Urban Boundary Demarcation—An iCN Model Approach

During the last two decades, determining the urban boundaries of cities has become one of the major concerns in the urban and regional planning subject domains. Many scholars have tried to model the change of urban boundaries as it helps with sustainable development, population projections and social policy making, but such efforts have been futile, owing to the complex nature of urbanization and the theoretical and technical limitations of the proposed applications. Hence, many countries continue to rely on the administrative boundary demarcation, which rarely represent the actual urbanizing pattern. In such context, this study utilized the “Intersection-Based Clustered Network Model—(iCN Model)” to determine the urban boundaries of cities and selected Sri Lanka as the study area and considered few cities to test the model empirically, with satellite imagery classified urban boundaries. The findings of the study depict that the iCN Model is capable of capturing the complex and dynamic socioeconomic interdependencies of cities via the transportation network configurations. Therefore, the proposed approach is an excellent proxy to derive the urban boundaries of cities, which correspond with the same, derived by the satellite imageries. The proposed model is entirely based on open-source GIS applications and is free to implement and modify using the methods described in this paper.

SLUM DISTRIBUTION: CASE STUDY OF DEHRADUN CITY

Slum is one of the characters in our urban system. They are more vulnerable section of our society in all kinds of disaster - flood, heat wave, etc. The slum population is already crossed 65.5 million (22.5 percent) that distributed in 2613 towns/cities in India as per census, 2011. In this context, slum distribution scenario has been conducted in Dehradun city, India. It is the capital city of Uttarakhand state located in the foothill of Himalaya with a population of approximately 578420 (census 2011). The aim of this study for slum distribution in wards wise within Dehradun city to draw a lesson to understand the scenario of services facilities in the selected wards – ward number 14, 20, 35 and 36. The objectives are – (1). to study the slum distribution in Dehradun city through mapping, (2) to study the slum households shared in ward wise in the administrative boundary of Dehradun city and, (3) to study the comparative scenario of services sectors such as water supply, drainage, and solid waste management. The methodology has adopted based on the secondary data available to public domain and field investigation and observation.

Tipologi batas wilayah administrasi untuk memudahkan pengelolaan batas daerah di Indonesia

Abstrak Terhitung sejak 1945 – 2017, baru sekitar 48% dari 977 segmen batas daerah di Indonesia yang disahkan melalui Peraturan Menteri Dalam Negeri tentang batas daerah. Pengelolaan batas wilayah daerah sangat penting untuk berbagai urusan pembangunan misalnya pengelolaan sumber daya alam. Oleh karena itu, penelitian ini mengusulkan pendekatan baru untuk mendukung pengelolaan batas wilayah yang efisien yaitu melalui segmentasi berbasis tipologi batas wilayah. Tahapan analisis meliputi: membandingkan, memotong, dan mengelompokkan garis batas. Single Buffer Overlay Method digunakan untuk membandingkan unsur geografis pada Peta Rupabumi Indonesia (data referensi) dan garis batas 2017 (data yang diuji). Selanjutnya, dilakukan pemotongan garis sesuai hasil perbandingan. Pada akhirnya, garis tersebut dikelaskan berdasarkan tipologinya (igir, jalan, dan sungai) menggunakan metode SQL (Structured Query Language). Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa mayoritas (41,8%) batas daerah di Indonesia tidak menggunakan unsur geografis tertentu sebagai penanda batasnya, sedangkan persentase penanda batas berupa sungai 35,9%, igir 16,4%, dan jalan 5,8%. Abstract Since 1945 – 2017, only 48% of 977 regional borderlines of Indonesia were legalized by The Ministry of Home Affairs. Properly managed intra-national boundaries are fundamental for development purposes e.g. natural resource management. Therefore, this research proposed a new approach to help managing the boundary efficiently through typology-based borderlines segmentation which was conducted by some stages: compare, split, and classify lines. Single Buffer Overlay Method used for comparison purpose by utilizing some geographical features on a topographic map as a referenced dataset and boundary line (2017 database) as a tested dataset. Then we split the lines based on the comparison result. Finally, each split line was classified into border typologies (road, ridge, and stream) by using the SQL (Structured Query Language) method. We found that most of The Indonesian administrative boundary segments (41.8%) did not use a geographical feature, while the boundary on the rivers 35.9%, ridges 16.4%, and roads 5.8%.

Mountain Peaks of Nepal Himalaya

Nepal is a mountainous country with numerous peaks and pinnacles. It is shaped by tectonic movement, the action of gravity, and erosion. It is a gradual transition process from plain to mountain terrain. The present study explores the peaks of the Nepal Himalaya and visualizes the peaks as open sources for mountaineering. The height of Nepal Himalaya is derived from 'Nepal Himalaya Inventory' Gurung (1994), 'Inventory of Nepal Himalaya' (CDG, 2002), and 'Spot Height Shapefile' (DOS, 1998). The total number of peaks opened and mountaineering royalty are derived from the Department of Tourism. The spot height and administrative boundary are derived from the Department of Survey (DOS, 1998 & 2020). Shapefiles and Google Earth are used to map the distribution of the Himalayan peaks of Nepal, and the height categories are based on mountaineering royalty reports. This study also discusses some essential aspects of royalty generation and seeks a better understanding in exploring and identifying peaks for further mountaineering activities.

