Sprawl In Cities Research Articles

Do informal settlements contribute to sprawl in Sub-Saharan African cities?

Cities in Sub-Saharan Africa are recognized as drivers of development but also as internally disconnected and sprawling. Informal or “unplanned” settlements are often suggested to hamper sustainable growth, while commonly being labeled “sprawl” by default. This notion is addressed in the present paper, which aims to analyze empirically whether informal settlements do contribute more to sprawl than planned areas, in the setting of Sub-Saharan African cities. To this end, the street network accessibility of buildings in informal and planned areas is compared, to understand compactness beyond population density under overcrowding. The setting consists of Tanzanian secondary cities. To trace the effect of informality on compactness within and across cities, regression analysis is used, while controlling for other characteristics of urban structure such as population density. Pooled regression results indicate an approximately 12.8 % lower connectivity for informal settlements. Importantly, this association is not homogeneous and varies substantially across different types of cities. In several cities, informality's impact on connectivity is relatively pronounced, pointing to sprawl. In other cities, no significant relation between informality and connectivity is found. This observable ambiguity underlines the unclear relationship between informality and sprawl. This may be considered within the policy discourse on urban sprawl in Sub-Saharan-Africa.

Proposal of a domain model for 3D representation of buildings in Ecuador.

The accelerated urban sprawl of cities around the world presents major challenges for urban planning and land resource management. In this context, it is crucial to have a detailed 3D representation of buildings enriched with accurate alphanumeric information. A distinctive aspect of this proposal is its specific focus on the spatial unit corresponding to buildings. In order to propose a domain model for the 3D representation of buildings, the national standard of Ecuador and the international standard (ISO 19152:2012 LADM) were considered. The proposal includes a detailed specification of attributes, both for the general subclass of buildings and for their infrastructure. The application of the domain model proposal was crucial in a study area located in the Riobamba canton, due to the characteristics of the buildings in that area. For this purpose, a geodatabase was created in pgAdmin4 with official information, taking into account the structure of the proposed model and linking it with geospatial data for an adequate management and 3D representation of the buildings in an open-source Geographic Information System. This application improves cadastral management in the study region and has wider implications. This model is intended to serve as a benchmark for other countries facing similar challenges in cadastral management and 3D representation of buildings, promote efficient urban development and contribute to global sustainable development.

Proposal of a domain model for 3D representation of buildings in Ecuador.

The accelerated urban sprawl of cities around the world presents major challenges for urban planning and land resource management. In this context, it is crucial to have a detailed 3D representation of buildings enriched with accurate alphanumeric information. A distinctive aspect of this proposal is its specific focus on the spatial unit corresponding to buildings. In order to propose a domain model for the 3D representation of buildings, the national standard of Ecuador and the international standard (ISO 19152:2012 LADM) were considered. The proposal includes a detailed specification of attributes, both for the general subclass of buildings and for their infrastructure. The application of the domain model proposal was crucial in a study area located in the Riobamba canton, due to the characteristics of the buildings in that area. For this purpose, a geodatabase was created in pgAdmin4 with official information, taking into account the structure of the proposed model and linking it with geospatial data for an adequate management and 3D representation of the buildings in an open-source Geographic Information System. This application improves cadastral management in the study region and has wider implications. This model is intended to serve as a benchmark for other countries facing similar challenges in cadastral management and 3D representation of buildings, promote efficient urban development and contribute to global sustainable development.

Analyzing Role of FSI in City Sprawl- Case Study: Pune City

Pune is the second-largest city in the state of Maharashtra after Mumbai, and is an important city in terms of its economic and industrial growth. Over the years Pune Municipal Corporation area has grown in concentric rings. Future growth of PMC will be mainly governed by existing transport corridors, existing and future industrial developments in and around PMC and the expansion of central business district (CBD). The aim of the research is to analyze role of FSI in city sprawl supported with a case study of Pune City. The objectives of the research are- to assess existing and proposed policies/projects undertaken in Pune City for last two decades, to understand population growth trend and its distribution within and around the city, to analyze factors contributing to intensification and spatial distribution of population density, to examine the effects of increased population density on the existing infrastructure facilities in the urban settlements and lastly to propose strategies or proposals for the selected study area. The methodology adopted for the study initiates with assessing the data collected from secondary sources. The increase in population and built-up area attributed to various factors are studied using satellite images and GIS techniques. Population and built-up density can be linked up together to understand how the former growth affects the latter. The distribution and pattern of population density helps to provide useful information in provision of necessary service infrastructure. Finally, different approaches of accommodating the future population are studied and proposed in the study. Keywords Urban sprawl; Density; Spatial Distribution; Accessibility; Urban Growth

