IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jlands/v10y2021i6p636-d575549.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A Geo-Spatial Analysis for Characterising Urban Sprawl Patterns in the Batticaloa Municipal Council, Sri Lanka

Author

Listed:
  • Mathanraj Seevarethnam

    (Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Faculty of Built Environment and Surveying, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai, Johor Bahru 81310, Malaysia)

  • Noradila Rusli

    (Centre for Innovative Planning and Development (CIPD), Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Faculty of Built Environment and Surveying, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai, Johor Bahru 81310, Malaysia)

  • Gabriel Hoh Teck Ling

    (Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Faculty of Built Environment and Surveying, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai, Johor Bahru 81310, Malaysia)

  • Ismail Said

    (Department of Landscape Architecture, Faculty of Built Environment and Surveying, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai, Johor Bahru 81310, Malaysia)

Abstract

Urban sprawl related to rapid urbanisation in developed and developing nations affects sustainable land use. In Sri Lanka, urban areas have mostly expanded in a rather spontaneous, unplanned manner (based on the current settlers’ subjective movement) rather than conforming to the local government’s development plan. This growth inevitably leads to uncontrolled urban sprawl in many Sri Lankan cities, including Batticaloa. So far, Sri Lanka’s planners or researchers have not yet tackled the sprawling developments in this city. Understanding the different forms and patterns of urban sprawl is the key to address sprawling growth. This study aims to identify the characteristics of urban sprawl in the Batticaloa municipal council using Geographic Information System (GIS) and remote sensing technology. Landsat satellite images for the years 2000, 2010, and 2020 as well as 2002, 2011, and 2019 population data were used and analysed using ArcGIS’ maximum likelihood classification tool and the density function, respectively, to delineate the characteristics of urban sprawl. The results revealed that low-density development, leapfrog development, commercial ribbon development, and scattered growth are the influencing characteristics of urban sprawl in the Batticaloa municipality. These characteristics were found mainly in the urban edge of the city and have led to urban sprawl. The finding provides knowledge into recognising the characteristics of urban sprawl with empirical evidence. It affords a clear direction for future studies of urban sprawl in rapidly growing cities that are numerous in Sri Lanka, and the identified characteristics of urban sprawl can be useful in minimising future sprawl. This result can be a tool for future urban planning and management in the Batticaloa municipality.

