Spatial analysis of development pressure in the Langat Basin, Selangor, Malaysia

Abstract

The process of globalization and urbanization is growing rapidly in Southeast Asia. In Malaysia, one of the fastest growing areas is in Langat Basin, Selangor. Outrageous process the city to the periphery is now growing towards the southern corridor. This article discusses the use of geographical information system to spatially analyze the development of the built-up area in the north of Selangor. The purpose is to identify areas experiencing high-intensity development. The development of the built-up area has affected the environment, society and economic development of the area. The result shows rapid development has increased pressure to the Langat basin since the 1990s. In 1996 the built-up area is about 23017.8 square km. It had increased to 119587 sq km in 2016. This shows that developed areas had increased 40.70% over the period of 20 years from 1996 to 2016. This indicates that the area has been experiencing high development pressure over the period. More importantly, the pattern of urban development was not evenly distributed throughout the study area. This situation needs to be addressed so that rural area is protected from further development pressure.