Haze pollution and urban sprawl: An empirical analysis based on panel simultaneous equation model.

Based on the panel data of 227 prefecture-level and above cities in China from 2002 to 2018, a panel linkage equation model is constructed to explore the bidirectional influence relationship between haze pollution and urban sprawl, and the results of the study find that, firstly, there is a bidirectional promotion of causality between haze pollution and urban sprawl. That is, PM2.5 not only has a significant positive effect on urban sprawl, but also urban sprawl has a significant positive correlation with haze pollution, which is further strengthened by adding the air flow coefficient instrumental variable. Second, the heterogeneity analysis yields that haze pollution has different effects on urban sprawl in different regions. Under the sub-regional samples, haze pollution and urban sprawl have a bi-directional significant negative impact relationship in the eastern region, none of the haze pollution and urban sprawl have a bi-directional significant impact relationship in the western region, but both the central region and the northeastern region have a significant positive impact relationship. Under different city sizes, haze pollution and urban sprawl in large, medium and small cities have a bi-directional significant positive impact relationship, and from the numerical size, the degree of influence of haze pollution on urban sprawl in large cities is greater than that in small and medium cities; while the degree of influence of urban sprawl on haze pollution in medium cities is greater than that in large and small cities. Accordingly, it is proposed that urban governance should be adapted to local conditions, focus on innovative technologies to reduce energy consumption, and utilize big data to manage cities.

The evolution of theater placement in the urban space of the city using the example of Moscow from the late 17th to the early 20th century.

The current trend of urban sprawl in major cities is creating conditions for territorial injustice in the distribution of cultural assets. One of the key problems in the modern theater urban development of Moscow is associated with the uneven distribution of theater complexes between the city core and the periphery. The object of the study is the theater as an element of the cultural environment of urban space. The subject of the study is the spatial features of theater placement in the urban structure and its influence on shaping the city's cultural landscape, as well as the spatial evolution of the city itself. The research objective is to establish urban planning correlations between theater location in the city structure and the spatial development of the city through the evolution of theater placement in Moscow from the late 17th to the early 20th century. The research methodology during the historical phase is based on studying bibliographic sources and cartographic analysis. Examination of contemporary issues involved collecting, updating, and visualizing geospatial data on the present urban placement of theaters. The scientific novelty of the study lies in utilizing a spatial approach to examining Moscow's urban cultural environment retrospectively from the late 17th to the early 20th century. This spatial approach enables identifying the correlation between sociocultural phenomena and the structure of Moscow's urban space during this period. The research identified characteristic temporal stages in the evolution of theater placement in Moscow from the late 17th to the early 20th century, coupled with the city's immediate spatial development. The research results can serve as a starting point for developing a comprehensive urban strategy aimed at enhancing the quality of the city's cultural environment through the strategic placement of theater complexes.

What drives densification and sprawl in cities? A spatially explicit assessment for Vienna, between 1984 and 2018

The spatial arrangement of settlements constitutes a long-lasting legacy and shapes the prospects for transformations toward sustainability. Thus, understanding the drivers of changes in settlement patterns is essential. In this article, we present a spatially explicit, geostatistical analysis of settlement dynamics, and a qualitative investigation of its regulative, demographic, and economic drivers, using the example of Vienna, Austria between 1984 and 2018. Combining spatially explicit metrics of urban sprawl and cluster analysis, we analyzed high-resolution maps of buildings, population, and jobs to identify distinct settlement trajectories. Societal drivers of more or less sprawled settlement dynamics are analyzed with desk research and expert interviews. We distinguish five types of settlement dynamics: persistently dense areas with increasing use intensity, re-densification of dense areas, persistently sprawled areas, redensification of sprawled areas, and persistently isolated buildings. Urban renewal schemes have fostered the re-densification of dense areas in response to population growth and urban economic restructuring. The combination of urban renewal schemes and green space policies has successfully limited urban expansion. Challenges arise from the demand for single-family housing and corresponding zoning regulations. These factors solidify existing sprawled settlements, posing obstacles to the efficient re-densification of such areas crucial for sustainable urban development.

