The northern coastal hinterland of East Java, known as the Tapal Kuda Region (TKR) and the Pendalungan cultural zone, is undergoing spatial transformation. However, community participation in the development of the TKR has remained relatively low. This study aims to analyse the Pendalungan community perceptions of urban sprawl, as understanding these perceptions is essential for increasing participatory development in the region. A mixed-methods research design was employed. Quantitative analysis used the Normalised Difference Built-Up Index (NDBI) to measure built-up area density from satellite imagery for the years 2015 to 2025. Accuracy was assessed using overall accuracy, user accuracy, and the Kappa coefficient. Qualitative data on community perceptions were collected through in-depth interviews with a purposively selected sample of the Pendalungan community and analysed using a thematic deductive method with NVivo software. The results indicate an NDBI of 0.132, reflecting significant urban sprawl characterised by low-density development along the Daendels Road in the TKR. Despite being perceived as unplanned, the Pendalungan community views urban sprawl positively, as it enhances regional dynamics, by driving land prices higher, creating diversified job opportunities, and improving economic infrastructure. The findings show a misalignment between planning policies and community needs. Recommendations include inclusive development strategies that strengthen public participation, align planning with local aspirations, and reduce the risk of social conflict associated with industrial and residential development.
The digitalisation of public administration and urban management continues to reshape how municipalities plan, operate, and respond to growing urban pressures. In South Africa, these shifts are guided by national digital governance frameworks that emphasise the importance of technological infrastructure for sustainable development. Despite this policy direction, there is limited comparative analysis on how South African cities incorporate digitalisation into their strategic planning processes. To address this gap, this narrative review examines municipal strategic documents from four South African metropolitan municipalities to assess the extent to which their planning frameworks reflect digital priorities and align with the Strategic Digital City (SDC) concept. Using qualitative document analysis, the review identifies key themes, strategic priorities, and programme distributions across the four cities. The findings show that, while all cities embed digitalisation within their strategic structures, the depth and coherence of this integration vary, with stronger emphasis placed on technological infrastructure than on digital public-service transformation. The review contributes to current urban digitalisation scholarship, by providing a comparative account of how South African municipalities interpret and operationalise national digitalisation directives. It also highlights areas where digital strategies require further strengthening, offering a foundation for future empirical research on the implementation and impact of municipal digital initiatives.
“Sometime during the 1970s, the city planning movement began to turn upside down and inside out…” (Hall, 2002: 379). Hall’s observation is not simply a historical note; it is a warning. Planning did not merely adapt to new realities; it abandoned its foundational purpose. A discipline once concerned with ordering space and guiding development in the public interest increasingly became an instrument for enabling growth, often irrespective of social consequences. The planner, traditionally positioned between competing interests as regulator and mediator, increasingly became an accomplice to short-term economic interests. In Hall’s metaphor, the gamekeeper became the poacher. This commentary argues that the crisis in planning cannot be understood purely as a professional or technical failure. It is rooted in a deeper intellectual and cultural transformation: the erosion of responsibility in modern society. Planning reflects that erosion in its theories, practices, and outcomes. To move forward, planning must return to basic principles, to a clearer understanding of human behaviour, and to a renewed commitment to responsibility. Nowhere is this more urgent than in South Africa, where planning failures intersect with broader political and economic instability.
Evidence of urban decay in small towns across South Africa has become increasingly visible. Typically linked to neglect and ageing, urban decay encompasses social, economic, environmental, and physical decline. This article investigates the dynamics of urban decay in the Central Business District (CBD) of Thohoyandou, a rural town in Limpopo province, where the built environment continues to deteriorate despite the Thulamela Urban Development and Revitalisation Strategy. The study aims to characterise urban decay in Thohoyandou CBD through mapping, with emphasis on its implications for structural elements of the built environment. A mixed-methods design was employed, using observations and questionnaires as primary data sources. Convenience sampling selected 374 CBD users. Observation data were systematically recorded and categorised to identify decay features, while questionnaire responses were analysed using mean scores and ranked by affected areas and causes. Fifty-one features of urban decay were identified. Spatial analysis revealed clustering along everyday movement networks and key activity nodes. The three main contributing factors are poor urban management, infrastructure deterioration, and building-related issues, reflecting weaknesses in institutional capacity and policy implementation. Integrating geospatial data with structural analysis offers municipalities a diagnostic tool for monitoring progress. Findings suggest resource-constrained towns require targeted, spatially prioritised, phased regeneration strategies to effectively address urban decay.
