Remittance Urbanism: Understanding Remittance-Driven Urbanisation in the Sylhet Region of Bangladesh PhD

Abubokkar Siddiki [PhD year 1]

Supervisors: Giulio Verdini & David Mathewson

Remittance Urbanism examines how remittances shape patterns of urbanisation and spatial transformation within the Sylhet region of Bangladesh. Whilst existing research has primarily understood remittances through economic and social perspectives, considerably less attention has been paid to their role in producing urban space and influencing settlement development. Similarly, dominant theories of urbanisation have largely emerged from Western contexts or focused on major metropolitan centres such as Dhaka and Chattogram, offering only a partial explanation of the distinctive forms of remittance-driven urbanisation evident across Sylhet. 

Through comparative case studies of urban, hybrid and rural settlements, this research investigates how remittances interact with different planning, governance and institutional contexts to shape urban development. Drawing upon planning, spatial analysis and the social sciences, the thesis develops a conceptual framework of Remittance Urbanism, providing a new understanding of how transnational financial flows, local decision-making and planning processes collectively produce urbanisation, with implications for theory, policy and professional practice.

KEY WORDS: remittance urbanism; political economy; spatial planning; sylhet; Bangladesh