GIS-Based Multi-Objective Urban Land Allocation Approach for Optimal Allocation of Urban Land Uses

Identification of most appropriate land use for a given area is an important and inevitable task for urban planners. Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information System (GIS)-based Multi Criteria Evaluation approaches for land suitability analysis has empowered urban planners with effective decision support tools. However, earlier studies have always treated urban development as a single land use allocation problem, but, in reality, urban land use distribution is a multi-use allocation problem. Each urban land use i.e., residential, industrial, recreational etc. has distinct suitability requirements. GIS-based Multi-Objective Land Allocation (MOLA) approach has been applied in a land pocket of around 1686 ha in Navi Mumbai, India to address the multi-urban land use allocation problem in this study. Various input layers generated from Computer Aided Design software and RS data were integrated using ordered weighted averaging approach to derive suitability for overall urban development and each specific urban land use. Further, suitability layer for each urban land use was integrated using MOLA approach. Comparison of single objective land allocation for urban development with MOLA-based land allocation for various urban land uses are found to be highly suitable and quite near to the allocation proposed by urban planners working in the area. MOLA-based land allocation provided an objective approach for decision making and it is found to be an effective tool for minimizing conflicts between possible land uses.