Pollination Potential in Portugal: Leveraging an Ecosystem Service for Sustainable Agricultural Productivity

As urbanization and agriculture increase worldwide, habitats and food sources for wild pollinators are often fragmented or destroyed. As wild pollinators contribute both resilience and variety to agricultural fields, it is desirable to implement land management practices that preserve their well-being and ability to contribute to food production systems. This study evaluates continental Portugal for its change in suitability to host bee’s pollinator species (Apis mellifera) from 1990 to 2018. It uses the InVEST crop pollination modeling tool and CORINE Land Cover, as well as parameterization to produce pollinator abundance and supply maps. These are generalized to municipality boundaries to provide actionable insights to farmers and policymakers and strengthen land management practices. It finds that the potential for pollination services is growing, with averages of both pollinator abundance and supply indices improving by 8.76% across the continental territory in 28 years. The study results are validated using another pollination index derived from a study that is based on expert opinion and field sampling in a sub-region of Portugal. This method of aggregation of model results and comparison of the percent difference by administrative boundary has the potential to better inform both policymakers and farmers about the pollination potential on a local level, as well as inspire interventions for future productivity.

The Political Possibilities of an Administrative Boundary: How the Transforming M-Ward Project ‘Constructed’ the Ward

This article reflects on the significance of an administrative boundary in producing distinctive forms of political assertion. It shows how acts of highlighting the ward boundaries of a marginal suburban ward in Mumbai illuminated an important scale of discriminatory spatial governance and also helped its residents organise and articulate a new politics of infrastructural need at a significant planning scale.

Fast and uncoordinated suburbanization of Vilnius in the context of depopulation in Lithuania

Like many other Central and Eastern European countries Lithuania has been experiencing significant socio-spatial transformations since the 1990s. One of the most prominent of these transformations is associated with the residential suburbanization of its major cities. The suburbs are the only areas in Lithuania where the population has been growing in recent decades, while the country has lost almost one quarter of its population. Although, extensive urban growth is a common feature for all large Lithuanian cities, it is more noticeable in Vilnius. Due to its historical and geographical context, Vilnius, and the region surrounding it, is in an area where rural-urban transformation also means transformation of the social, ethnic, and political landscape. The aim of this article is to obtain more insight into the recent process of the fast, but weakly controlled, residential suburbanization of Vilnius. The focus is on understanding the scale of suburbanization and its impact on the social and physical environment. In this study, we use quantitative data on population and residential constructions as well as presenting some visual material. Our results show that the new suburban-style settlements are spatially dispersed. New residential areas have emerged within the city limits, along its administrative boundary as well as in the most peripheral parts of the Vilnius metropolitan region. In terms of the morphology and physiognomy, a great suburban diversity exists in and around Vilnius, and different building styles are mixed creating a rather chaotic landscape, with little interference from urban planners and no clear vision for the future.

Linking household surveys and facility assessments: a comparison of geospatial methods using nationally representative data from Malawi

Background Linking facility and household surveys through geographic methods is a popular technique to draw conclusions about the relationship between health services and population health outcomes at local levels. These methods are useful tools for measuring effective coverage and tracking progress towards Universal Health Coverage, but are understudied. This paper compares the appropriateness of several geospatial methods used for linking individuals (within displaced survey cluster locations) to their source of family planning (at undisplaced health facilities) at a national level. Methods In Malawi, geographic methods linked a population health survey, rural clusters from the Woman’s Questionnaire of the 2015 Malawi Demographic and Health Survey (MDHS 2015), to Malawi’s national health facility census to understand the service environment where women receive family planning services. Individuals from MDHS 2015 clusters were linked to health facilities through four geographic methods: (i) closest facility, (ii) buffer (5 km), (iii) administrative boundary, and (iv) a newly described theoretical catchment area method. Results were compared across metrics to assess the number of unlinked clusters (data lost), the number of linkages per cluster (precision of linkage), and the number of women linked to their last source of modern contraceptive (appropriateness of linkage). Results The closest facility and administrative boundary methods linked every cluster to at least one facility, while the 5-km buffer method left 288 clusters (35.3%) unlinked. The theoretical catchment area method linked all but one cluster to at least one facility (99.9% linked). Closest facility, 5-km buffer, administrative boundary, and catchment methods linked clusters to 1.0, 1.4, 21.1, and 3.3 facilities on average, respectively. Overall, the closest facility, 5-km buffer, administrative boundary, and catchment methods appropriately linked 64.8%, 51.9%, 97.5%, and 88.9% of women to their last source of modern contraceptive, respectively. Conclusions Of the methods studied, the theoretical catchment area linking method loses a marginal amount of population data, links clusters to a relatively low number of facilities, and maintains a high level of appropriate linkages. This linking method is demonstrated at scale and can be used to link individuals to qualities of their service environments and better understand the pathways through which interventions impact health.

The impact of cross-boundary electoral demarcation disputes in South Africa after 1994: the case study of Moutse

The article investigates the impact of cross­boundary electoral demarcation disputes between the Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces after 1994. The article further examines how the electoral demarcation disputes can be resolved by negotiating with the dissatisfied communities. Moutse is located within a community that straddles north­western Mpumalanga and southern Limpopo provinces in South Africa. In 2005 the community members of Moutse wards 5 and 6 were dissatisfied by the decision of the South African national government, Limpopo and Mpumalanga provincial governments for relocating them under a newly demarcated administrative boundary without hearing the views of the community. The article used community dialogues for its research. This approach is explained predominantly by qualitative and quantitative approaches to indicate processes of data collection, to explain the nature of the problem and explore the findings of communitybased research. The study reveals that violent disruptions and protests by community members can be avoided if community voices are taken into consideration. The article recommends that state institutions that support constitutional democracy need to show the administrative and political will to transform electoral demarcation challenges and implement effective democratic principles. In conclusion, advanced institutional planning and its transparent application must be emphasised.