SPATIAL PATTERN ANALYSIS IN GEOSPATIAL APPROACH REFERENCE TO KADUWELA MUNICIPAL COUNCIL, SRI LANKA

Cities play a significant role in our lives, providing a place for fulfilling social, economic, and physical needs for more than half of the population in the entire world. The city is a dynamic entity with complex activities, and it faces gradual physical changes or urban growth. Urban growth occurs in a planned or unplanned way. Unplanned urban growth or urban sprawl aggravated huge urban problems in cities and the fringe. Identification of urban growth pattern is significant and measuring and predicting the urban growth in a methodical way is an essential for the decision-making process. Measuring the urban growth pattern is essential and ArcGIS 10 provides an impressive analytical tool for geographic pattern analysis that helps to understandthe geographical phenomenon using spatial autocorrelation. Spatial autocorrelation can be applied to detect the pattern of urban areas at a specific time. This study used those tools to analyse spatial pattern in the Sri Lankan urban area. Results show type of spatial pattern of the area

GIS MODELLING APPROACH FOR ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE URBAN LAND USE PLANNING IN COLOMBO URBAN AREA

Rapid urbanization is proceeding and pushing up the demand for various land uses mainlyresidential, commercial industria; etc. Land is an essential ingredient in this process, as in allurban growth. This growth has been associated with increasing pressure on land for humansettlements and related urban services. The problem in Sri-Lanka like most developingcountries, is not a shortage of developable land, but the ineffective and unplanned mechanismsthe use to ensure supply of suitable land for urban expansion. The trend of the development ofthis nature bears a heavy impact on the urban land development as evident from the horizontalexpansion of urban centres. As a result of that increased development pressure on agriculturallands in immediate surroundings of urban centres as further aggravated the problem ofconservation of the natural environment. The above shows that in the past insufficient attentionhave been paid to the land use planning for identification of conservation and development. As aresult of that ecologically valuable lands are converting to urban development withoutconsideration of the environment With in this contex, present land use planning necessitates topay attention of environmentally sustainable land use land use planning. When considering thesustainable development of land, land use change management is an important phenomenon.The content of land use change management can be described in terms of three value sets(ecological, social and market values) that must be brought into by land planningThe rapid population growth in Colombo Urban Area has been associated with increasingpressure on land for human settlements and related urban services. As a result, adhocdevelopment which has been taken place in the past due mostly to unplanned land usesinappropriate use of land in Colombo Urban Area. Therefore increased development pressure onagricultural lands in immediate surroundings of urban centres has further aggravated theproblem of conservation of the natural environment .The above shows that in the pastinsufficient attention has been paid to the planning for conservation and development.GIS is a powerful tool for land use planners in their effort to make land development processesmore efficient and attractive. Conventional geographic database design is based on Booleanlogic, and it created so many shortcomings. Fuzzy logic screen as the basic for representing andmanipulating in exactness in a relational geographic database hence, recent developments ofmodels in geographic information systems have been drawn upon concepts of fuzzy set theoryand multi-criteria methodology. Saaty's Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) (1980) is compatiblewith both these research directions, This paper demonstrates the application at Fuzzy set theoryin GIS for environmentally sustainable land use planning .The results indicate the future landrequirements and allocations in case study area so that planner can make sound judgment onland allocation.

Factors Affecting the Effectiveness of Flood Resilience Plan for Urban Sustainability of Ratnapura Municipal Council Area