This article investigates the extent to which the policy vision of polycentric urban development, articulated in Ghana's National Spatial Development Framework (NSDF), has been realised in practice within the Sekondi-Takoradi Urban Network (STUN). Employing a qualitative research design, the study integrates GIS-based land-use analysis with structured interviews to evaluate the implementation of Ghana's polycentric development strategy and to identify barriers to STUN's functional transformation. Spatial analysis of land-use change is complemented by thematic analysis of interview data, organised around two analytical dimensions: spatial coordination and transport integration. The findings highlight four interrelated themes shaping the assessment of STUN: its conceptualisation as a normative polycentric urban region; the translation of this vision into a functional polycentric system; the role of urban governance in advancing polycentricity; and the relationship between spatial planning, transport systems, and polycentric development. Despite policy commitments to balanced regional growth, STUN remains predominantly monocentric in practice. Weak spatial-transport integration, limited inclusion of informal mobility providers, and poor inter-institutional coordination undermine the framework's implementation. The article contributes to debates on urban planning in the Global South by demonstrating that policy designation alone is insufficient to achieve functional polycentricity. It argues for strengthening regional planning institutions, improving transport-land-use integration, and formally incorporating informal mobility systems to advance polycentric development beyond symbolic policy intentions.
India’s urban landscape is undergoing significant transformation driven by demographic shifts and the growing demand for inclusive, efficient urban systems. The Smart City Mission, launched in 2015, seeks to develop 100 model cities leveraging technology to improve infrastructure, governance, and quality of life. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly recognised as a critical enabler in this mission, facilitating data-driven decision-making, efficient service delivery, and adaptive urban management. While global research has explored the integration of AI in smart cities, academic engagement with the Indian context remains limited. This study conducts a conceptual literature review and narrative analysis to examine the intersection of urban governance, smart cities, and AI. It investigates how AI is being integrated into smart city initiatives globally and in India, and identifies key implementation challenges, including digital inequality, ethical concerns, infrastructural gaps, and policy limitations. The study argues that the success of India’s urban future depends on the responsible adoption of AI, underpinned by inclusive policies, robust digital infrastructure, public accountability, and human-centric design.
In many developing economies, rural and peri-urban communities frequently experience exclusion from formal development, raising questions as to pathways to equitable and inclusive municipal transitions. This article examines a ‘just urban transition’ within informal settlements on the Hlanganani Trust lands in Daggakraal, South Africa, with particular attention to residents’ lack of secure tenure. A qualitative research design was adopted, combining focus group interviews with community members and key stakeholders, alongside a review of relevant national statutes and municipal planning documents. Data were analysed thematically to identify patterns in socio-spatial inequalities, planning practices, and participatory gaps. Findings reveal that existing municipal interventions, ranging from limited service provision to delayed formalisation, reinforce marginalisation, reflecting top-down planning approaches that overlook the needs of residents and result in the growth of informal settlements. The study highlights power dynamics in planning and the participatory deficits that impede inclusive development. Based on these insights, a framework is proposed for transforming planning practice through in-situ upgrading, alternative tenure recognition, and meaningful community participation. This approach emphasises social justice and collaborative governance, demonstrating how South Africa’s planning institutions can be restructured to facilitate equitable urban transitions in rural and peri-urban contexts.
