Delineating urban growth limit for managing urbanisation in Iskandar Malaysia

Abstract

Statistics have revealed that the rapid pace of urbanisation has become a massive concern of many regions. Thus, policies of urban containment (green belt, urban growth limit, and urban service) are adopted in land-use management strategies to curb urban sprawl and preserve green areas. This paper aims to delineate Urban Growth Limit (UGL), the spatial urban containment tool deployed by authorities and planners to separate urban areas from non-urban areas while promoting compact development in Iskandar Malaysia. In order to achieve the aim, the GIS Binary Urban Suitability Model is developed. The developed model becomes the basis in delineating the proposed UGL. Nevertheless, these preliminary results give a unique perspective and idea how UGL could be implemented to coordinate urban expansion while preserving environment in the future.