Segregation in Domestic Spatial Organisation of the Contemporary Middle-Income Group Apartments of Dhaka

Abstract

This paper examines 'segregation' in the domestic spatial organisation that has undergone a process of transformation inside contemporary Middle Income Group (MIG) apartments in Dhaka. Questionnaire interview of the female heads from a sample of 50 MIG apartments compliments Space Syntax method analysis. Activity analysis of the family members identify certain spaces as 'gendered' space, used by a gender extensively, and 'shared' spaces used by both genders. Segregation in gendered and shared space is interpreted with the depth and integration values of the spaces found from the justied permeability graph (JPG). Entry penetration and location of the gendered spaces are two important aspects of the spatial organisation to attain segregation in domestic spaces. Symbolic gender aspect segregation, holding a pivotal role in the domestic spatial organization of the urban houses in Dhaka, has gone through a transformation due to the socio-economic changes. Although the role of women has changed in the family due to their participation in the economic activities, women still prefer to preserve segregation from the visitors or outsider's domain. Segregation of gendered spaces is difcult to be maintained in the contemporary compact MIG apartments due to space compaction. It was seen from the study that presence of foyer at the entry creates choice in access and female heads are satised with the use of foyer regarding preserving segregation from visitor's area.