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Abstract:The compact city concept is adopted in city planning policies of many developed countries for the following benefits: efficient use of land while curtailing sprawl, reduction in transport network and reliance on mass transport, a socially interactive environment with vibrancy of activities, economic viability, etc. However, it is still debated whether the cities in developing countries like India, which are already dense, will really benefit from the compact city form. Measuring urban form and compactness of these cities becomes more important for understanding the spatial urban structure to intervene accordingly for sustainable urban development. This paper explores various parameters and dimensions of measurement of compactness. Urban form characteristics and their indicators are derived for the study of Nagpur city, India. This study is an attempt to measure the urban form to derive the benefits of compactness. The study indicates that Nagpur city, inherently has a compact form, but may disperse in near future; and there is a need to implement policies to retain its compact character to achieve sustainable urban development.

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Mixed land-use development is the integration of different land-use functions like residential, commercial, recreational, and institutional in an urban sector or a neighbourhood. Integrating transport and land-use mix is one of the goals of planning policies around the world. Prior studies mention the benefits of mixed land-use development towards creating sustainable environment, but do not specify the proportion of the mix of compatible land uses. This study attempts to assess the sustainability of the neighbourhoods with mixed land-use in the context of the Nagpur city, India. Residents' travel behaviour in twelve neighbourhoods is studied by means of indicators namely trip lengths, mode of travel, vehicle ownership, and travel expenses. To investigate the users' insight, the study further examines residents' perception with the help of parameters such as safety, satisfaction, pollution, and mix. The sustainability indices are computed for both residents' travel behaviour and perception, for each neighbourhood. The study revealed that neighbourhoods with high and moderate land-use mix are sustainable with travel behaviour. Residents' perception sustainability index indicates neighbourhoods with moderate land-use mix are more sustainable than those with high and low land-use mixed neighbourhoods. This study advocates stakeholders' insight and the proportion of mix in land-use planning decisions.

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