The assessment of land suitability for urban development in the anticipated rapid urbanization area from the Belt and Road Initiative: A case study of Nong Khai City, Thailand. (August 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Bamrungkhul, Settawut; Tanaka, Takahiro
• Is Part Of: Sustainable cities and society. Volume 83(2022)
• Publication Date: 2022-08
• Subjects: Land suitability -- Urban development -- Multi-criteria decision analysis -- Analytic hierarchy process -- Small cities -- Nong Khai; A Physical components -- A01 Topography -- A101 Slope -- A102 Soil type -- A02 Hazard -- A201 Flood -- A03 Land use -- A301 Land-use types -- B Accessibility -- B01 Accessibility to transportation -- B101 Distance to major roads -- B102 Distance to train stations -- B02 Accessibility to communities and neighbourhoods -- B201 Distance to city centres -- B202 Distance to neighbourhood centres -- B03 Accessibility to natural infrastructure -- B301 Distance to public natural waterbodies -- B302 Distance to parks and public open spaces -- B04 Accessibility to public amenities -- B401 Distance to medical facilities -- B402 Distance to commercial areas -- B403 Distance to police stations -- B404 Distance to education institutes -- B405 Distance to gas stations -- C Population -- C01 Population -- C101 Population density -- D Policy -- D01 Policy to conserve the natural assets -- D101 Policy to conserve and protect the waterbody and areas with significant biodiversity -- D02 Policy to conserve the cultural assets -- D201 Policy to conserve and protect ancient sites and surrounding areas; Sustainable urban development -- Periodicals; Sustainable buildings -- Periodicals; Urban ecology (Sociology) -- Periodicals; 307.76
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scs.2022.103988
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2210-6707

Abstract

Highlights: GIS and AHP were integrated to analyse the land suitability for urban development. Policies and flood have a key role in assessing urban development areas in Nong Khai. 24.73 % of the total area are high suitability for urban development. Very highly suitable areas show high values in hazard, accessibility, and policy. A planning case in the small city coping with urbanisation due to BRI are provided. Abstract: The Belt and Road Initiative is a megaproject expected to accelerate urban growth. However, the accompanying urban development process can endanger the environment. Thus, land suitability assessment for urban development is crucial to cope with the urban expansion, especially in the anticipated rapid urbanisation areas. This study aims to assess the land suitability for urban development in Nong Khai City, Thailand. Eighteen criteria were selected to indicate suitability by integrating the analytical hierarchy process with the geographical information system. The results showed that the policy to conserve the cultural assets, flood, and the policy to conserve the natural assets have the biggest influence on the decision-making for urban development areas. Precisely 24.73% of the areas were very highly suitable for urban development, most of which are flood-free with high accessibility and high suitability regarding policy. Precisely 12.10% of the areas were very lowly suitable for urban development, most of which are prone to flooding, have low accessibility, and are distributed in the zones under the policy to conserve natural assets. The results highlighted how the suitability map for urban development is utilized in urban planning and provided evidence to support urban planning in the context of small cities.