Potential and prospects of ict integrated mixed-land use for controlling urban sprawl

Abstract

The world is urbanizing at an alarming pace, especially in developing countries where the exponential increase in urban population can cause unplanned and uncontrolled urban expansion, which ultimately results in urban sprawl. The phenomenon of urban sprawl has multiple definitions and dimensions, and most of them are hinged around an urban form or a land-use pattern with low-density. The various detrimental consequences resulting from urban sprawl include impacts related to the environment, economy, social aspects, and quality of life. To tackle the myriad issues related to urban sprawl, the process of urbanization has to be combined with sustainable and intelligent urban planning solutions like mixed-land use managed through suitable Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) infrastructure. ICT, as defined, includes various internet technologies, mobile platforms, GIS, distributed databases, etc. Mixed land use development is one of the most important sustainable urban planning paradigms to combat the flaws of urban sprawl by preserving and sometimes densifying the existing neighbourhoods resulting in less travel time and traffic congestion for the city dwellers. It promotes a range of land uses to be co-located in an integrated way that supports sustainable forms of transport. ICT enabled planning offers cities, a better quality of life for its residents by being safer, connected, smarter, and participatory. As we inhibit the effects of distribution of land-uses by compact mixed-use land development strategies coupled with ICT tools, the ultimate end result will be high density urban growth with savings due to the layout being less spread out through accumulation of land uses and proximity to various amenities, better opportunities for relaxation, greenery, secured access to pedestrians and less environmental impacts. The use of ICT will enable the mixed land-use regime to operate more efficiently and effectively. This is a conceptual paper which explains the various potential and prospects of controlling sprawl basically through the concept of mixed-land use and the innovative use of ICT. This paper emphasizes the benefits of mixed land use with ICT at the neighbourhood level and for various sectors like mobility, energy, and economy.