scholarly journals Growth and Hierarchy of Cities in Algeria: Application of the Rank-Size Rule

Author(s):  
Ahmed Bousmaha ◽  
Salah Zeraib ◽  
Nassira Benhassine ◽  
Yacine Kouba

The objectives of this paper are to analyze the urban growth and urbanization phenomenon in Algeria. Two processes that originated respectively by the expansion of existing urban areas and the process of urbanization that took place between 1954 and 2008, a period marked by significant economic, social and political changes in Algerian society. Our analysis was mainly based on the Algerian general census of population and habitat (2008) and on the application of rank-size distribution of cities according to Zipf’s rule. This study revealed that in Algeria, the urban system is particularly marked by the dramatic expansion of small cities. Indeed, the development of small towns, through the transition from rural to urban and the residential loosening of large cities have influenced the trend towards the balance of the urban system in Algeria. Results revealed also how the "primatial" city is undergoing profound economic and social changes at the national level. These changes are most often imposed from the top as part of land-use planning policy. This study provides some insights into the demographic dynamics of cities and the evolution of urban hierarchies in Algeria, through the comparison of the different rank-size distributions of Algerian cities in space and time. Our results suggest that land-use planning strategies are the only policies capable of influencing the future of the Algerian urban system.

2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 142
Author(s):  
Jawoto Sih Setyono ◽  
Hadi Sabari Yunus ◽  
Sri Rum Giyarsih

Small cities and towns in Indonesia have experienced a significant development during the period of 2000-2010. However, the development of small cities and towns has not been in line with the way the urban areas are governed and managed. There is a tendency that the governments pay a little attention to the governance of smaller urban areas, especially those which do not municipal status or the urban areas which is part of regency administrative boundary. This research analyzes the governance and planning of small towns in Central Java taken four small towns in Joglosemar region (Yogyakarta-Surakarta-Semarang). The research applied some qualitative methods combining document analysis, interview and regulation analysis. It is found that there is a significant gap between the urban development and its planning and governance. Urban development policies seem to be lacking in providing guidelines to drive the development of the small towns so that they can perform their functions within their respective regional urban system as well as solve their internal problems. The governance has mostly relied on the role of local government despite continuing lack of institutional capacity in managing urban development.


2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (16) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdul Ghapar Othman ◽  
Kausar Hj Ali ◽  
Wan Mohammad Fazil Asli

Urbanization process has a significant impact on land use planning. It not only affects major cities but also extends to small towns in rural areas where it has a significant role in providing urban services to rural communities. The expansion of urban areas also resulted in the loss of many agricultural lands as well as forests that are rich in natural resources. In both instances, the land use composition is substantially affected. This study uses a "mixed method approach" combining GIS spatial analysis and AHP technique to study land use changes, identify land use growth parameters, determine land use growth suitability areas and identify the direction of urban land use development. The study area is the town of Pendang, which is the main administrative centre for Pendang District, Kedah. The main findings of the study show that changes were not that significant during the period between 2005 to 2012. However, significant land use changes occurred during the period of 2012 to 2020, especially in agricultural land use, vacant land and even water bodies. These land use changes have contributed to the increase in built-up areas. The direction of development is seen heading north, south and southwest of the study area. Accessibility is a major factor influencing the growth of land use and development direction in the study area.


2013 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmad Nazri Muhamad Ludin ◽  
Norsiah Abd. Aziz ◽  
Nooraini Hj Yusoff ◽  
Wan Juliyana Wan Abd Razak

Land use planning plays a crucial role in creating a balance between the needs of society, physical development and the ecosystem. However, most often poor planning and displacement of land uses particularly in urban areas contribute to social ills such as drug abuse and criminal activities. This research explains the spatial relationship of drug abuse and other criminal activities on urban land use planning and their implications on the society at large. Spatial statistics was used to show patterns, trends and spatial relationships of crimes and land use planning. Data on crime incidents were obtained from the Royal Malaysia Police Department whilst cases of drug abuse were collected from the National Anti-Drug Agency (AADK). Analysis of the data together with digital land use maps produced by Arnpang Jaya Municipal Council, showed the distribution of crime incidents and drug abuse in the area. Findings of the study also indicated that, there was a strong relationship between petty crimes, drng abuse and land use patterns. These criminal activities tend to concentrate in residential and commercial areas of the study area.


Author(s):  
Sebastian Anju

Planning for transportation infrastructure takes significant role in development of urban areas. Proper planning is needed for eliminating the problems like overcrowding, housing shortage, congestion etc. So there is a need of integrating transportation and land use. Transportation planning and the land use planning have to be done together. Integrating transportation with land use helps to decrease travel length and need to travel. Mixed land use development is more suitable for the urban areas. This paper critically reviews the importance of Integrated Transportation and Land Use planning (ITLUP) model in the planning of urban areas and applying this model as a solution for most of the problems facing in urban areas by analysing the best practices. The review also focuses on the relationship between land use and transportation by examining the parameters of ITLUP model.