The environmental crisis is a substantiated reality, prompting discourse regarding potential solutions. This study undertakes an analysis of literature dating back to the mid-20th century. Technology is frequently cited as a major contributing factor. The fundamental cause however lies in the escalating human demand for opulent lifestyles. Industrial and commercial sectors are generally disinclined to curtail production due to the associated risks to profitability. Similarly, governments exhibit reluctance to promote policies advocating for degrowth or simpler modes of living, primarily out of concern for negative political repercussions. A viable solution requires a lifestyle change that emphasize well-being and sustainability over material accumulation. As substantive and enduring change is unlikely to emerge solely from technological innovation, economic theories, educational programmes or political reform, it necessitates a profound transformation in human values that may require a spiritual rather than a purely scientific approach.
Historic commercial districts are vital components of urban identity and cultural continuity. Yet, many, including the & Uuml;rg & uuml;p Bazaar District, have experienced physical deterioration, spatial irregularity, and a loss of urban vibrancy. To address these challenges, this study aims to develop a comprehensive Urban Design Guide & Uuml;rg & uuml;p Bazaar District, grounded in pedestrian-friendly and ecological principles. mixed-methods approach is adopted, combining literature review, field observations, PESTEL analysis, and a user survey involving 432 participants. Drawing from international revitalisation and transformation projects with similar historical and commercial characteristics, the study formulates context-specific strategies that prioritise walkability and green infrastructure. Observations indicate that narrow, obstructed sidewalks, buildingfa & ccedil;adeinconsistencies, andvehicledominanceseverely limit public space quality. The PESTEL analysis emphasises political conservation restrictions, environmental vulnerabilities, and technological inadequacies, while the surveys highlight user dissatisfaction with functional organisation and a strong demand for ecological and pedestrian-oriented improvements. The findings reveal critical deficiencies such as traffic congestion, lack of green spaces, poor pedestrian infrastructure, insufficient public amenities, and weak integration of sociocultural activities, in line with the findings obtained and the strategies formulated within the scope of similar projects. An Urban Design Guide is developed for the & Uuml;rg & uuml;p Bazaar District, and aims to restore the historical and environmental values of the & Uuml;rg & uuml;p Bazaar District and support sustainable urban living. The study endeavours to contribute to academic discussions, by proposing an integrated, evidence-based framework for the revitalisation of small historic commercial areas, particularly semi-rural urban contexts.
Peri-urban areas in the Global South are expanding rapidly under the pressure of demographic change, sociopolitical dynamics, and economic development. Yet, in Greater Cairo, where peri-urbanisation has accelerated since the 1990s, hardly any systematic research has examined its dynamics, leaving planners and policymakers with insufficient evidence to address emerging challenges. This study addresses the limited understanding of peri-urban typologies, by exploring their drivers, challenges, prospects, and transformations through a structured literature review, thematic synthesis, and content analysis of 39 publications (1990-2025). The analysis identifies three peri-urban typologies shaped by location, core-periphery relations, and rural-urban transitions. Expansion was driven by factors such as population growth, flat topography prone to encroachment, road accessibility, unequal job distribution, limited low-income housing, and weak land management. Consequences included agricultural land loss, deteriorating air quality, poverty, unemployment, inadequate infrastructure, severe health risks, and informal land tenure. At the same time, peri-urban areas also hold potential for food production, ecosystem services, economic diversification, and social cohesion. By highlighting these interlinked dynamics, the study provides a framework for understanding peri-urban change in Greater Cairo and calls for future research on resilience capacities to guide more adaptive planning and policy responses.
