Analyzing Urban Sprawl and Sustainable Development in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Abstract

The paper examines the impact of urban sprawl on sustainable development in Dhaka megacity, applying a comprehensive analysis. The study selected the greater Dhaka region as the study area. Besides quantitative analysis, the paper also used the widely accepted definition of sprawl to confirm the existence of sprawl in the context of Dhaka. It also employed the Pairwise Ranking Matrix (PRM) to determine the most contributing factors of urban sprawl in Dhaka. The ArcGIS and Remote Sensing tools were used to investigate and indicate urban sprawl patterns and land-use change from 1990 to 2017. The findings confirmed that Dhaka was slowly experiencing processes of urban sprawl, particularly in Southern, Western, and Eastern local regions. As policy tools, this paper contributed to the designing of effective spatial planning and strategies for planned urban growth and sustainable development. Keywords: Urban sprawl; Sustainable development; Dhaka; Spatial planning; ArcGIS DOI: 10.7176/JESD/11-6-02 Publication date: March 31 st 2020