Enhancing urban planning using simplified models: SIMPLAN for Ahmedabad, India

Key model outputs indicate that dispersing cities proves to be economically beneficial to society as a whole. Compact development may prove to be better in terms of environmental and social aspects, but it may be possible to tackle the undesirable effects of dispersal by appropriate combinations of planning and management measures. The modelling outputs informed the wider debate on compact vs. dispersed urban forms. It was shown that neither of these diametrically opposite forms provide an outright 'win-win' solution. They are likely to perform differently in different economies and sociocultural contexts. Therefore, it would appear that each city needs to test out the pros and cons of such alterative urban planning policies before pursing a plan for the future. Learning from such modelling exercises, cities can prepare their own tailor-made policy that best satisfies their objectives, making the planning process more rigorous and transparent.