Rural human-settlement planning faces persistent theoretical and methodological challenges that weaken policy design and implementation. Despite extensive scholarship, the field remains fragmented by inconsistent definitions of ‘rural’, limited theoretical integration, and methodological heterogeneity, all of which constrain comparative analysis and evidence-based decision-making. This review of literature (2010-2025), based on a qualitative desktop approach and thematic analysis, identifies four critical gaps. First, definitional ambiguity produces widely divergent rural population estimates, complicating programme targeting and evaluation. Secondly, theoretical fragmentation prevents the development of integrated frameworks that address social, economic, and environmental priorities collectively. Thirdly, methodological practice is dominated by single-case studies, limiting cross-context learning and the transferability of findings. Fourthly, environmental and governance dimensions are unevenly incorporated into sustainability research, reducing its relevance for resilience building and institutional reform. These shortcomings have practical consequences, namely unclear classifications risk excluding intended beneficiaries, siloed theory undermines coordination, and narrow methods weaken the evidence base for scaling interventions. Advancing the field requires context-sensitive rural classifications, integrated socio-ecological-governance frameworks, and methodological innovation – particularly comparative, longitudinal, and mixed-methods designs – to enable systematic learning across diverse rural settings and respond effectively to pressures such as climate change, urbanisation, and technological transformation.
Urbanisation across sub-Saharan Africa is transforming the spatial structure of secondary towns, often generating uneven and fragmented growth. A key manifestation of this process is intra-urban dualism, where well-planned, affluent neighbourhoods coexist with densely populated, poorly regulated settlements. This spatial divide undermines orderly growth, deepens inequality, and places pressure on urban infrastructure. In Kenya, intra-urban dualism is increasingly evident, yet limited research has explored how it influences land-use transformation and sustainable development. Addressing this research gap is essential to understand how spatial inequalities shape urban growth trajectories and to guide equitable planning interventions. This study examines intra-urban dualism and land-use transformation in Kisii town, western Kenya, focusing on the contrasting neighbourhoods of Milimani (a low-density planned area) and Jogoo (a high-density unregulated settlement). Land-use and land-cover changes from 2005 to 2024 were analysed and projected to 2044, using ArcGIS Pro and QGIS. Building density, plot size compliance, and coverage ratios were quantified and validated through a one-sample t-test. Results show that Milimani has largely retained its planned form, whereas Jogoo has undergone rapid, unregulated densification driven by weak development control and fragmented land ownership. The study recommends data-driven, geospatially informed development control supported by adaptive zoning, participatory monitoring, blockchain-based permitting, and resilience audits to promote sustainable, inclusive, and transparent urban growth.
Speculative urbanism has become a defining feature of contemporary city-making in India, yet the role of local actors in shaping speculative landscapes remains underexplored. This article examines the transformation of land into property in Delhi’s peri-urban frontier, with a focus on Noida Extension. Drawing on 65 semi-structured interviews and field observations, it examines how dominant caste landowners leverage political ties, financial capital, and social networks to convert agrarian land into rental housing and speculative ventures. Territorial practices such as informal development, partnerships with builders, and symbolic constructions illustrate how speculation is simultaneously a material, social, and political process that produces new hierarchies while reproducing older ones. For marginalised groups, particularly Dalits, these transformations result in exclusion from emergent property regimes and limited access to urban accumulation. By situating grassroots speculation within wider state-capital assemblages, the article argues that peri-urban transformation is not only about dispossession but also about differentiated accumulation. In doing so, it contributes to the existing literature on speculative urbanism and territorialisation, by highlighting how peri-urban development in India is a process of property-making that reshapes social inequality and reconfigures caste politics.
Urban planning in postcolonial contexts is increasingly shaped by environmental rhetoric that promises sustainability, resilience, and progress. However, beneath these promises lie discursive practices that overlook ecological considerations and marginalise indigenous and rural knowledge. This study examines the environmental ideology and its construction and legitimation in the planning discourse on Indonesia’s new capital, Nusantara. While existing research has examined the design and planning of Nusantara, few studies have interrogated the discursive strategies used by the government to legitimise development. Using critical discourse analysis and ecolinguistics, the research examines government documents, media articles, and indigenous testimonies to trace how language operates as a tool of power, as well as narrative structures that erase ecological concerns, marginalise indigenous knowledge, and promote technocratic urban ideals to justify the capital relocation. The findings show that sustainability discourse in Nusantara’s planning is performative and contradictory, simultaneously invoking ecological concern, while enabling extractive practices and epistemic erasure. These findings suggest that the planning of Indonesia’s new capital (Nusantara) tends to sideline rural areas, rural ways of knowing land, forest, development, and local communities. Furthermore, the discourse also reveals epistemic and ecological exclusions embedded in state-led development. Conceptually, this research contributes to debates on urban-rural planning dynamics in the Global South, by bringing southern urbanism into dialogue with critical discourse analysis and showing how language is used to legitimise exclusion in development projects. It challenges planners and policymakers to recognise the political work of language and the need for epistemic justice in shaping urban futures. Beyond the discipline, the study speaks to broader debates on environmental governance, indigenous rights, and the ethics of development. It calls for planning practices that are not only ecologically sound, but also culturally and epistemologically inclusive, where sustainability begins with listening, not erasure.
