This study investigates the spatial expansion of rapid urbanization and its pressure on agricultural and natural lands within a socio-economic framework. Covering a 40-year period from 1984 to 2024, the research focuses on the central district of Çanakkale and employs spatial analysis methods alongside regression models. Findings reveal significant losses in agricultural lands adjacent to the city center due to urbanization, coinciding with rising employment in industrial and service sectors. Land use and cover maps for multiple years were produced from remote sensing data, achieving classification accuracy above 85% and kappa coefficients exceeding 0.80, ensuring analytical reliability. Regression results indicate a strong negative correlation between employment in the service sector and agricultural land (r = -0.82, p < 0.05), highlighting the role of economic transformation in rural land use change. The study demonstrates that urbanization should be understood not only as physical growth but as a process intertwined with economic restructuring and social change. By integrating spatial transformations with socio-economic dynamics, it offers insights into balancing development with the protection of productive land. The findings contribute to contemporary debates on inclusive, resilient, and sustainable urban environments, enriching the academic literature on the socio-economic dimensions of urban transformation.

Mass Rapid Transit Systems (MRTS) are increasingly recognised as critical drivers of urban transformation, particularly in rapidly urbanising cities at the Global level. However, empirical research on their influence on plotted residential property markets in emerging urban contexts remains limited. This study investigates the socio-economic impact of the Delhi Metro Line extension in Gurugram, India, across the various phases of the metro project. Using a mixed-methods approach, it combines a hedonic price modelling of 300 residential properties from 2007 to 2024 with qualitative surveys and spatial analysis. The study measures "proximity premiums" and contextualises them through stakeholder perspectives. The results indicate that properties within 500 metres of a metro station experienced price growth of 20–25% after project announcement and around 30% post-operation, relative to earlier trends. These effects are highly localized, with premiums diminishing beyond 1km and disappearing beyond 1.5-2km. The hedonic model confirmed distance to the nearest station as a key determinant of price with an average 12% price decrease per kilometre (p < 0.01), along with other influential variables like plot size, proximity to the CBD, and highway access. The model showed strong explanatory power (R² ≈ 0.64). The findings reveal that MRTS can substantially enhance residential property prices but also influence the spatial distribution of economic opportunities, potentially intensifying socio-economic disparities if unregulated. This paper advances the debate on land value capture in Indian cities, offering evidence-based recommendations for equitable urban development strategies in the context of contemporary urbanisation.

In light of growing uncertainties in the climate, it is crucial to identify what is causing environmental pressure in Nigeria. This study explores dynamic links between urbanisation, human capital accumulation economic growth and the nation’s ecological footprint (EF) from 1961 to 2020. Employing Wavelet Quantile Correlation (WQC) and Quantile-on-Quantile Granger Causality (QQGC) approaches, we capture both frequency-specific and distribution-specific dependencies neglected by linear techniques. WQC results indicate that rising urban population, expanding human capital and GDP growth dampen EF in the short- and medium-term, yet predominantly amplify EF over longer horizons; negative correlations persist for lower quantiles (0.1–0.5), highlighting heterogeneous vulnerabilities. QQGC confirms significant bidirectional causality across all quantile pairs, underscoring pervasive interdependence irrespective of economic or ecological states. Policy simulations suggest that integrating environmental education into all schooling levels, promoting renewable energy within rapidly growing cities, and decoupling growth from fossil-fuel dependence are critical for sustaining long-run environmental gains. Our evidence supports context-specific, time-phased interventions that align Nigeria’s urban transition and human capital strategy with its 2050 net-zero commitment. By revealing quantile-dependent effects, the study enriches environmental Kuznets literature and offers nuanced guidance for green development planning strategies.

