Horizontal Expansion of Housing in Rural Areas of Bangladesh: Does Population Growth Matter?

High population growth leads to numerous problems in Bangladesh. One of these tribulations is housing. If the number of family members increased, people need to expand their houses. However, since space is not available, they need to expand their houses horizontally in rural areas on agricultural land, which is rather our main focus in the current study, not the shortage of adequate housing. The situation leaves us with gradually decreasing cultivable lands that creates numerous socio-economic problems as a consequence. The objective of the study in general is to see how the people in rural areas perceive the problem of expanding residence on agricultural land. A qualitative study based on interview method as well as key informant was carried out in a village in Comilla, an eastern district of Bangladesh during April 2012. The study reveals the fact that there are numerous social, political, cultural and religious factors behind the horizontal expansion of housing in rural areas apart from population growth. It further exposes the need of non-demographic factors to be considered with more attention by the authority to reduce the problem. Keywords: Cultivable Land, Horizontal Expansion, Rural Housing, Settlements