Jinia Sharmeen

Jinia Sharmeen is currently doing her  International Doctorate Program in European Urban Studies at Bauhaus University Weimar, Germany funded by the " DAAD Graduate School Scholarship Programme". She is an academician by profession since 2009 and worked at Ahsanullah University of Science and technology as Assistant Professor till October 2019. She has successfully achieved her Master of Science (M.Sc.) in Advanced Urbanism from Bauhaus University Weimar, Germany in October 2016 and Master of Engineering (M.Eng.) from Tongji University, China in 2017. She completed her Master of Architecture (M.Arch) from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology in 2014 in parallel to her professional career. She graduated from Ahsanullah University of Science and technology in 2006 holding 2nd position in the merit list. She has four published papers in renowned international journals. She is also the author of the book "Effect of orientation on indoor climate of similarly designed Buildings in Dhaka city of Bangladesh", published in Germany in 2013. She has a keen interest in researching the social inclusion of disabled people in Bangladesh and to make an equal Bangladesh for people with disabilities. Her tentative research topic is “Social Inclusion: The Role of Accessible Housing for The context of Dhaka”.

List of Publications

Journal Publication:

Sharmeen, J. (2016). Sustaining the Identity of Spiritual Mughal Monuments: Case of Sat Masjid Road Dhaka. Nakhara: Journal of Environmental Design and Planning. , 12, 13-24.

Haque, M. N., & Sharmeen, J. (2015). Impact of different window types in regulating natural ventilation of residential buildings of Dhaka, Bangladesh. International Journal of Applied and Natural Sciences (IJANS) , IASET. , 4 (3), 31-40.

Sharmeen, J. (2013). A study of increasing noise pollution in a specific city node of Dhaka city, Bangladesh. (Khwaja, Ed.) Journal of research in Architecture and planning – Architecture, urban Design & planning , 14 (1), 1-20.

Sharmeen, J., & Israt, A. S. (2013). Mobility and Accessibility problems around schools in Dhaka (Bangladesh): A case study. International Journal of Civil Engineering (IJCE),International Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology (IASET) , 2 (2), 1-8.

Book:

Sharmeen, J., & Israt, A. S. (April 2013). Effect of orientation on indoor climate of similarly designed Buildings in Dhaka city of Bangladesh. Heinrich-Böcking-Str. 6-8, 66121, Saarbrücken, Germany: LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing, AV Akademikerverlag GmbH& Co. KG. Conference Publication:

Sharmeen, Jinia. (September 2012). Sensitivity of the visually impaired people towards the thermal environment. 13th International Conference on Mobility & Transport for the Elderly and Disabled Persons. New Delhi, India.: TRANSED 2012.

Thesis (Processing for Publication):

• Details of Master of Science ( M.Sc.) research: (completed in October 2016)

Title: Research on Incorporating Universal Accessibility in Heritage sites _ A policy supporting framework for Dhaka city

Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism

Bauhaus University Weimar, Germany

• Details of Master of Architecture ( M.Arch) research: (completed in March 2014)

Title: Assessing the impact of Dhanmondi Lake on its surrounding environment in terms of relative humidity and temperature

Department of Architecture

Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Bangladesh

Social Inclusion: The Role of Accessible Housing

The context of Dhaka

ABSTRACT

In Bangladesh, persons with disabilities and their family members, both living in rural or urban areas are often neglected, discriminated and excluded from mainstream development initiatives. This deprived people facing difficulties to get access to health, education, housing, and livelihood opportunities. Consequently, disability-inclusive development is essential to ensure that they can participate meaningfully in development processes and policies. According to the World Bank, about 15% of the populations in Bangladesh are the person with disabilities. They are deprived even in every fundamental sector of developments: limited access to education and employment, inadequate access to health and housing, etc; that leads to economic and social exclusion. This segregation is one of the biggest hindrances in the transformation of society towards an inclusive community. According to the data, disabled people are more in rural areas compare to urban areas, even the facilities and scopes are more in urban areas. Disabled people are not seen in the urban areas, they are mostly housebound. The concept of accessible housing is completely new for the context of Bangladesh. The perception of accessible housing is also not clear even for professionals who are involved in the housing development of Bangladesh. There is no standard rule to measure accessible housing or the requirements for accessible housing is not yet fixed. In Bangladesh, Accessibility to basic amenities in housing is highlighted in many kinds of research but regrettably, less attention is noticeable regarding the physical access to housing research. More research and reliable statistics may help to overcome this situation in general and to notice attention from the concerned Authority. In this research, the significance of accessible housing will be evaluated to promote equality for all. This will focus on the present situation of housing regarding accessibility issues (Policy and Planning practices)  as well as the social attitude towards the disabled people in performing neighborhood activities (Social practices). Initially, this research will be focused on understanding the possibilities as well as the challenges of accessible housing for the context of Dhaka city. The real challenge is to find out the role of accessible housing in social inclusion to promote social equity for people with disabilities. This evaluation or the research findings can be used for future planning and developmental initiatives of the country. It will help the person with disabilities to uphold their condition of living as well as a meaningful contribution to moving towards an inclusive society.

Accessible Housing

Social Inclusion

urban planning

urban sociology

Dahka