Spatiotemporal Analysis of Urban Sprawl and Ecological Quality Study Case: Chiba Prefecture, Japan

The Japanese City Planning Act aims to control urban sprawl and promote compact urban development. Despite Japan’s aging population, urban sprawl remains a concern in shrinking sprawl situations. This impacts ecosystem services owing to the loss of natural areas. Ecological quality is regarded as a basic parameter for preventing urban sprawl. This study examined urban sprawl, ecological quality, and their relationship in Chiba Prefecture within the spatial context of the metropolitan region. Utilizing Shannon entropy and landscape metrics for urban sprawling studies, the analysis revealed a gradual shift towards compact development at the center, while the urban periphery was unevenly distributed. The remote sensing ecological index (RSEI), supported by remote sensing, assesses ecological quality. Despite some limitations, the average RSEI indicated moderate quality, offering a suitable human environment. Pearson’s calculations were used to determine the inverse correlation between urban sprawl and ecological quality. Chiba’s slight increase in sprawl was attributed to the transition from non-compact to eco-city development. The proposed plans were formulated based on similar urban sprawl and RSEI patterns in other cities for further sustainable compact development.

Geo-Hydrological Hazard Impacts, Vulnerability and Perception in Bujumbura (Burundi): A High-Resolution Field-Based Assessment in a Sprawling City

Rapid urbanization, demographic pressure, and sprawl of cities are key factors in the vulnerability and damage related to geo-hydrological hazards. Dysfunctional urban services that favor informal settlements are at the forefront of elements that increase vulnerability. Cases of cities that suffer from geo-hydrological hazards are increasingly reported in many regions, especially in tropical countries in the Global South. Yet, studies on such examples are rare and commonly overlook the human and societal components of hazard risks. Here, we focus on Bujumbura, a city in Africa that has experienced rapid unplanned growth and sprawl into unserviced areas because of the non-application or a lack of a valid urban planning law. After filling in the gap in data collected using high-resolution field surveys and focus group discussions, this study highlights various factors of vulnerability to geo-hydrological hazards in the urban area. Indeed, 108 events of flood and flash floods and 81 gullies were inventoried in Bujumbura between 1997 and 2021. These geo-hydrological hazards have had a significant impact, particularly on housing, and have caused increasing displacement of the population. This vulnerability is exacerbated by the inefficiency of the rainwater drainage system in the urban space. Our result demonstrates how the failure of the institutions responsible for urban management is at the top of all the causes of the vulnerability of the sprawling city. We anticipate that our empirical approach is an effective way to obtain concrete information to develop practical strategies to prevent and mitigate vulnerability to geo-hydrological hazards in urban sprawling contexts.

A guiding methodology for “urban physical examination”: Indicator checklist, benchmark setting and empirical study

Fast urbanisation development has brought rampant sprawl of cities, where various urban diseases have been emerging. Therefore, how to effectively understand the health status of a city, diagnose root causes of urban diseases, and implement proper policy measures and effective actions to address these diseases have become critical issues for achieving urban sustainability. Via regarding city as an organic system, from the perspective of sustainable urban development, this study proposes a generic guiding methodology of urban physical examination. The guiding methodology provides a set of indicator checklist, indicator benchmark setting approaches, and urban physical examination principles, as guidelines for urban governors to dynamically investigate the healthy status of their cities, so that potential aspects of urban diseases can be identified. An empirical study taking Chongqing Municipality in Southwest China is exemplified to demonstrate the validity of the proposed methodology. The results demonstrate that, 1) sustainable development perspective-based urban physical examination methodology is effective in investigating urban health status, capturing evolving trend of urban health status, and diagnosing potential urban diseases; 2) In Chongqing, significant urban diseases across urban social, economic and environmental facets have been identified, and targeted “treatment” has been tailored to help tackle these urban diseases and improve urban healthy status to realise the mission of sustainable and healthy urban development.

