Assignment Name: Mahalla and Resource Mapping, Urban Profiling, and Poverty Assessment in Four Cities Under Livelihood Improvement of Urban Poor Communities (LIUPC) Project

Country: Bangladesh

Client Name: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

The Livelihoods Improvement of Urban Poor Communities Project (LIUPCP) was a six-year program aimed at achieving sustainable improvements in the livelihoods and living conditions of the urban poor across towns and cities in Bangladesh. Funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), the project was implemented by the Local Government Division (LGD) of the Government of Bangladesh in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). At its core, LIUPCP was a governance program. It sought to address urban poverty not through the direct implementation of infrastructure improvements or charitable giving to selected urban poor beneficiaries but by influencing the environment in which poverty reduction policies and thinking took place, thereby having a potentially broader and more lasting impact.

To bring about improvements in living conditions and the livelihoods of the urban poor, LIUPCP worked in partnership with national and local governments, empowering urban poor communities to understand their challenges, advocate for their needs, and improve urban governance overall. The design and implementation of pro-poor policymaking and planning relied on the involvement of key stakeholders, including urban poor communities, civil society, the private sector, and local and national governments. The program aimed to develop tools, methods, and processes that would help build capacity, experience, and confidence at the community, city, and national levels.

The LIUPC project aimed to influence poverty reduction policies and improve the living conditions of vulnerable populations, particularly women, children, and other marginalized groups, by facilitating participatory planning and local governance.

DM WATCH was responsible for preparing detailed community profiles through Mahalla and Resource Mapping in one City Corporation (Dhaka) and three Municipalities (Patuakhali, Kushtia, Faridpur). The project involved a highly participatory approach, engaging community members, Mahalla Representatives, and municipal authorities in workshops to gather comprehensive urban data, facilitating better urban planning and resource allocation.

DM WATCH team provided the following services:

Initial Project Planning and Coordination:

• Conducted the inception phase activities, which included collecting up-to-date base maps and satellite images, creating ward-level base maps using GIS, and organizing initial consultation workshops with key municipal stakeholders.

Stakeholder Engagement and Workshops:

• Facilitated multiple consultation and ward-level workshops, engaging a broad range of stakeholders including mayors, councilors, city officials, and community representatives. These workshops were crucial for gathering insights on Mahalla boundaries, resource locations, and urban needs directly from those most familiar with the community.

Data Collection and Mapping:

• Managed the collection of primary data through community profiling questionnaires during the workshops. Utilized GIS technology to digitize Mahalla and resource information, ensuring accurate and usable geographic data layers for urban planning.

Resource and Mahalla Demarcation:

• Led the efforts in marking Mahalla and resource boundaries based on the data collected in workshops and from municipal records, which involved extensive field verification to ensure accuracy.

Data Analysis and Reporting:

• Analyzed the collected data and feedback from the field verification and stakeholder validation sessions to update the Mahalla and resource shapefiles. Prepared a comprehensive city-level report detailing the findings from the data collection and workshop discussions.

Final Deliverables:

• Collaborated with other organizations appointed by the Livelihoods Improvement of Urban Poor Communities program to integrate the mapping data into final deliverables including a Ward Atlas and a Poverty Assessment Report, which were prepared based on the findings and shared with the respective municipal authorities for future reference and action.

Project Administration and Submission of Reports:

• Managed all aspects of project administration, ensuring timely completion of each phase, and submitted all reports, including the final city-level report and associated geographic data files, to the program authorities.