ASSESSING THE ROLE OF TOPOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS IN SUSTAINABLE URBAN DEVELOPMENT. INSIGHTS FROM GIS-DRIVEN TERRAIN STUDIES
Authors: Ayomide D Akinyemi  , Andy Osagie Egogo-Stanley  , Oluwatosin Michael Ibrahim  , Gerald Chekwube Ezeamii  
Published: February 2025

The steps regarding GIS-driven topographical analysis and its contribution towards sustainable development of the urban environment are discussed in this paper. With the increase in urbanization rates in cities around the world, environmental conditions and issues these cities are experiencing also make it compulsory to develop efficient and effective ways of planning cities. Geometry uses Geographical Information Systems (GIS) that offer essential tools for spatial analysis in addressing land utilization for the benefit of the community as well as in solving some of the environmental, social, and economic challenges that affect cities. Altogether, the main aims of this research are to examine how terrain analysis, based on GIS, can help improve urban planning, determine the problems of its utilization, and recommend potential improvements to increase efficacy when designing sustainable cities. This study adopts a qualitative research approach, with the synthesis of data drawn from seven empirical GIS research on the topic of urban development. The search was set systematically using three databases including ProQuest, Scopus, and the Web of Science. Some of the search terms used were “GIS-based; terrain analysis”; “sustainable urban development” and “topographic analysis for city planning”. Based on the study domain, studies were selected according to their ability to support GIS applications within cities regarding sustainability, land usage, and the environment. The articles were screened using exclusion criteria based on relevance to GIS-driven methods, as well as the context of studies outside urban environments. Upon applying these criteria, seven of the mentioned studies were considered for further investigation.
The study found that GIS can be efficiently used to enhance land-use planning by determining the preferred locations for development while taking into account environmental, social, and economic peculiarities. Nonetheless, some of the challenges include data quality, availability of technical skills as well as governance structures that act as constraints to the broad use of GIS in urban planning. The study also presents evidence showing how GIS-driven analysis has the potential for transformation of infrastructure asset management with the proviso that multiple barriers need to be addressed for this shift to take place. These include; the increased demands for accurate, timely geographical information, consideration of socio-economic factors in planning, and increased technical competency among the planners.
Recommendations for improving the application of GIS in urban planning include: integrating the environment, society, and economy into GIS framework for fairer and more sustainable city planning; supporting data collection agencies and making real-time GIS data more accessible; tracking long term changes; and developing GIS human capital, especially in the developing world (5) developing and applying dynamic GIS systems that can observe the complexity of urban geography, among many others