Morphological and Functional Polycentric Urbanization in Colombo Metropolitan of Sri Lanka Using Time-Series Satellite Images from 1988–2022

H. P. U. Fonseka, H. M. R. Premasiri, S. P. Chaminda and Hongsheng Zhang ()
Additional contact information
H. P. U. Fonseka: Department of Earth Resource Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Moratuwa, Moratuwa 10400, Sri Lanka
H. M. R. Premasiri: Department of Earth Resource Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Moratuwa, Moratuwa 10400, Sri Lanka
S. P. Chaminda: Department of Earth Resource Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Moratuwa, Moratuwa 10400, Sri Lanka
Hongsheng Zhang: Department of Geography, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, China

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 17, 1-17

Abstract: Examining urban growth in metropolitan areas from both morphological and functional perspectives is paramount for sustainable development in developing and developed countries. As a collaborative and critical approach, polycentrism operates concurrently at local, regional, and national levels. However, the decentralized morphologies and functional attributes of polycentric urban spaces are yet to be adequately explored, despite their significant influence on sustainable urban planning and management. Colombo, the only metropolitan area in Sri Lanka, has experienced considerable yet ambiguously imbalanced spatial growth due to insufficient data. This study employed time-series satellite imagery from 1988 to 2022, in conjunction with a network model, to elucidate Colombo’s uneven urban patterns, while achieving an accuracy of over 80% throughout the period. The results revealed that the metropolis has evolved into a polynuclear city, complicating the identification of centers and their corresponding developmental stages. Nevertheless, the study successfully pinpointed the morphological and functional Grama Niladhari divisions, disclosing the morphological features of centralized dispersion and the functional traits of decentralized concentration. These insights provide significant implications for local government, guiding urban planning initiatives to achieve sustainable development goals.

Keywords: polycentric; spatial evaluation; temporal evaluation; morphological dimension; functional dimension (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/17/7816/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/17/7816/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:17:p:7816-:d:1473669

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().