Modelling Urban Growth in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal

Abstract

The extensive body of research shows that statistical urban growth models are commonly used, as they model the relationships between land use changes and the drivers underlying those changes. They are effective in identifying factors affecting urban growth, as well as allowing projections of future growth to be made (Zeng et al., 2008). They provide, moreover, quantitative information about the magnitude of the contribution made by such factors (Hu and Lo, 2007). Conveniently, computational requirements for this type of model are not as intensive as for CA models and requirements for input data are relatively easy to fulfil, especially if data is scarce (Dubovyk et al., 2011) or if only an initial analysis of structural relationships between identified determinants and urban growth is required.