An Empirical Analysis on Urban-Rural Linkage in Mumbai Metropolitan Area

Abstract: The concept of ‘urban-rural linkage or continuum’ has been developed as a mechanism to better view and understand the inherent differences between the two terms in the field of planning and regional development. Examining consensus between the conceptual approaches in the literature and actual transforming process in some of the most dynamic and least regulated cities in the world – Mumbai metropolitan region, this paper tries to describe the increasing significance of urban-rural linkages in the livelihoods of rural residents, including spatial and occupational transformations and their interdependence on surrounding urban centers and towns. The results of the network analysis suggested the role of small and intermediate urban centers in facilitating exchange between the rural villages and towns by offering employments and markets both for farming and non-farming sectors. This also indicates that urban-rural linkages can be strengthened by the local or regional authorities which transcend traditional administrative boundaries and build an interdependent urban-rural continuum in planning and resource management practices

Land Use Growth Simulation and Optimization for Achieving a Sustainable Urban Form

Urban areas have been perceived as the source of environmental problems. To avoid improper land use allocation, negative sprawl effects, and other sources of environmental degradation, city planners need tools for simulating and optimizing their proposed plans. This study proposed a “what-if” analysis model that could help the planners in assessing and simulating their urban plans in Bekasi City, Indonesia. As part of Jakarta Metropolitan Area which exhibited a “post-suburbanization” phenomenon, this city faces many problems because of its high urban growth. Since the urban area has higher land use density than the rural area, especially on built-up class, it needs more consideration when allocating this kind of land use. Because each type of built-up class influences another type, it is difficult to allocate manually. Therefore, this study proposed a land-use optimization application to help planners finding the appropriate land use. This study showed that a model with simulation and optimization can be used to handle urban growth

Impacts of Tourism Development on Coastal Communities in Cha-am Beach, the Gulf of Thailand, through Analysis of Local Perceptions

Coastal tourism development can appropriately contribute to the livelihood of the community. To date, few studies have been conducted on the impacts of tourism development on the coastal communities in Thailand. This study assessed these impacts through the analysis of local perceptions based on four criteria of tourism development—the economic, environmental, social, and cultural impacts—using a five-point Likert scale. A survey of 116 households (HHs) was conducted at Cha-am Beach in the Gulf of Thailand. We found that the impacts of tourism development on coastal communities were 3.13 ± 1.02 (± refers to standard deviation) for social impact and 2.85 ± 1.03 for economic impact, indicating that tourism development had neutral and positive impacts. However, impacts on the other two criteria were below the average scores, indicating that tourism development had a negative impact on the local environment (2.50 ± 1.05) and local culture (2.41 ± 0.95). For overall impacts, the average score was 2.72 ± 1.02, indicating the coastal communities accepted tourism development in their communities. Nevertheless, as the overall score of tourism development was still far below the maximum point of 5, more efforts by the government as well as the private sector are needed to protect the local culture and coastal communities while improving the positive impacts on economic development and social integrity

Using Volunteered Geographic Information and Nighttime Light Remote Sensing Data to Identify Tourism Areas of Interest

Easy, economical, and near-real-time identification of tourism areas of interest is useful for tourism planning and management. Numerous studies have been accomplished to analyze and evaluate the tourism conditions of a place using free and near-real-time data sources such as social media. This study demonstrates the potential of volunteered geographic information, mainly Twitter and OpenStreetMap, for discovering tourism areas of interest. Active tweet clusters generated using Density-Based Spatial Clustering of Applications with Noise (DBSCAN) clustering algorithm and building footprint information are used to identify touristic places that ensure the availability of basic essential facilities for travelers. Furthermore, an investigation is made to examine the usefulness of nighttime light remotely sensed data to recognize such tourism areas. The study successfully discovered important tourism areas in urban and remote regions in Nepal which have relatively low social media penetration. The effectiveness of the proposed framework is examined using the F1 measure. The accuracy assessment showed F1 score of 0.72 and 0.74 in the selected regions. Hence, the outcomes of this study can provide a valuable reference for various stakeholders such as tourism planners, urban planners, and so on

A Grid-Based Spatial Analysis for Detecting Supply–Demand Gaps of Public Transports: A Case Study of the Bangkok Metropolitan Region

Public transport service has been promoted to reduce the problems of traffic congestion and environmental impacts due to car dependency. Several public transportation modes are available in Bangkok Metropolitan Region (BMR) such as buses, heavy rails, vans, boats, taxis, and trains while in some areas have fewer modes of public transport available. The disparity of public transport service negatively impacts social equity. This study aims to identify the gaps between public transport supply and demand and to demonstrate introduced indicators to assess the public transport performance incorporating transport capacity and equilibrium access aspects. Supply index was used to evaluate the level of service, and the demand index was applied to estimate travel needs. Furthermore, the Lorenz curves and the Gini coefficients were used to measure the equity of public transport. The results highlight that more than half of the BMR population is living in low-supply high-demand areas for public transportation. Moreover, the equitable access analysis has identified that the high-income population has better access to public transport than the low-income population. The results suggest that public transport gaps and equity indicate the inclusiveness of public transportation, as well as to the areas where to improve the public transport service. Thus, the methodology used in this study can be applied to another city or region similar to BMR

Drivers and Benefits of Integrating Climate Adaptation Measures into Urban Development: Experience from Coastal Cities of Indonesia

