Residential Site Suitability Modelling Using GIS With Integrated Analytical Hierarchy Process in Galle Municipal Council

By : WMDC Wijesinghe

Page No: 117-133

Abstract
Urbanisation today is a continuous process that results in people being attracted to urban areas for a better lifestyle. Therefore, the demand for residential land in urban areas is prominent. Especially in Sri Lanka, many problems related to infrastructure, social, economic, and environmental aspects have arisen due to not adopting the most effective measures in the creation of planned cities. The objective of this study is to develop a Geographical Information System based model to assess suitable areas for residential land development within the Galle Municipal Council area. GIS-AHP is the most effective tool in the analysis of spatial data in the study and it provides a clear approach to multi-criteria evaluation and suitability analysis. Suitability analysis was done under five main steps which included Selection, Scoring, Weighting using AHP, and Creation of a Suitability Map and GIS Model. These methods have become the most prominent system in the global spatial decision-making and decision-making process. MCDA is a general procedure for comparing and evaluating any criteria used. The study results have been shown that 0.33 Km2 of the total land area was found as highly suitable areas and 0.49 Km2 as not suitable areas. Almost half of the total area is moderately suitable areas which are 6.80 Km2. By weighting the criteria and with the help of GIS models, it can be revealed that 3.06 Km2 of land in the entire study area is highly suitable for the development of residential areas. It was assessed to what extent the contributions of the selected criteria are useful in identifying suitable areas for residential land development in the Galle Municipal Council area. The findings of this study will be useful not only to prospective residents but also to many stakeholders involved in real estate development and commercial activities. Not only that, such a methodology has a high potential to be adopted in other areas of Sri Lanka and will be a more effective and useful guide for city planners, decision-makers, and architects for future planning.

Author :
WMDC Wijesinghe : Department of Geography, University of Ruhuna, Matara, 81000, Sri Lanka.
 

DOI: https://doi.org/10.32381/ATNAGI.2024.44.01.8