The Constituency Development Fund (CDF) has become a key mechanism for delivering small-scale urban infrastructure in Zambia. However, persistent challenges such as project delays, cost overruns, and quality deficiencies undermine the effectiveness of these interventions. This study addresses a critical gap in the literature and practice by developing a novel performance forecasting model tailored to the unique governance and technical context of CDF-funded projects. The model integrates Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference Systems (ANFIS) with the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to forecast performance across five key indicators: cost-effectiveness, schedule adherence, quality compliance, safety performance, and client satisfaction. Using stakeholder data from 196 respondents and historical project records, the model was trained and validated using MATLAB. It achieved strong predictive accuracy, with a coefficient of determination (R²) of 0.92 and a root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.09. These results demonstrate the model’s utility as a decision-support tool for local authorities and urban planners, enabling early detection of underperformance and facilitating proactive interventions. The model contributes to performance-based planning by providing a data-driven, stakeholder-informed forecasting framework that is adaptable to resource-constrained environments. Its application can enhance transparency, optimize resource use, and support inclusive urban development in rapidly growing municipalities.

Rapid urbanisation across Southeast Asia intensifies the demand for housing that is simultaneously affordable, sustainable, and socially inclusive. This study investigates how smart technologies—Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things devices (IoT), Building Information Modelling, and passive cooling innovations—can advance socioeconomic sustainability in urban housing. A three-phase methodology combined a scientometric analysis of 454 Scopus-indexed papers, a systematic literature review of eight rigorously screened studies, and a qualitative content analysis of practice-based sources. The scientometric mapping reveals growing scholarly attention to energy efficiency and climate resilience, yet affordability and social equity remain peripheral themes. Evidence from Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand shows that smart sensors, digital simulations, and value-management frameworks can reduce cooling energy by up to 18,000 kWh annually, cut construction costs, and enhance thermal comfort in low-income settings. However, adoption is uneven owing to high capital costs, limited policy incentives, and skills gaps. The study proposes an integrated framework linking environmental performance, housing affordability, and social inclusion through appropriate digital tools. Policymakers and urban planners are urged to embed financing mechanisms, capacity-building, and participatory design into housing programmes to mainstream technology-enabled, equitable sustainability across the region within the next decade.

Heritage conservation in Alexandria demands integrative, data-driven approaches that reconcile preservation efforts with satisfactory visitor access. This study investigates how Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can document, evaluate, and spatially optimise the city’s cultural heritage. A four-stage framework was applied: (1) compiling a multi-source geodatabase of 294 heritage assets in addition to transport nodes; (2) digitising attributes for value scoring based on five National Organisation of Urban Harmony (NOUH) criteria; (3) conducting spatial analytics—hot-spot, nearest-neighbour, buffer, and network analysis—together with a six-parameter walkability index; and (4) translating findings into policy-relevant interventions and interactive web maps. Results reveal pronounced clustering in the historic downtown;however 83 high-value assets lie outside a 400 m walk from transit, notably in Foad Street, Kafr-Abdo, and Ancient Catacombs sub-areas. Proposed measures—two bus-stop extensions, and one new tram halt would reduce unserved sites to 8.5 per cent. Six optimised cultural routes cut average walking time within heritage clusters to maximise exposure to unique assets. A dashboard links routes, heritage metadata, and multimodal travel options as well as enabling user-defined preference customisation. The research demonstrates GIS’s capacity to integrate qualitative heritage evaluation with quantitative mobility analytics, offering a transferable model for sustainable, economically beneficial urban heritage management.

Heritagization —the process of assigning heritage value to places, objects, or traditions— has become increasingly entwined with urban regeneration initiatives. However, its theoretical grounding remains underdeveloped, particularly regarding its diverse expressions across Eastern and Western contexts. This study examines the dynamics of heritagization as both a cultural and socio-political process within urban regeneration, drawing on the framework of Critical Heritage Studies. Using a descriptive qualitative methodology and global case-based literature review, the research dissects how heritage is strategically reinterpreted to fulfil contemporary socio-economic and political goals. Findings reveal a clear East–West dichotomy: while Western practices often commodify heritage for branding and tourism, Eastern cases reflect heritage as a tool for identity reconstruction, postcolonial resilience, and state-led regeneration. The study argues that heritagization should be understood not as a Western-centric imposition, but as a globally variable process shaped by local agency, historical context, and development agendas. To support this claim, the paper presents comparative process diagrams delineating regional differences. Ultimately, this research contributes to a more nuanced, decolonised understanding of heritagization in the built environment.