The General Master Plan for Da Lat City and its surrounding areas to 2030, with a vision to 2050, outlines a polycentric development strategy that seeks to balance heritage preservation, ecological protection, and urban expansion. However, the implementation of such strategies often encounters challenges, due to subjective evaluations and limited use of spatial evidence in planning processes. This study applies the Space Syntax theory to quantitatively assess Da Lat City’s urban spatial configuration, using four key metrics, namely connectivity, choice, integration, and depth. The results show that the central core demonstrates high levels of accessibility, whereas peripheral areas remain fragmented, due to steep terrain and disconnected street networks. The analysis suggests that enhancing internal connectivity provides a more sustainable approach to growth than outward expansion. The study also evaluates the alignment between the proposed Heritage and Landscape Axes and the existing street network. Findings indicate that both axes have the potential to structure movement and reinforce urban identity, although they require integration with traffic and land-use management, in order to be effective. By combining spatial network modelling with an assessment of statutory planning frameworks, this research supports evidence-based, heritage-sensitive, and topographically responsive planning strategies. It offers practical insights for medium-sized cities undergoing rapid urbanisation within culturally and ecologically sensitive landscapes.
Rapid urbanisation in Nigeria has exposed significant weaknesses in land-management and real estate systems, including fragmented institutions, insecure land rights, limited technology use, and weak legal enforcement. These issues contribute to volatile property markets, rising informality, and unsustainable urban growth. Despite these challenges, efforts to adapt international best practices to Nigeria remain minimal. This study addresses the research gap, by examining land management models in Australia, Germany, the United States, and China to identify lessons for Nigeria. Using a comparative qualitative approach, the research integrates evidence from 28 peer-reviewed articles, policy documents, and international reports through systematic review and thematic analysis. Guided by the Land Governance Framework, Institutional Economics, and Urban Growth theories, the findings reveal consistent patterns in governance structures, tenure systems, technology integration, and environmental considerations. Three critical pillars for effective land governance emerge, namely secure and efficient tenure regimes, digitised land administration, and environmentally sensitive planning. These elements strengthen property markets, improve housing affordability, and enhance urban resilience. The article proposes a Nigeria-specific policy roadmap emphasising institutional reform, digital transformation, and inclusive strategies for informal settlements to promote sustainable land governance.
Cities in the Global South continue to face complex planning and governance challenges, often exacerbated by outdated planning instruments that fail to respond to rapid urbanisation. This disconnect has led to growing dissatisfaction among urban residents in low-income areas, who increasingly demand inclusion in neighbourhood-level planning. At independence in 1990, Windhoek (Namibia) inherited a planning system designed primarily for the White minority elite, entrenching racial and economic divisions in urban development. Existing literature highlights that the continued, uncritical use of this legacy planning system has contributed to the exclusion of a vast majority of residents from formal planning processes. This article investigates the extent to which Windhoek's residents are included in the planning of their neighbourhoods and explores how participatory approaches could address historical exclusion. A case study design was employed, using mixed methods: a questionnaire-based survey of 150 residents across three neighbourhoods (representing low-, middle-, and ultra-low-income areas), and semi-structured interviews with 20 urban planning professionals. Findings reveal a widespread perception among residents that current participatory mechanisms are insufficient, with many feeling inadequately consulted. Urban planners similarly acknowledged the need to build residents' capacity to meaningfully contribute to planning processes. Based on these insights, the article proposes a participatory planning framework that seeks to bridge the divide between communities and planning authorities. This framework advocates for the integration of residents' perspectives with the technical expertise of planners, aiming to support inclusive and responsive urban planning practices in Windhoek and similar urban contexts.