Natural disasters adversely affect urban built-up areas all over the world. Flood is the most destructive natural disaster that affects Ratnapura, the provincial capital of the Sabaragamuwa Province in Sri Lanka. This monsoonal flooding is a prolonged problem that arises mainly due to the overspill of River Kalu and other water bodies connected to the river during heavy rainy seasons. It causes short-term and long-term damages to human lives, properties, the economy, and the environment. Floods cause severe damages to private residential buildings. Hence, the availability of a flood resilience plan is a significant feature of the good governance of the Local Authorities. There are many factors to consider when preparing a flood resilience plan. This study aims to assess the factors affecting the effectiveness of the existing flood resilience plan in the Ratnapura Municipal Council Area. The main data instrument used is a questionnaire survey from residents in the flood-prone area. It assessed the effectiveness of actions taken by the government pre-disaster, during a disaster, and post-disaster. Various factors affecting the flood resilience plan were identified and categorized: community resilience, economic resilience, ecological resilience, emergency readiness and responsiveness, infrastructure resilience, and social and cultural resilience. Findings revealed that the respondents were more satisfied with emergency readiness and responsiveness out of the five main categories. In addition, respondents address the effectiveness of the existing flood resilience plan and its affected factors like community resilience, economic resilience, emergency readiness and responsiveness, infrastructure resilience and social, and cultural resilience. Findings will be helpful for town planners and the Municipal Council of Ratnapura to identify flood resilience strategies through community perspectives to mitigate the flood hazard and propose innovative strategies to achieve urban sustainability and build resilient communities

Factors Affecting the Effectiveness of Flood Resilience Plan for Urban Sustainability of Ratnapura Municipal Council Area

Natural disasters adversely affect urban built-up areas all over the world. Flood is the most destructive natural disaster that affects Ratnapura, the provincial capital of the Sabaragamuwa Province in Sri Lanka. This monsoonal flooding is a prolonged problem that arises mainly due to the overspill of River Kalu and other water bodies connected to the river during heavy rainy seasons. It causes short-term and long-term damages to human lives, properties, the economy, and the environment. Floods cause severe damages to private residential buildings. Hence, the availability of a flood resilience plan is a significant feature of the good governance of the Local Authorities. There are many factors to consider when preparing a flood resilience plan. This study aims to assess the factors affecting the effectiveness of the existing flood resilience plan in the Ratnapura Municipal Council Area. The main data instrument used is a questionnaire survey from residents in the flood-prone area. It assessed the effectiveness of actions taken by the government pre-disaster, during a disaster, and post-disaster. Various factors affecting the flood resilience plan were identified and categorized: community resilience, economic resilience, ecological resilience, emergency readiness and responsiveness, infrastructure resilience, and social and cultural resilience. Findings revealed that the respondents were more satisfied with emergency readiness and responsiveness out of the five main categories. In addition, respondents address the effectiveness of the existing flood resilience plan and its affected factors like community resilience, economic resilience, emergency readiness and responsiveness, infrastructure resilience and social, and cultural resilience. Findings will be helpful for town planners and the Municipal Council of Ratnapura to identify flood resilience strategies through community perspectives to mitigate the flood hazard and propose innovative strategies to achieve urban sustainability and build resilient communities

IMPACT OF INTERCHANGES ON LAND USE CONVERSIONS AND LAND VALUE VARIATIONS IN THE SOUTHERN EXPRESSWAY, SRI LANKA

Road network is considered to be one of the most key infrastructures of any country. The improvements to the transportation system is always carried out under a socioeconomic context. Thus far, the developmental policies and strategies have largely concentrated on physical capital, but of late the focus has veered towards human capital issues as well. It is important tostrike a balance between the two because physical and human capital generally go hand in hand. Expressway concept in Sri Lanka was initiated by opening of Kottawa to Galle in 2011. Southern Expressway is a new experience to transport system in Sri Lanka as well as to the real estate market. As the result of the construction of expressway, the land market in surroundingareas has fluctuated according to different ways. The arterial road network with nodes and linkages are interconnected with expressway through the interchanges. As a result, lager bare lands and agricultural properties are getting blocked out for residential uses as the demand for residential properties in the surrounding areas have surged. In Sri Lanka, not many researchhave taken into consideration the issues of the selected interchanges in the Southern Expressway. Therefore, a clear research gap exists in relation to this area and this research focuses on filling the gap. Hence, this research primarily focuses the impact on land use conversions and land value variations in the Kurundugahahethekma interchange

Spatial Analysis of Fish Drying Cottage Industry Using GIS and R Programming; Case Study in Kudawella, Tangalle Pradehsiya Sabha

