Investigating the socioeconomic factors shaping urban sprawl: evidence from the Batticaloa municipal council, Sri Lanka

• Authors: Mathanraj Seevarethnam
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

Urban sprawl is a socioeconomic phenomenon, which affects sustainable urban growth. Several socioeconomic factors cause urban sprawl growth in different world cities, which were identified from the previous literature. However, a comprehensive study focusing on many socioeconomic factors is still a gap. This study aims to determine the influencing socioeconomic factors of urban sprawl in the Batticaloa municipality, Sri Lanka. The data were collected through a questionnaire survey from 400 respondents in Batticaloa. Exploratory factor analysis, reliability test and multiple linear regression stepwise methods were employed to identify the significant socioeconomic factors of urban sprawl. The results indicate that policy regulations, land value, regional accessibility, and demographic dynamics influence urban sprawl in the Batticaloa municipality. Besides, housing preference, income inequality, education, employment and living standards were insignificant to urban sprawl. These significant factors may increase the urban sprawl growth in the municipality since Batticaloa is expected to become a metropolitan city by 2030, which affects the city's sustainable development. Decision-makers and planners can use these findings to enhance development measures to reduce future sprawling. Finally, this study was conducted in Batticaloa, a medium-sized city; therefore, this finding can help similar cities in Sri Lanka and the world with strategic planning.

Keywords

EN

EFA; multiple regression; socioeconomic factors; stepwise regression; survey; urban sprawl

Discipline

• ENVIRONMENT_&_ECOLOGY: ENVIRONMENT & ECOLOGY

• Publisher: Scientific Publishing House „DARWIN”
• Journal: World News of Natural Sciences
• Year: 2026
• Volume: 64
• Pages: 55-78

Contributors

author

Mathanraj Seevarethnam

• Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Faculty of Built Environment and Surveying, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Skudai, Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia

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• Document Type: article