HOW SMART GROWTH CAN CURB URBAN SPRAWL: A CASE STUDY OF A RAPIDLY URBANIZING CITY IN KERALA, INDIA

Abstract. Cities begin to spread at an alarming rate as the world's urban population grows, resulting in a slew of socioeconomic, environmental, and ecological challenges. Urban sprawl, defined as low-density, non-contiguous, unplanned, unregulated, and uncoordinated outer expansion of cities, is associated with various negative consequences, including loss of arable land, environmental destruction, increased transportation costs, deterioration of the city center, and many others. Smart growth can be considered a potential remedy for the negative impacts of urbanization. The smart growth idea is centered on creating more lively, competitive, and habitable cities to address the deterioration and decay in urban systems caused by urban land sprawl. This article discusses the possibilities of smart Growth approaches as a tool for reducing undesirable urban sprawl. Furthermore, this study aims to capture the land use land cover (LULC) dynamics of Kozhikode Urban Agglomeration (KUA) from 1991 to 2021 using remote sensing and GIS techniques. This study aims to identify potential smart growth locations in KUA using Geographic Information System (GIS)-based modeling methods to mitigate the effects of uncontrolled urban sprawl. To get the most out of smart growth possibilities and effective sprawl reduction, future development activities should focus more on the identified potential hotspots of Smart Growth. The study demonstrated the application of the Smart Growth techniques in a sprawling tier-2 city of Kerala. The city planning authorities can use this technique for effective sprawl management and sustainable city planning.