This book examines globalization and urban cultures in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, from a socio-cultural view. It focuses on the evolving nature of urbanity in the city due to globalization and the global flow of information, while framing the changing patterns of everyday cultures and practices. The volume explores key linkages and factors in urban transformation; the history and heritage of Old Dhaka; globalization, diverse urban cultures and ethnic spaces; changes in food habits, clothing, health practices, and recreation; changing forms of festivals, marriages, and religious practices; the situation of indigenous people in Old Dhaka; and the roles that need to be played by NGOs, civil society, and the local government. With its rich ethnographic case studies and field-based evidence, it discusses the relations between technology-driven economic activities and increasing cultural homogenization. It traces developments induced by cultural globalization and includes contemporary debates along with comparisons of Asian and global perspectives. This book will be a useful resource for scholars and researchers of urban studies, city studies, urban sociology, social anthropology, cultural anthropology, political sociology, development studies, South Asian studies and cultural studies, and to those interested in Bangladesh.

Investigates various aspects of Social Structure and Cultural Practices of Slum-dwellers in Dhaka city. It shows that social structure seems to be influencing the cultural life of slum dwellers.

Contemplating globalization from a sociological perspective, it is without doubt that a major site for social, political, economic and cultural change in the new millennium lies in the Asian region. The chapters in this book seek to describe and analyze a number of key aspects of social and cultural change wrought by globalization in the Asian region. The underlying theme in the book is the multi-dimensional way in which globalization - in the form of ideas, practices and technology - have introduced social inequalities in specific contexts. In particular, the book examines how inequality has been reproduced, challenged and theorized in Asia by the advent of globalizing culture. Written by experienced and established scholars, the study provides both theoretical explanation, and discussion and analysis of empirical data, from a range of social, cultural and political-economic perspectives and draws on studies from several countries in the region.

Inclusion and Exclusion of the Urban Poor in Dhaka explores how the inhabitants of poor neighborhoods in Dhaka, Bangladesh, gain inclusion in the city at the face of exclusion. The book considers how the people of poor neighborhoods encounter the exclusionary behavior of city development, and how their inclusionary attempts have influenced the urban design. The book is presented in two parts: first, it explains how people in poor neighborhoods face exclusion because of the imbalance of power and politics. Second, it demonstrates how the existing exclusion of urban poor is affecting their strategies to gain access to urban services through people’s power and politics. Focusing on the transdisciplinary field of urban anthropology, the chapters uncover the urban forces, policies and actions that facilitate urban politics. It also investigates the people who live in poor neighborhoods, who in the face of exclusion, have included themselves in urban development planning and design by employing diverse strategies against those forces in the urban politics, e.g., accepting dominance, bargaining, or having control over their lives. This book will recontextualize an ethnographic inquiry into the exclusion and inclusion of the people within city development design, plans and innovations in applications of anthropological theory and methodology. This book will encourage the reader to understand the politics of state’s development projects and plans, and furthermore instigate the city government, planners and policymakers to focus on the people's political power and agency that enables them to achieve inclusion. It will therefore be of interest to researchers and students of urban planning and development, urban geography, and urban anthropology, as well as planning professionals and policymakers.

As towns and cities expand at unprecedented rates, sustainable urban development is one of the most pressing challenges facing the international community in the 21st century. This publication examines the realities faced by urban populations around the world, focusing on the impact of globalisation and the way cities are governed and planned, on the make-up and density of their population, and on their cultures and economies. Issues considered include: the impact of globalisation on urban culture; urban renewal and cultural strategies; the concept of metropolitanization; socio-economic and cultural impacts of international migration; urban poverty and homelessness, social inequality and exclusion; urban governance, safety and crime trends; contemporary planning strategies and the role of civil society; progress towards attainment of the Millennium Development Goals targets for sanitation and housing. The report highlights the need for a new culture of planning to establish multicultural and inclusive cities, involving civil society as well as public authorities.

This two-volume encyclopedia looks at the lives of teenagers around the world, examining topics from a typical school day to major issues that teens face today, including bullying, violence, sexuality, and social and financial pressures. Teenagers are living in a rapidly changing and increasingly interconnected yet unequal world. Whether they live in Australia or Zimbabwe, they have in common that they are between childhood and adulthood and increasingly aware of how inequality is affecting their lives and futures. This encyclopedia gives a different perspective based on the experiences of teens in 60 countries. Each entry gives the reader a brief sketch of a country to helps readers to understand how geography, history, economics, and politics shape teen life. The entries include a country overview and cover the following topics: Schooling and Education; Extracurricular Activities: Art, Music, and Sports; Family and Social Life; Religions and Cultural Rites of Passage; Rights and Legal Status; and Issues Today. Special sidebars, called Teen Voices, appear throughout the text, and include a description of a typical day in the life of a teen in various countries. Students will be able to gain a better understanding of what life is like around the world for their peers and will be able to easily make cross-cultural comparisons between different countries.

The analysis of urban poverty has traditionally been dominated by economic approaches, often neglecting the social questions arising from poverty. This book seeks to redress the balance and is based on both quantitative and qualitative data collected from different slums in Dhaka City, Bangladesh. Shahadat Hossain shows that the slum communities experience the highest level of poverty and marginality in the city. They remain very much dependent on their families and social networking in their struggle to adapt to urban life. This book will be invaluable for those working in the areas of urban studies, development studies, Asian studies, sociology and social policy studies.