Suggested Citation

  • Mathanraj Seevarethnam & Noradila Rusli & Gabriel Hoh Teck Ling & Ismail Said, 2021. "A Geo-Spatial Analysis for Characterising Urban Sprawl Patterns in the Batticaloa Municipal Council, Sri Lanka," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-26, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:10:y:2021:i:6:p:636-:d:575549
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/10/6/636/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/10/6/636/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Walid Oueslati & Seraphim Alvanides & Guy Garrod, 2015. "Determinants of urban sprawl in European cities," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 52(9), pages 1594-1614, July.
    2. Michael P Johnson, 2001. "Environmental Impacts of Urban Sprawl: A Survey of the Literature and Proposed Research Agenda," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 33(4), pages 717-735, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Xu Yang & Xuan Zou & Xueqi Liu & Qixuan Li & Siqian Zou & Ming Li, 2023. "The Spatiotemporal Pattern and Driving Mechanism of Urban Sprawl in China’s Counties," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-16, March.
    2. Iwona Cieślak & Andrzej Biłozor & Luca Salvati, 2022. "Land as a Basis for Recent Progress in the Study of Urbanization Dynamics," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-4, January.
    3. Ling Zhang & Jiawei Zhang & Xiaohui Li & Kaidi Zhou & Jiang Ye, 2023. "The Impact of Urban Sprawl on Carbon Emissions from the Perspective of Nighttime Light Remote Sensing: A Case Study in Eastern China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-19, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. József Lennert & Jenő Zsolt Farkas & András Donát Kovács & András Molnár & Rita Módos & Dorián Baka & Zoltán Kovács, 2020. "Measuring and Predicting Long-Term Land Cover Changes in the Functional Urban Area of Budapest," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-20, April.
    2. Cartone, Alfredo & Díaz-Dapena, Alberto & Langarita, Raquel & Rubiera-Morollón, Fernando, 2021. "Where the city lights shine? Measuring the effect of sprawl on electricity consumption in Spain," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    3. Radu-Matei Cocheci & Alexandru-Ionut Petrisor, 2023. "Assessing the Negative Effects of Suburbanization: The Urban Sprawl Restrictiveness Index in Romania’s Metropolitan Areas," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-20, April.
    4. Gianni Guastella & Walid Oueslati & Stefano Pareglio, 2019. "Patterns of Urban Spatial Expansion in European Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-15, April.
    5. Kinga Rybak-Niedziółka, 2022. "The Origin of the Crisis in the Spatial Development of Contemporary Cities: A Review of Selected Historical and Modern Mechanisms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-26, August.
    6. Eduardo Gomes & Arnaud Banos & Patrícia Abrantes & Jorge Rocha, 2018. "Assessing the Effect of Spatial Proximity on Urban Growth," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-14, April.
    7. Peter Bäckström & Erika Sandow & Olle Westerlund, 2016. "Commuting and timing of retirement," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 56(1), pages 125-152, January.
    8. Thomas Bolognesi, 2015. "The water vulnerability of metro and megacities: An investigation of structural determinants," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 39(2), pages 123-133, May.
    9. Yaoyao Zhu & Gabriel Hoh Teck Ling, 2022. "A Systematic Review of Morphological Transformation of Urban Open Spaces: Drivers, Trends, and Methods," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-22, August.
    10. Eduard J. Alvarez-Palau & Jordi Martí-Henneberg & Jorge Solanas-Jiménez, 2019. "Urban Growth and Long-Term Transformations in Spanish Cities Since the Mid-Nineteenth Century: A Methodology to Determine Changes in Urban Density," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-22, December.
    11. Shannon Rogers & Semra Aytur & Kevin Gardner & Cynthia Carlson, 2012. "Measuring community sustainability: exploring the intersection of the built environment & social capital with a participatory case study," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 2(2), pages 143-153, June.
    12. Kleemann, Janina & Struve, Berenike & Spyra, Marcin, 2023. "Conflicts in urban peripheries in Europe," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    13. Daniela Smiraglia & Luca Salvati & Gianluca Egidi & Rosanna Salvia & Antonio Giménez-Morera & Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir, 2021. "Toward a New Urban Cycle? A Closer Look to Sprawl, Demographic Transitions and the Environment in Europe," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-14, January.
    14. Salvati, Luca & Sateriano, Adele & Grigoriadis, Efstathios & Carlucci, Margherita, 2017. "New wine in old bottles: The (changing) socioeconomic attributes of sprawl during building boom and stagnation," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 361-372.
    15. Zambon, Ilaria & Serra, Pere & Grigoriadis, Efstathios & Carlucci, Margherita & Salvati, Luca, 2017. "Emerging urban centrality: An entropy-based indicator of polycentric development and economic growth," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 365-371.
    16. O'Driscoll, Conor & Crowley, Frank & Doran, Justin & McCarthy, Nóirín, 2022. "Retail sprawl and CO2 emissions: Retail centres in Irish cities," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    17. David Gálvez Ruiz & Pilar Diaz Cuevas & Olta Braçe & Marco Garrido-Cumbrera, 2018. "Developing an Index to Measure Sub-municipal Level Urban Sprawl," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 140(3), pages 929-952, December.
    18. Bereitschaft, Bradley, 2020. "Gentrification and the evolution of commuting behavior within America's urban cores, 2000–2015," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    19. Tomaso Ceccarelli & Luca Salvati & Sofia Bajocco & Pier Luigi Perini, 2015. "Land-Use Trajectories and ?Syndromes? of Land Degradation in Northern Italy," SCIENZE REGIONALI, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2015(1), pages 85-98.
    20. D'Agata, Alessia & Alaimo, Leonardo Salvatore & Cudlín, Pavel & Salvati, Luca, 2023. "Easy come, easy go: Short-term land-use dynamics vis à vis regional economic downturns," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:10:y:2021:i:6:p:636-:d:575549. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.