By 2050, nearly 68% of the global population will reside in urban areas, while 1.6 billion people already inhabit informal settlements lacking tenure security, basic services, and public space. This study explores whether vertically integrated community spaces can enable medium- to high-rise slum upgrading in Bangkok, where land scarcity constrains conventional low-rise approaches. A research-by-design methodology, conducted through a postgraduate studio in collaboration with a local community, informs the investigation. Spatial analysis, mapping, and participatory processes guided the development of modular walk-up block proposals, featuring stacked semi-public ‘streets-in-the-sky’ and compact communal spaces. These configurations offer vertical social interaction zones, economic potential via shophouses above ground level, and environmental benefits through enhanced daylight penetration and cross ventilation. Findings indicate an improved sense of belonging, social cohesion, and place identity despite vertical displacement. Vertically shared spaces demonstrate capacity to align high-density urban forms with evolving informal practices, providing a replicable, climate-responsive model for inclusive regeneration in rapidly urbanising contexts across the Global South.

Urban morphology critically governs residential energy demand, yet empirical evidence from semi-arid, geopolitically constrained cities remains scarce. This study quantifies the influence of neighbourhood form on heating and cooling loads in Hebron, Palestine. Three morphologically distinct districts—Old City (compact), Zeitoun (semi-structured) and Al Sheikh (unplanned sprawl)—were mapped in ArcGIS Pro to derive Floor Space Index, Ground Space Index and Open Space Ratio. Prototype mid-rise dwellings were modelled in DesignBuilder and simulated with EnergyPlus under identical boundary conditions. Pearson correlations and ANOVA assessed relationships between morphological variables and annual loads. Results show cooling demand decreases by 34 % as FSI rises from 0.7 to 1.2, whereas heating demand doubles under the same densification. The moderately dense Zeitoun configuration (FSI≈1.0, OSR≈1.6) achieved the lowest combined energy use, outperforming both extreme forms. Findings demonstrate that mid-rise, medium-density layouts balance summer shading with winter solar access, offering a viable pathway for energy-aware expansion in semi-arid contexts. The integrated spatial-simulation framework provides planners with transferable metrics for zoning and retrofit prioritisation, supporting climate-responsive urban policy across the Middle East. Future research should incorporate behavioural patterns and multiple building typologies to refine these benchmarks under climate-change scenarios.

India’s In-Situ Slum Redevelopment (ISSR) vertical of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban was terminated in September 2024 after delivering barely one-quarter of its sanctioned dwellings. This study interrogates that discontinuation through Frank Fischer’s four-tier public-policy framework, integrating secondary data, national audits and 109 household surveys across four ISSR sites in Ahmedabad. Contextual analysis confirms that ISSR targeted a genuine housing deficit in agglomerated labour markets, yet technical verification reveals only 23 % completion and persistent infrastructure gaps. Situational validation highlights post-occupancy cost spirals, dysfunctional resident-welfare associations and a statistically significant link (χ² = 53.4, p < 0.001) between governance quality and maintenance-fee compliance. Societal vindication exposes vertical “poverty traps”: 62 % of households face higher living expenses and 41 % report lost informal livelihoods. Ideological review finds the developer-led model over-estimated land-value capture and under-valued community stewardship, echoing global evidence from Jakarta and Cairo. The study concludes that ISSR’s failure stems from misaligned economic incentives, weak institutional capacity and neglect of behavioural adaptation. Re-imagined supply-side programmes must pair incremental upgrading and portable subsidies with enforceable post-occupancy governance to preserve agglomeration benefits while ensuring social equity. Findings offer transferable lessons for secondary Indian cities planning future slum-housing interventions.