The main drivers of urban sprawl in Portuguese medium cities between 2001 and 2011

Urban sprawl is a widely known urban phenomenon characterized by low density and low accessibility in monotonous peripheral areas. Sprawl is normally perceived as producing negative environmental and economic impacts. Although a global phenomenon, it has been mostly associated with US cities. Cities in other continents, as European Cities, although denser, have been also sprawling. This work aims to address the dynamic and multidimensionality characteristics of sprawl by using five indicators that capture the variation in density, fragmentation, dispersion and irregularity. Using these indicators, this work studies the drivers of sprawl in Portuguese Medium Cities, a subject which has been overlooked, between 2001 and 2011. The aforementioned sprawl indicators are regressed against a series of demographic, socioeconomic, policy, mobility, urban growth dynamics and geographical indicators that are referred in the literature as drivers of sprawl. The obtained results indicate that previous sprawl patterns, population characteristics, economic evolution and specialization, commuting patterns, urban containment policies and geographical features influence sprawl.

As pharma is to people, so infrastructure is to cities

The pharmaceutical industry is a profit-making sector of the healthcare system and has grown into a self-regulating complex system over the years. Starting from the pre-clinical to clinical development of drugs to the authorisation and marketing thereof, a typical multi-national pharmaceutical company of today operates in complex ways which partly emerge from the multiple interactions within and without the company. The complexity is further given by the unpredictability of the outcomes: merely 1 out of 10 drugs that are in development are likely to be approved. The plethora of regulations by authorities such as the European Medicines Agency pose a negative feedback on this complex system which is further aggravated by the reimbursement landscape of each country, taking a toll on the innovative side of this privately funded sector.
 By analogy, infrastructure operations with distinct supply systems delivering specific critical products and services, pharmaceutical companies have become the exclusive suppliers of drugs within the healthcare system. Increasingly traditional public sector infrastructure provision has been privatised, as has national health services drug development, resulting in high levels of regulation in each, constraining innovation and profitability, hall-marks of the private sector. Just as infrastructure delivers the life-blood of cities, pharma delivers medicines for the health of individuals: both aim for public health and societal good. Failures in infrastructure delivery, such as unaffordability by the poor, match with pharma failures to provide equitably to all individuals: the poor cannot afford the best drugs. The urban sprawl in cities and the rise of informal settlements without sufficient infrastructure, can be observed in health care by the rise in use of alternative and unreliable medications by sections of the population who are excluded from pharma penetration.
 Our work studies such analogies between infrastructure and pharmaceutical companies in the hope of a better understanding of the operations of and connections with each other and inspirations about finding solutions from these two similar, yet distinct complex systems.

Drivers of Unfettered Urban Sprawl in Pakistan

Urban sprawl is a global concern, however, developing countries are failing to effectively overcome this problem. For instance, in Pakistan, urban development policies are tenuous and urban areas remained without certified boundaries. This failure is mainly causing an unfettered sprawl in major cities of the country. An alarming fact is that most of the urban sprawl is consistently taking place on fertile agricultural land in the peripheries of cities. The researcher has verified the problem through literature and by supervised classification of the satellite imageries to specifically verify growth of Peshawar city. This research contributed to unveil the fundamental causes of the unrestricted urban sprawl and its aftereffects in the context of Pakistan. Finally certain reforms and techniques are suggested to curb leapfrogged and low-density haphazard growth of cities.

