Inclusion and Exclusion of the Urban Poor in Dhaka Power, Politics, and Planning

This rich comparative ethnography of two poor neighborhoods in Dhaka offers a new perspective on existing ideas of inclusion and exclusion, as well as of formality and informality. By reexamining these common binaries, the author is able to make an original contribution to the anthropology of urban poverty and citizenship.

Arjun Appadurai, Emeritus Professor of Media, Culture and Communication, New York University

Urban policy often claims to include the poor. What does this actually mean? In a work of meticulous ethnography in two Dhaka neighbourhoods - one an informal settlement and the other a resettlement housing project - Rawnak Khan shows in graphic detail the contrasting patterns of community formation and political initiative. A clinical and yet moving document.

Partha Chatterjee, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, Columbia University, New York