Although regional disparities were declining in Iran between 2001-2013, the provincial allocation of budgetary resources in Iran is not done fairly. The absence of a clear model for optimal budget distribution hinders achieving regional balance between Iran's provinces. Making use of applied research, this study identified 47 development indicators in 3 main development dimensions (economicinfrastructural, educational-cultural, and health-therapeutic) as the indictors to assess the characteristics of each province (level of development) to identify provincial inequalities of development in Iran. Descriptive analysis and the VIKOR model were used for the provincial development ranking in Iran during the years 2011 to 2021. Using comparative analysis, the K-means clustering method, the CV method, and GIS were used for calculating and mapping provincial inequalities. The results revealed severe inequalities among provinces. Tehran and Yazd provinces have had the highest development levels. CV calculations of the provincial indicators based on two scenarios (equal coefficients and AHP coefficients) showed that a budgetary resource distribution model that provides the percentage of budget allocation, by taking into account the territorial divisions, features, and sustainable development indicators of each province, might reduce inter-provincial inequalities, and would help achieve sustainable and equitable development at the provincial level. This model uses a method that optimally allocates financial and budgetary resources based on the degree of development of the regions and environmental characteristics.
Tourism development in Batu City, Indonesia, has deviated from its official tourism master plan, highlighting the need for integrated regional planning as a critical component of successful development. A primary challenge lies in the capacity of stakeholders to implement development following established plans. This article aims to analyse the integration between spatial planning and development programme planning, focusing on cases of land-use inconsistencies such as the construction of the Jambuluwuk Resort on land designated for forestry, agriculture, and ecotourism under the 2010-2030 Batu City Spatial Plan. Data was collected through surveys involving stakeholders responsible for programme planning. The analysis employed descriptive spatial techniques alongside the SWOT-AHP (Analytical Hierarchy Process) method. The findings revealed that spatial planning served as a guiding framework for development planning, with programme alignment between spatial and development documents reaching 95.60%. However, infrastructure development planning did not fully optimise spatial planning regulations, as programme decisions were primarily driven by community needs and evolving development priorities. The study provides actionable recommendations for enhancing stakeholder engagement and planning synchronisation to support sustainable development in Batu City.
Despite increasing recognition of walkability's importance in sustainable urban planning, no integrated framework exists for its assessment and improvement. Previous approaches have not mathematically evaluated optimal design criteria, showing the need for a new strategy to systematically enhance pedestrian environments. This study proposes an integrated strategy combining two techniques-spatial network analysis and design-multivariate optimisation-to address this inefficiency. In the first step, spatial network analysis was used to classify walkability levels as high, medium, or low, with the low levels identifying pedestrian routes in need of improvement. In the second step, a design-multivariate optimisation procedure was applied to mathematically derive the best design criteria by enhancing key walkability factors. The study examines 117 neighbourhoods in & Ccedil;ankaya, Turkey, a densely populated and mixed-use urban district. Given the importance of walkability in such areas, the research aims to support local government decision-making, by providing valuable insights for urban planning and development. Results indicate high walkability levels in the district's central areas but low walkability and connectivity between the centre and the eastern section. In the second phase, 20 streets were selected for further analysis, with data structured into a design matrix. Expert response to this matrix was used for multivariate optimisation, employing a second-order quadratic model to determine the optimal walkability design criteria. Findings highlight the value of combining and integrating network analysis with optimisation techniques to generate evidence-based solutions in urban planning. The proposed strategy offers practical recommendations for enhancing pedestrian infrastructure and establishing standardised design criteria, contributing to more sustainable, accessible, and pedestrian-friendly urban environments.
