Residential Housing Development Site Selections For Sustainable Urban Development By Using Geospatial And Multi-Criteria Techniques. The Case Of Jimma Town, Jimma Zone, South Western Ethiopia

Abstract

Land suitability analysis has growing importance in identifying suitable land resource for some specific uses. However, site analysis by its nature is the complex process and involves consideration of multi-criteria decision making limited not only to physical condition of urban land-uses, but more attention should be given to integrate socio-economic and environmental factors. Due to the dynamic urban growth trends, city administrators and planners are faced with difficulties in supplying suitable urban residential housing. GIS based Multi-Criteria Evaluation (MCE) and Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) provides a wide range of powerful tools capable to transforms, combines sophisticated geographical data with value judgments among conflicting criteria along with sets of alternatives. The main objective of the study was assessing the current site selection practice and identifying the main criteria for residential housing development, generating suitability map and evaluating LULC change for the study period 2002-2022. The study uses both primary and secondary data sources like expert interview, literature and Geospatial data, Structural plan and cadastral survey data). The influencing weight among factors has been computed using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) in IDRISI 32 software. The internal factors that cast a shadow image on the quality of the current residential housing development plan preparation were the experience and skill gap of the plan preparation team that caused for the proposal of existing wetland site for residential land, existing industrial area for settlement and proposing residential area on slope greater than 250 rise. To analyze housing suitability Nine factors; Slope, LU/LC, Road, airport, waste disposal, City center, Rivers, Social Amenities like Schools and Population were evaluated and prioritized as per judgment of urban planning experts. Finding of the study clearly reveals that the city has dramatically grown in all directions , Built-up area increased a lot and Result from suitability analysis shows that, about 2084.98ha (20.89%), 7402.47ha (74.3%), 492.06, ha (4.93%), of the total urban landscape of the study area is, high suitable, moderately suitable and low suitable respectively for residential housing development. For urban resident the way of planning should be shifted from the previous simple subdivision plans to GIS-MCE and AHP technology.