Embankment settlement: an approach towards a resilient coastal community framework

Charfassion, located along Bangladesh’s coastal belt, has nearly 100 km of riverside embankment that shelters some of the country’s most vulnerable communities. Over generations, landless coastal populations and migrants have settled along both slopes of these embankments, forming linear, informal settlements that rely on the structure for safety. While households occupy the berms and farm leased lands below, those on the riverside face constant threats from the Meghna River flooding, salinity, erosion, and yearly structural damage. These settlements, in turn, strain the embankment’s protective integrity, all while lacking essential services, infrastructure, and economic opportunities.

This project reimagines the embankment not just as a defensive barrier, but as a living spine where protection and inhabitation coexist. It envisions the riverside edge as a social landscape one that supports community life, reinforces resilience, and preserves the deep-rooted settlement patterns shaped over generations. Here, the embankment becomes more than a boundary; it becomes a shared ground that strengthens both the land and the people who call it home.

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