Big cities of Russia and their suburbs as centers of attraction of internal migrants

Big cities and their suburbs are the main centers of attraction for internal Russian migrants, pulling the population from peripheral territories. Based on detailed data on internal Russian migration for 2011-2020. the scale of net migration is estimated in Moscow, St. Petersburg and five groups of cities with a population of 100 thousand inhabitants or more, and their suburbs. The size of the suburbs depends on the population of the cities - the larger it is, the greater the distance the cities extend their influence and, accordingly, the greater the radius of the allocation of suburbs. The number of inhabitants of cities and their suburbs is determined on the basis of the 2010 population census data, based on the distance from the city center, near, middle and far suburbs are distinguished. It is estimated that 89.6 million people lived in major cities and their suburbs (2010). The process of population concentration continued. The migration growth of Big cities and their suburbs is comparable in size, and suburbs are significantly larger in intensity than cities. The suburbs of regional capitals and largest cities have the most intensive migration growth. The nearest suburbs of cities grow most intensively due to migration. Every year, Big cities lose 40-50 thousand people in migration with their suburbs. We are not inclined to consider this evidence of the process of suburbanization, the main role is played by the sprawl of cities and the attractiveness of living in the maximum transport accessibility to their centers. Migration in the suburbs that are formed near Moscow and St. Petersburg deserves further study.

Application of Digital Technologies in Controlling Urban Sprawl

Urban sprawl has been defined as an excessive conversion of rural land into urban land or excessive increase of the city beyond the optimal city size. Urban sprawl became a hot topic first in the United States, where the low-density city the problem emerged in the late 70s and early 80s. In Europe, urban sprawl wasn’t an issue until very recently, predominantly due to the structure of the European cities, which are traditionally more concentrated and densely populated, in contrast to the US cities. However, today we observe signs of urban sprawl in European cities, such as excessive decentralization, road congestion, lack of open space, overpopulation, etc. Recently urban city planners started using contemporary digital technologies to measure and control urban sprawl. This study discusses modern digital technologies used in present-day city planning.

Active travel and paratransit use in African cities: Mixed-method systematic review and meta-ethnography

Active travel, as a key form of physical activity, can help offset noncommunicable diseases as rapidly urbanising countries undergo epidemiological transition. In Africa a human mobility transition is underway as cities sprawl and motorization rises and preserving active travel modes (walking, cycling and public transport) is important for public health. Across the continent, public transport is dominated by paratransit, privately owned informal modes serving the general public. We reviewed the literature on active travel and paratransit in African cities, published from January 2008 to January 2019. We included 19 quantitative, 14 mixed-method and 8 qualitative studies (n = 41), narratively synthesizing the quantitative data and meta-ethnographically analysing the qualitative data. Integrated findings showed that walking was high, cycling was low and paratransit was a critical mobility option for poor peripheral residents facing long livelihood-generation journeys. As an indigenous solution to dysfunctional mobility systems shaped by colonial and apartheid legacies it was an effective connector, penetrating areas unserved by formal public transport and helping break cycles of poverty. From a public health perspective, it preserved active travel by reducing mode-shifting to private vehicles. Yet many city authorities viewed it as rogue, out of keeping with the ‘ideal modern city’, adopting official anti-paratransit stances without necessarily considering the contribution of active travel to public health. The studies varied in quality and showed uneven geographic representation, with data from Central and Northern Africa especially sparse; notably, there was a high prevalence of non-local authors and out-of-country funding. Nevertheless, drawing together a rich cross-disciplinary set of studies spanning over a decade, the review expands the literature at the intersection of transport and health with its novel focus on paratransit as a key active travel mode in African cities. Further innovative research could improve paratransit's legibility for policymakers and practitioners, fostering its inclusion in integrated transport plans.

A REVIEW OF AGRICULTURAL AND COASTAL CITIES IN INDONESIA IN FINDING URBAN SPRAWL PRIORITY PARAMETERS

Urban sprawl has caused an impact on urban development, causing land use changes, loss of income and cultural values, environmental degradation, and high monetary costs. Urban sprawl needs to be carried out efficiently and inclusively to ensure sustainable land use and management including cities in Indonesia. Since 1980s, urban sprawl in Indonesia is high due to limited land which causes the expansion of development on the expanse of agricultural areas and coastal settlements. This paper presents a critical review of the parameters of urban sprawl in agricultural cities including Bandung, Batu, Pekanbaru and coastal cities including Surabaya, Gresik, and Madura using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). The parameters are gathered from a review of articles related to urban sprawl in agricultural and coastal cities in Indonesia. The result of this comparative studies showed two key important variables that caused urban sprawl in Indonesia: population growth, and land limitation to encompass agricultural and coastal cities. Furthermore, there are four priority parameters out of eight, namely immigrant population ratio-transnational, birth ratio, population growth rate, and land occupation ratio causing urban sprawl in agricultural and coastal cities. In sum, the findings of this study suggest the importance of applying urban sprawl parameters in analyzing urban development as it is useful for evaluating and monitoring the rapid urban development in Indonesia.

