be labeled Global Information Systems -- technology that brings the Globe to our desktops and handheld devices.  Once you start learning more about Bangladesh through the "eyes" of this project, you will become a part of a global community.  You may even want to think of possibilities of GIS for civic engagement.   But first, to learn more about GIS, go to GIS.com.  Also take a look at  a  snapshot of the congested city of Dhaka where we will be spending the next few months.

We were supposed to leave Birmingham last week, however, due to unexpected political turmoil in Bangladesh, our trip was delayed for a week.  Political problems are not alien to this part of the world. Since becoming an independent country, Bangladesh has struggled to establish itself as a flourishing democracy.  Yet, the hope is there.  Last year for example, Dr. Muhammad Yunus of Grameen Bank got the Noble Peace Prize for establishing a basic fact: Small loans to socially disadvantaged women can have tremendous impact in removing poverty for millions of people.  BusinessWeek named him as one of the "greatest entrepreneurs of all times."  I have quite high hopes for Bangladesh. 

Some insight into the daily lives of the people will follow in this blog.  To be continued. See you in a week!

From Birmingham, AL USA