Sylhet City is the main urban centre of Sylhet district as well as the Sylhet division of Bangladesh. The old Central Jail is more than 200 years old, and was the first jail in Bangladesh. Since its inception in 1889, it has great significance due to its core geographical location with heritage value and as an urban space. After the relocation of central jail, the vacant land left behind, created a great opportunity for the city dwellers, by enhancing the quality of urban/civic life. Sylhet City Corporation (SCC) planned to create an urban park by demolishing all the historic buildings in the area. This thesis project challenged the SCC concept and put forward the idea that the site can be redeveloped as a high performance urban area by connecting and integrating the area with river front, historic area, as well as the surrounding areas and also by conserving the century old urban image of the area. The redeveloped place will have a new look satisfying the local and city level needs of a contemporary vibrant city. Using the historic environment as an asset, and giving it a new life, it will be one of the cornerstones of the economic and social revival of the Sylhet city. Old Central Jail has been used here to play an important role as a catalyst for regeneration of the entire area. In nut shell, this thesis project is an attempt to create socially viable urban space for the community interaction and by providing an identity of “SYLHET” through integrating the key tourist attractions.

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