• Md. Abul Kalam Azad
• Nurjahan Begum
• Faria Nur Azad
• Md. Mofazzal Hossain
• Md. Abul Hashem

Natural disasters-flood, cyclonic tidal/storm surge, land slide, river bank erosion, drought and earthquakes are the main hindrance to the sustainable development of Bangladesh. In recent years, these have caused extra burden for the marginal people of the country jeopardizing country’s economic growth as a whole. Although it is a small country, its culture, disaster types, availability of building materials are diverse and the housing practices in different regions vary widely too. A large number of rural houses are damaged due to disaster on a regular basis and cause economic losses and sufferings to the people. Repetitive constructions of such houses also impart deterioration of the environment as much of the construction materials are obtained locally from surrounding nature and thus sustainable development is also hampered significantly. To develop the design, at first the local practices and availability of local materials were studied. Besides, it was considered essential to understand and accommodate the need and culture of the community. At the same time it is important to consider environmental issues. Three-stage community level meetings attended by people, leaders and local masons were held to gather their views, demand and experience. Properties of the local construction materials were ascertained from laboratory tests. Respecting local affordability and considering the service and environmental loads, designs were finalized based on FEM analyses. Model houses were constructed at the selected locations to demonstrate them to the local community with an aim that new design or at least some features would be replicated. Different treatment schemes for increasing the durability of materials were employed to study their effectiveness.

Environment, Low Cost Housing, Rural Housing, Sustainable Development

"Environment Friendly Low Cost Housing Opportunities in Bangladesh", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.7, Issue 5, page no.898-903, May-2020, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2005126.pdf

"Environment Friendly Low Cost Housing Opportunities in Bangladesh", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.7, Issue 5, page no. pp898-903, May-2020, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2005126.pdf