Integrating climate adaptation measures into urban development has emerged as a holistic approach to minimize climate change impacts and to enhance urban resilience. Although there has been an initial implementation of the integrated strategy at the national level, the progress of its adoption at the local level is relatively less studied. The study aims to examine the integration development of climate adaptation measures into urban development strategies by looking at its drivers and benefits in two coastal cities of Indonesia, i.e., Semarang and Bandar Lampung. Both cities have experienced climate change impacts and the preliminary effort of the integration process. The study was depended on close-ended Likert-scale questions with key actors representing local authorities and relevant stakeholders. Then, a Weighted Average Index was applied to transform their perceptions. The assessment of their knowledge of related issues was conducted. Secondary data was obtained from a desk study. The study found out that the effort of the integration process had influenced stakeholder’s understanding of the issue of climate change and urban development, as well as its relationship. The level of stakeholder’s knowledge related to the issue was very high. The result also revealed that the most influencing driver of the integration process is related to the motivation and initiative of municipal officers. It significantly contributed local governments to adopt its integration strategy. There was a strong consensus regarding the benefits of the integration process. They believed that it could ensure sustainable urban development in the future. This empirical study distinguishes the significance of integration development based on the local perspective for the approach improvement. The results could be applied to encourage other local municipalities in other emerging coastal cities

Achieving a Sustainable Urban Form through Land Use Optimisation: Insights from Bekasi City’s Land-Use Plan (2010–2030)

Cities worldwide have been trying to achieve a sustainable urban form to handle their rapid urban growth. Many sustainable urban forms have been studied and two of them, the compact city and the eco city, were chosen in this study as urban form foundations. Based on these forms, four sustainable city criteria (compactness, compatibility, dependency, and suitability) were considered as necessary functions for land use optimisation. This study presents a land use optimisation as a method for achieving a sustainable urban form. Three optimisation methods (particle swarm optimisation, genetic algorithms, and a local search method) were combined into a single hybrid optimisation method for land use in Bekasi city, Indonesia. It was also used for examining Bekasi city’s land-use-plan (2010–2030) after optimising current (2015) and future land use (2030). After current land use optimisation, the score of sustainable city criteria increased significantly. Three important centres of land use (commercial, industrial, and residential) were also created through clustering the results. These centres were slightly different from centres of the city plan zones. Additional land uses in 2030 were predicted using a nonlinear autoregressive neural network with external input. Three scenarios were used for allocating these additional land uses including sustainable development, government policy, and business-as-usual. Future land use allocation in 2030 found that the sustainable development scenario showed better performance compared to government policy and business-as-usual scenarios

Trend Analysis of Mainstreaming Flood Risk Reduction into Spatial Planning in Thailand

Mainstreaming flood risk reduction into spatial planning (MFRRSP) recognizes the urgent need for sustainable human settlement planning. Despite official recognition of MFRRSP in Thailand, repetitive damage from floods demonstrates gaps in concept and implementation. This paper examines the transition and challenges of flood risk reduction (FRR) practices in the spatial planning (SP) of the Bangkok and Sing Buri provinces of Thailand. Content analysis through computer-aided qualitative data analysis software (CAQDS) and in-depth interviews provide the evidence for the study. Twenty-two codes under seven assessments were extracted from the MFRRSP guidelines of international organizations. It was found that FRR was more mainstream in Thailand’s SP. The code in the next Sing Buri and Bangkok Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) was mentioned in 202.06% and 112.70% of the existing CLUP. The assessment area that deserves more attention is FRR preparedness and stakeholder participation, which only 0.011% and 0.035% mention. Two implementation problems are identified. Firstly, no emergency management deals with using land-use management methods. Secondly, FRR regulations limiting the type, density, and design have been reduced, as seen in the next draft of Bangkok CLUP that reduces the floodway in specific districts to be a residential land type. This specific study for Thailand shows how the method can be used in any local context for any country to understand how official planning documents evolve and adapt to disaster preparedness

Trend Analysis of Mainstreaming Flood Risk Reduction into Spatial Planning in Thailand

Mainstreaming flood risk reduction into spatial planning (MFRRSP) recognizes the urgent need for sustainable human settlement planning. Despite official recognition of MFRRSP in Thailand, repetitive damage from floods demonstrates gaps in concept and implementation. This paper examines the transition and challenges of flood risk reduction (FRR) practices in the spatial planning (SP) of the Bangkok and Sing Buri provinces of Thailand. Content analysis through computer-aided qualitative data analysis software (CAQDS) and in-depth interviews provide the evidence for the study. Twenty-two codes under seven assessments were extracted from the MFRRSP guidelines of international organizations. It was found that FRR was more mainstream in Thailand’s SP. The code in the next Sing Buri and Bangkok Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) was mentioned in 202.06% and 112.70% of the existing CLUP. The assessment area that deserves more attention is FRR preparedness and stakeholder participation, which only 0.011% and 0.035% mention. Two implementation problems are identified. Firstly, no emergency management deals with using land-use management methods. Secondly, FRR regulations limiting the type, density, and design have been reduced, as seen in the next draft of Bangkok CLUP that reduces the floodway in specific districts to be a residential land type. This specific study for Thailand shows how the method can be used in any local context for any country to understand how official planning documents evolve and adapt to disaster preparedness