IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v11y2019i2p485-d198678.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Urbanization and Urban Sprawl Issues in City Structure: A Case of the Sulaymaniah Iraqi Kurdistan Region

Author

Listed:
  • Sivan Hisham Al Jarah

    (School of Architecture and Fine Art, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China)

  • Bo Zhou

    (School of Architecture and Fine Art, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China)

  • Rebaz Jalil Abdullah

    (School of Architecture and Fine Art, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China)

  • Yawen Lu

    (School of Architecture and Fine Art, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China)

  • Wenting Yu

    (School of Architecture and Fine Art, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China)

Abstract

This novel study explores the driving forces and dynamics of rapid urbanization, highlighting the main causes and effects of urban explosion, environmental disruption, and city pattern transformation. This study was carried out that how urbanization and urban sprawl have influenced the structure of the city of Sulaymaniah in Kurdistan region of Iraq. This is because over the years many urban areas have experienced dramatic growth and population explosion that has resulted in the exhaustion of social amenities in the concerned communities. For this purpose, a qualitative method is used based on in-depth face-to-face interviews with local authority, including planners, architects, and experts of master planning, as well as professors in the academic institutions. This study also utilizes extensive document analysis to present the evolution of urban growth. The findings reveal that the autonomy, political conflict, non-implementation of master plans, and economic prosperity are the driving forces which are accelerating this urbanization process. It is proposed that the practical policies and strategic urban development plans are urgent requirement to control the unplanned urban growth and stimulate the desired sustainable future urban development.

Suggested Citation

  • Sivan Hisham Al Jarah & Bo Zhou & Rebaz Jalil Abdullah & Yawen Lu & Wenting Yu, 2019. "Urbanization and Urban Sprawl Issues in City Structure: A Case of the Sulaymaniah Iraqi Kurdistan Region," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-21, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:2:p:485-:d:198678
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/2/485/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/2/485/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lin Chen & Chunying Ren & Bai Zhang & Zongming Wang & Mingyue Liu, 2018. "Quantifying Urban Land Sprawl and its Driving Forces in Northeast China from 1990 to 2015," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-18, January.
    2. Frick, Susanne A. & Rodríguez-Pose, Andrés, 2018. "Change in urban concentration and economic growth," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 156-170.
    3. 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.
    4. 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.
    5. Mingxing Chen & Chao Ye, 2014. "Differences in Pattern and Driving Forces between Urban and Rural Settlements in the Coastal Region of Ningbo, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(4), pages 1-20, April.
    6. Dongmei Li & Dongyan Wang & Hong Li & Shuwen Zhang & Xiaodong Zhang & Ye Tao, 2016. "The Effects of Urban Sprawl on the Spatial Evolution of Rural Settlements: A Case Study in Changchun, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(8), pages 1-14, July.
    7. Wu, Jian-Xin & He, Ling-Yun, 2017. "How do Chinese cities grow? A distribution dynamics approach," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 470(C), pages 105-118.
    8. Gong, Jianzhou & Hu, Zhiren & Chen, Wenli & Liu, Yansui & Wang, Jieyong, 2018. "Urban expansion dynamics and modes in metropolitan Guangzhou, China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 100-109.
    9. Taher Osman & Prasanna Divigalpitiya & Takafumi Arima, 2016. "Driving factors of urban sprawl in Giza governorate of the Greater Cairo Metropolitan Region using a logistic regression model," International Journal of Urban Sciences, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(2), pages 206-225, July.
    10. Rosanna Salvia & Pere Serra & Ilaria Zambon & Massimo Cecchini & Luca Salvati, 2018. "In-Between Sprawl and Neo-Rurality: Sparse Settlements and the Evolution of Socio-Demographic Local Context in a Mediterranean Region," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-14, October.
    11. Yan ZHENG & Huixin MENG & Xinlu XIE & Shangbai SHI, 2017. "Dynamics of Climate Change, Drought and Migration: A Mixed Method Research in Ningxia," Chinese Journal of Urban and Environmental Studies (CJUES), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 5(03), pages 1-18, September.
    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. Batara Surya & Hamsina Hamsina & Ridwan Ridwan & Baharuddin Baharuddin & Firman Menne & Andi Tenri Fitriyah & Emil Salim Rasyidi, 2020. "The Complexity of Space Utilization and Environmental Pollution Control in the Main Corridor of Makassar City, South Sulawesi, Indonesia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-41, November.
    2. Shibire Bekele Eshetu & Kumelachew Yeshitela & Stefan Sieber, 2021. "Urban Green Space Planning, Policy Implementation, and Challenges: The Case of Addis Ababa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-14, October.
    3. Lan, Hai & Zheng, Puyang & Li, Zheng, 2021. "Constructing urban sprawl measurement system of the Yangtze River economic belt zone for healthier lives and social changes in sustainable cities," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    4. Miriam Steurer & Caroline Bayr, 2020. "Measuring Urban Sprawl using Land Use Data," Graz Economics Papers 2020-02, University of Graz, Department of Economics.
    5. Batara Surya & Agus Salim & Hernita Hernita & Seri Suriani & Firman Menne & Emil Salim Rasyidi, 2021. "Land Use Change, Urban Agglomeration, and Urban Sprawl: A Sustainable Development Perspective of Makassar City, Indonesia," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-31, May.
    6. Mehrdad Chahardowli & Hassan Sajadzadeh & Farshid Aram & Amir Mosavi, 2020. "Survey of Sustainable Regeneration of Historic and Cultural Cores of Cities," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-21, May.
    7. Adeeb A. Kutty & Galal M. Abdella & Murat Kucukvar & Nuri C. Onat & Melih Bulu, 2020. "A system thinking approach for harmonizing smart and sustainable city initiatives with United Nations sustainable development goals," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(5), pages 1347-1365, September.
    8. Hussain, Zahid & Nadeem, Obaidullah, 2021. "The nexus between growth strategies of master plans and spatial dynamics of a metropolitan city: The case of Lahore, Pakistan," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    9. Leonardo Bianchini & Gianluca Egidi & Ahmed Alhuseen & Adele Sateriano & Sirio Cividino & Matteo Clemente & Vito Imbrenda, 2021. "Toward a Dualistic Growth? Population Increase and Land-Use Change in Rome, Italy," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-14, July.
    10. Yuneng Jiang & Yi Zhu & Yasi Tian, 2023. "Measuring the Urban Sprawl of a Mega-Urban Agglomeration Area Based on Multi-Dimensions with a Mechanical Equilibrium Model: A Case Study of the Yangtze River Delta, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-22, August.
    11. Kaimeng Li & Shuang Gao & Yuantao Liao & Ke Luo & Shaojian Wang, 2022. "The Impact of Development Zones on China’s Urbanization from the Perspectives of the Population, Land, and the Economy," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-16, October.
    12. Fang Liu & Weilun Sun & Ge Peng, 2022. "Demographic Spatialization Simulation under the Active “Organic Decentralization Population” Policy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-21, October.
    13. Batara Surya & Haeruddin Saleh & Seri Suriani & Harry Hardian Sakti & Hadijah Hadijah & Muhammad Idris, 2020. "Environmental Pollution Control and Sustainability Management of Slum Settlements in Makassar City, South Sulawesi, Indonesia," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-34, August.
    14. Seham S. Al-Alola & Haya M. Alogayell & Ibtesam I. Alkadi & Soha A. Mohamed & Ismail Y. Ismail, 2021. "Recognition and Prediction of Land Dynamics and Its Associated Impacts in Al-Qurayyat City and along Al-Shamal Train Pathway in Saudi Arabia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-25, September.
    15. Azher Ibrahim Al-Taei & Ali Asghar Alesheikh & Ali Darvishi Boloorani, 2023. "Land Use/Land Cover Change Analysis Using Multi-Temporal Remote Sensing Data: A Case Study of Tigris and Euphrates Rivers Basin," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-14, May.
    16. Steurer, Miriam & Bayr, Caroline, 2020. "Measuring urban sprawl using land use data," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).

