Evaluation of land suitability for urban land-use planning: case study Dhaka city

Abstract

The aim of this research is evaluation of land suitability for urban land-use planning. Four factors and fourteen criteria were selected for suitability analysis and land-use planning. Factors and criteria were defined based on literature survey, experts’ opinions, local contexts and availability of data. GIS-based Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used as a Multi-criteria Decision Making model. The study was conducted on a selected area of Dhaka city, which is one of the fastest growing mega-cities of the world. The research result shows that highly suitable area (13%) should be used for urban residential zone; moderately suitable area (35%) should be designated as mixed use zone; low suitable area (42%) should be reserved for agricultural use and open spaces; and not suitable area (10%) should be protected from any types of activities except agriculture. The research approached an urban land-use planning at a regional scale.