1962 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 248-254
Author(s):  
N. L. Nicholson

In recording actual land use field-by-field or block-by-block methods can be applied either to detailed maps or to aerial photographs. In land-use mapping the usual scales are 1:25,000 for urban areas, 1:50,000 for densely settled areas with complex land-use patterns, and 1:250,000 for sparsely settled areas. In preparation of the map manuscript the base sheet used is of the material known as cronaflex and the transfer and reduction of information is achieved by use of the “reflex map reducer” a device invented by a geographer on the staff of the Geographical Branch.


2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (139) ◽  
pp. 20170946 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morgan R. Frank ◽  
Lijun Sun ◽  
Manuel Cebrian ◽  
Hyejin Youn ◽  
Iyad Rahwan

The city has proved to be the most successful form of human agglomeration and provides wide employment opportunities for its dwellers. As advances in robotics and artificial intelligence revive concerns about the impact of automation on jobs, a question looms: how will automation affect employment in cities? Here, we provide a comparative picture of the impact of automation across US urban areas. Small cities will undertake greater adjustments, such as worker displacement and job content substitutions. We demonstrate that large cities exhibit increased occupational and skill specialization due to increased abundance of managerial and technical professions. These occupations are not easily automatable, and, thus, reduce the potential impact of automation in large cities. Our results pass several robustness checks including potential errors in the estimation of occupational automation and subsampling of occupations. Our study provides the first empirical law connecting two societal forces: urban agglomeration and automation's impact on employment.


2001 ◽  
Vol 44 (7) ◽  
pp. 203-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Yamada ◽  
T. Funaki ◽  
S. Honda ◽  
M. Sugihara

This study aims to clarify the mass balance of pollutants during both dry periods and storm events and to discuss the effects of some strategies such as pollutant removal, land use planning and new drainage systems by simulation. Three subjects are discussed in this paper. First, the amount of pollutants entering Lake Biwa from an urban area have been roughly estimated by using data collected by the local government. Second, many additional samples were collected from road surfaces, house roofs and parking lots to consider the role of land use in pollutant runoff. Third, some ongoing BMP projects in an urban area are introduced. As a result, some ideas on how to solve the problem of diffuse pollution in urban areas have been obtained.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 628 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bhagawat Rimal ◽  
Sean Sloan ◽  
Hamidreza Keshtkar ◽  
Roshan Sharma ◽  
Sushila Rijal ◽  
...  

Globally, urbanization is increasing at an unprecedented rate at the cost of agricultural and forested lands in peri-urban areas fringing larger cities. Such land-cover change generally entails negative implications for societal and environmental sustainability, particularly in South Asia, where high demographic growth and poor land-use planning combine. Analyzing historical land-use change and predicting the future trends concerning urban expansion may support more effective land-use planning and sustainable outcomes. For Nepal’s Tarai region—a populous area experiencing land-use change due to urbanization and other factors—we draw on Landsat satellite imagery to analyze historical land-use change focusing on urban expansion during 1989–2016 and predict urban expansion by 2026 and 2036 using artificial neural network (ANN) and Markov chain (MC) spatial models based on historical trends. Urban cover quadrupled since 1989, expanding by 256 km2 (460%), largely as small scattered settlements. This expansion was almost entirely at the expense of agricultural conversion (249 km2). After 2016, urban expansion is predicted to increase linearly by a further 199 km2 by 2026 and by another 165 km2 by 2036, almost all at the expense of agricultural cover. Such unplanned loss of prime agricultural lands in Nepal’s fertile Tarai region is of serious concern for food-insecure countries like Nepal.


2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 763-766 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Dallimer ◽  
Zhiyao Tang ◽  
Peter R. Bibby ◽  
Paul Brindley ◽  
Kevin J. Gaston ◽  
...  

The majority of the world's population now lives in towns and cities, and urban areas are expanding faster than any other land-use type. In response to this phenomenon, two opposing arguments have emerged: whether cities should ‘sprawl’ into the wider countryside, or ‘densify’ through the development of existing urban greenspace. However, these greenspaces are increasingly recognized as being central to the amelioration of urban living conditions, supporting biodiversity conservation and ecosystem service provision. Taking the highly urbanized region of England as a case study, we use data from a variety of sources to investigate the impact of national-level planning policy on temporal patterns in the extent of greenspace in cities. Between 1991 and 2006, greenspace showed a net increase in all but one of 13 cities. However, the majority of this gain occurred prior to 2001, and greenspace has subsequently declined in nine cities. Such a dramatic shift in land use coincides with policy reforms in 2000, which favoured densification. Here, we illustrate the dynamic and policy-responsive nature of urban land use, thereby highlighting the need for a detailed investigation of the trade-offs associated with different mechanisms of urban densification to optimize and secure the diverse benefits associated with greenspaces.


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