    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. 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.
    2. Bao Meng & Xuxi Wang & Zhifeng Zhang & Pei Huang, 2022. "Spatio-Temporal Pattern and Driving Force Evolution of Cultivated Land Occupied by Urban Expansion in the Chengdu Metropolitan Area," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-17, September.
    3. Gomes, Eduardo & Abrantes, Patrícia & Banos, Arnaud & Rocha, Jorge, 2019. "Modelling future land use scenarios based on farmers’ intentions and a cellular automata approach," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 142-154.
    4. Qu, Shijin & Hu, Shougeng & Li, Weidong & Wang, Hui & Zhang, Chuanrong & Li, Quanfeng, 2020. "Interaction between urban land expansion and land use policy: An analysis using the DPSIR framework," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    5. Huanhuan Li & Wei Song, 2019. "Expansion of Rural Settlements on High-Quality Arable Land in Tongzhou District in Beijing, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-19, September.
    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. de Abreu e Silva, João & Correia, Marcos, 2023. "The main drivers of urban sprawl in Portuguese medium cities between 2001 and 2011," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    8. Mariateresa Ciommi & Gianluca Egidi & Rosanna Salvia & Sirio Cividino & Kostas Rontos & Luca Salvati, 2020. "Population Dynamics and Agglomeration Factors: A Non-Linear Threshold Estimation of Density Effects," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-19, March.
    9. Eduardo Gomes, 2020. "Sustainable Population Growth in Low-Density Areas in a New Technological Era: Prospective Thinking on How to Support Planning Policies Using Complex Spatial Models," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(7), pages 1-14, July.
    10. Yang, Yuanyuan & Bao, Wenkai & Liu, Yansui, 2020. "Scenario simulation of land system change in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    11. Rosanna Salvia & Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir & Sirio Cividino & Luca Salvati & Giovanni Quaranta, 2020. "From Rural Spaces to Peri-Urban Districts: Metropolitan Growth, Sparse Settlements and Demographic Dynamics in a Mediterranean Region," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-20, June.
    12. Massing, Till & Puente-Ajovín, Miguel & Ramos, Arturo, 2020. "On the parametric description of log-growth rates of cities’ sizes of four European countries and the USA," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 551(C).
    13. Yan Xu & Lijie Pu & Lifang Zhang, 2014. "Spatial Pattern and the Process of Settlement Expansion in Jiangsu Province from 1980 to 2010, Eastern China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(11), pages 1-15, November.
    14. Kleemann, Janina & Struve, Berenike & Spyra, Marcin, 2023. "Conflicts in urban peripheries in Europe," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    15. Zhiyuan Ma & Xuejun Duan & Lei Wang & Yazhu Wang & Jiayu Kang & Ruxian Yun, 2023. "A Scenario Simulation Study on the Impact of Urban Expansion on Terrestrial Carbon Storage in the Yangtze River Delta, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-16, January.
    16. Jorge M. Uribe, 2023. ""Fiscal crises and climate change"," IREA Working Papers 202303, University of Barcelona, Research Institute of Applied Economics, revised Feb 2023.
    17. Xuesong Sun & Zaisheng Zhang, 2021. "Coupling and Coordination Level of the Population, Land, Economy, Ecology and Society in the Process of Urbanization: Measurement and Spatial Differentiation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-19, March.
    18. 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.
    19. 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.
    20. 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.

    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:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:2:p:485-:d:198678. 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.