Land-Use Planning for Sustainable Urban Development in Africa: A Spatial and Multi-Objective Optimization Approach

Abstract

Land-use planning, which requires finding a balance among different conflicting social, economic and environment factors, is a complex task needed everywhere, including Africa. One example is the city of Zanzibar in Tanzania, which is under special consideration for land-use revision. From one side, the city has high potentials for tourist industry and at the other side there are major challenges with the city structure and poor accessibilities. In order to prepare a proper land-use plan for the city, a variety of influencing conflicting factors needs to be considered and satisfied. This can be regarded as a common problem in many African cities, which are under development. This paper aims to address the problem by proposing and demonstrating the use of Geographical Information System (GIS) and multi-objective optimization for land-use planning, in Zanzibar as a case study. The measures which have been taken by Zanzibar government to address the development challenges through the Zanzibar Strategy for Growth and Reduction of Poverty (ZSGRP) were identified by studying related documents and interviewing experts. Based on these, two objective functions were developed for land-use planning. Optimum base land-use plans were developed and mapped by optimizing the objective functions using the NSGA-II algorithm. The results show that the proposed approach and outputs can considerably facilitate land-use planning in Zanzibar. Similar approaches are highly recommended for other cities in Africa which are under development.

A Geospatial Approach to Measure Social Benefits in Urban Land Use Optimization Problem

“…Hence, it is considered to be another criterion of urban social benefit in relation to land use planning. Land use compatibility is used in many urban land use optimization problems and planning, thinking that compatibility among adjacent land uses will derive more social benefits to the urban people [3,[32][33][34][35][36]. Land use compatibility has significance in social sustainability and social well-being through increased social interactions, good human-environment interaction, a pleasant and healthier environment, and increasing livability [35].…”

“…Land use optimization is a key strategy for achieving long-term balanced urban growth through economic prosperity, resource efficiency, environmental protection, and social equality [1][2][3]. Due to the involvement of multiple stakeholders, there are conflicting interests in urban land use optimization.…”

Climate Change Adaptation: Opportunities for Increased Material Recycling Facilities in African Cities

“…Africa's towns and cities are shaped by laws imported from British colonial rule from the 1920s (Home 2015). Urban Planning, interchangeably referred to as Town and Regional Planning or City Planning, is a discipline within the built environment that is concerned with designing and developing land use (Lubida et al 2019). It was officially recognized as a profession in the latter twentieth century (Home 2015).…”

“…Spatial and land use planning are the most predominant specializations in the field of urban planning. This is a dynamic activity that requires juggling social, cultural, environmental, and political influences (Lubida et al 2019). Decisions surrounding zoning, subdivision, and urban planning are taken by land use authorities, in consultation with different stakeholders (Home 2015).…”

Urban Development, Land Use, and Spatial Planning for Settlements: Lessons Learned from Yogyakarta City, Indonesia

“…They see it as an effective tool for getting information related to land location and zone status (Zhou et al 2017). The use of GIS is also seen as useful for land use planning (Lubida et al 2018).…”