The Effect of the Transportation System and City Configuration on Sustainable Urbanization (Al-Bayda City as a Case Study)

Abstract

Despite the persistent attempts on a global level to adopt sustainability in every aspect of city planning, the complex nature of city components and the presence of many factors and variables that affect the growth and development of cities make the adoption of a specific trend not an easy matter. It may be more appropriate to identify some important elements such as road networks, the type of buildings and the shape of streets to determine the extent of their impact on the built environment. Hence it will be more practical to apply approaches based on realistic investigation. The main objective of this study is to clarify and analyze the importance of urban form and the road and transportation network on urban growth from a sustainability perspective. The Libyan city of Al-Bayda will be the practical example to explain in further detail how compact form and linear road patterns impact the sustainability of the city. Adopting the method of description, analysis and extrapolation and limiting the discussion and comparison to three basic points: first, defining the importance and impact of compact urban form by considering urban density and land use distribution throughout the urban fabric, second, the causes of problems in the road networks and how roads pattern contribute to urban problems within city's sectors, thirdly, what should be applied and adopted at city level to become more sustainable. Study methodology relies on inductive descriptive analysis to arrive at a logical conclusion that relies on discussion and presentation of details to identify in a simplified manner the existing problems and finally, providing suggestions based on theory and application. The study concluded that both the scattered urban from associated with uncontrolled distribution of land use and linear road patterns heavily impact urban growth and development leading to undesirable outcomes that should be managed to sustain the required and necessary proper development.