An Integrated and Holistic Framework for Land Suitability Assessment: A Case Study of the Bhubaneswar Planning Region

Abstract

A swift rise in population across developing nations has led to unplanned and haphazard built-up expansion, resulting in the significant urban sprawl and degradation of natural ecosystems. Sustainable urban development necessitates the identification of ecologically balanced and spatially suitable areas for future growth. This study conducts a land use suitability assessment for the Bhubaneswar planning region, considering 13 criteria by integrating geographic information system tools with multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) techniques, namely the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and best–worst method (BWM). A range of biophysical and socio-economic factors were systematically analysed to create a comprehensive spatial suitability map. The analysis categorized land into five suitability classes: very high, high, moderate, low and very low. The results indicate that of the 13 criteria that influence urban growth, the ones that have the greatest effects on urban expansion are as follows: distance to roads, land use/land cover, distance to built-up areas, slope and population density. Model validation using the receiver operating characteristics curve yielded area under the curve values of 0.89 for AHP and 0.86 for BWM, indicating high predictive performance and model reliability. The findings underscore the importance of strategic planning, particularly in the western and eastern peripheries of the Bhubaneswar planning region, which are dominated by forest cover and agricultural land, respectively. This study demonstrates the efficacy of integrating geoinformatics with MCDM approaches for land suitability analysis and provides a robust, data-driven structure to assist urban planners and policymakers in fostering sustainable urban expansion.