The Industrial Sprawl in China from 2010 to 2019: A Multi-Level Spatial Analysis Based on Urban Scaling Law.

Studying the spatial-temporal distribution industrial sprawl in China is important to solve industrial sprawl problems and promote urban sustainable development. This paper constructed a multi-level spatial analysis of the Chinese industrial sprawl during 2010-2019 by mainly using urban scaling law, supplemented by GIS methods. Results showed that: (1) China had obvious industrial sprawl with a growth rate of 31.79%, reaching 2762.37 km2 between 2010 and 2019. (2) There was a stronger industrial sprawl in large cities with a larger population according to urban scaling law, especially in the East. (3) The industrial sprawl was mainly concentrated in the cities in the Northeast, Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, Shandong Peninsula, Yangtze River Delta region, Pearl River Delta region, Middle Yangtze River region, Fujian Province, and some cities in the West. (4) The gravity center of industrial sprawl generally moved southwest and distributed in Hubei Province. This study provided references for improving the efficiency of industrial land use and promoting high-quality urban development.

Building sustainable cities to address urban sprawl: a reflective analysis towards achieving SDGs

The paper aims to evaluate the prospects of building a sustainable city to address urban sprawl in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11. This paper focuses on SDG 11, which is concerned with making sustainable cities and communities. Its objective is to make cities and other populated areas more inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable in the long run. Examining some of the problems that impede the SDGs from being accomplished, urbanisation emerges as one of the most significant human endeavours, affecting the standard of urban living and its long-term development in most developing countries. In developing countries, many cities have been burdened with a new normal and culture of growth, driven by urban sprawl, which has led to the sustainable city strategy gaining popularity in recent years. Urbanisation is increasing at an unprecedented rate in many developing countries, threatening the achievement of SDGs due to the proliferation of urban sprawl. Currently, urban areas are home to over 50 % of the world’s population. It is projected, that by 2045 urban areas will be home to more 6 billion people. These have placed severe constraints on local governments, who should be developing sustainable cities and communities in response to urban development to fulfil SDG 11. This makes it impossible to achieve SDG 11 by the projected deadline of 2030. This paper argues that without fundamentally changing how cities are built, developed and populated, sustainability in urban areas cannot be realised. This paper suggests that adequate and ready policy and legislative frameworks are needed to promote sustainable development and prevent urban sprawl in cities.

"The Growing Suburban Sprawl in Large Latin American Cities: Applying Space Syntax to the Case of Northern Peripheral Region of Bogotá "

"The expansion of urban land in Latin American cities has been extensive over the last 30 years. Urbanisation has grown considerably, and, according to the United Nations, it is expected that approximately 70% of the population will live in large cities by the year 2050. This process leads to more complex urban relations, more intense suburbanisation, larger settlements in the peripheral areas of cities and, subsequently, a significant reduction of urban green infrastructure. The aim of this paper is to assess whether the expansion areas defined in different planning instruments generate urban inclusion and are aligned with the already consolidated urban area. The case study areas are represented by the municipalities of Chía and Cajicá in the northern suburbs of Bogotá city, which have a strong integration with the central city. The methodology integrates data from municipal land use plans and the spatial syntax method to visualise the effect of expansion on urban morphology. The results obtained show that Chía presents an area of greater integration than Cajicá, specifically the centre of the municipality, in which there is a high level of functionality with respect to the new expansion areas defined in the Master Plan. This study concludes that the new expansion areas should be developed on the central axes, where the highest integration values are located, and at a greater distance from natural elements such as rivers. Finally, the methodological approach can be replicated to analyse other urban areas and support decision-making on urban functionality and expansion.