Fish drying cottage industry of Kudawella is expanding fast in the village and to the nearby villages. This sudden expansion is backed by factors such as psychological factors of manufacturers, social, financial, institutional, cultural, market, occupational, environment, infrastructure and other factors. Most of these drives have spatial components in them. As a result, spatial analysis can be carried out by authoritative bodies to make plans and decisions to make the industry and its growth sustainable. For the study, the dependent variable is identified as the manufacturer’s decision in entering the industry and it is spatially identified as locations with manufacturing sites and without manufacturing sites. Proximity to raw material market (Kudawella Harbour), accessible roads, environmentally sensitive areas, coastal belt, social institutions and population density are the independent variables. The binary results of the dependent variable leaded to a binary logistic regression analysis and the multi values were extracted from ArcMap 10.8. R Studio was used to perform the regression analysis on extracted values. The results revealed that only environmentally sensitive areas and population density significantly affect the variations in the dependent variable. So, it is recommended to focus more on socio-economic and other factors while not neglecting spatial factors, when predicting and making decisions related to the growth of the industry. © 2022 The Authors. Published by Department of Estate Management and Valuation, University of Sri Jayewardenepura   Keywords: Spatial Analysis; Cottage Industry; Binary Logistic Regression; R&nbsp

Sustainability of urban recreational waterfront development in Colombo urban area, Sri Lanka

Cities in the twenty-first century recognized water's worth as a symbolic and spatial interpretive element. For city people who live in congested urban environments, waterfront areas provide excellent outdoor recreation and leisure opportunities. It revitalizes and arranges urban environments while avoiding the creation of spatial boundaries. It increases the value of urban environments and can help individuals visualize a specific image in their heads. The development of waterfront areas allows for the proper integration of human activities and agglomerations in an increasingly vulnerable and deteriorating environment. Consequently, the sustainability of waterfront development is vital for urban planning. Colombo urban area of Sri Lanka focusing on recreational waterfront development projects in recent years. Now is the time to pay attention to assessing the sustainability of these projects. This research evaluated this gap, with the aim of evaluating the sustainability of urban recreational waterfront development initiatives in the Colombo Urban Area. Primary and secondary data sources are used in a qualitative research approach. Observations and interviews are used to gather primary data. Using a judgmental sampling technique, structured interviews were conducted with professionals involved in Sri Lankan urban recreational waterfront development projects. Content analysis was used as a method of qualitative data analysis. The study outcome discovered that six environmental factors, three economic factors, and seven social factors contribute to the long-term sustainability of urban recreational waterfront development projects in Sri Lanka. The paper concludes with recommendations on sustainable measures in Colombo waterfront development and a well-designed waterfront that respects community aspirations

GIS integrated analysis of socio-environmental risk factors of dengue incidence reference to Colombo District, Sri Lanka

Dengue could be considered a fast-growing vector-borne disease. The paper identifies the socioenvironmental risk factors affecting dengue incidence within dengue-prone areas and prioritizes the key risk factors to identify which highly affect incidence. Further spatial mapping of dengue-prone areas based on those factors attempts to identify dengue risk-prone areas within the study area. Data were collected through a questionnaire survey from all 57 dengue-confirmed households within the most risky Medical Officer’s Health (MOH) area in Colombo district of Western province, January-June, 2018. Eight variables were selected. Correlation and regression analysis were applied for investigating and testing the statistical significance in the relationship between socio-environmental parameters and dengue incidence. IDW interpolation technique of Geographical Information System (GIS) has been used to generate risk mapping of dengue incidence by linking the spatial points and significant socioenvironmental factors affecting incidence. The composite weight map considering all eight risk factors depicts the risk map with three risk levels (high, moderate, low). Findings shows that people should be more concerned about prevention measures against dengue and their own practices related to frequency of cleaning water storage containers in order to reduce the burden of dengue incidence.Key Words: Dengue ncidence, confirmed dengue Cases, socio-environmental risk factors, GIS, spatial interpolation, Sri Lank