Urban Vacant Land: Typology and Quantitative Analysis for Planned City of Bhilai, Chhattisgarh, India

This study developed a typology and conducted a quantitative analysis of urban vacant land within the planned city of Bhilai in Chhattisgarh, India. A comprehensive methodology combining an extensive literature review, interpretation Google Earth imagery, Geographic Information System (GIS) analysis, field measurements and observations was employed to identify and catalogue vacant land parcels. A quantitative assessment of green coverage within these urban vacant land parcels was performed through combination of field measurements and image interpretations. The identified typologies of urban vacant land were: Planned Vacant Land (4.935 km2), encompassing residual planning space and transport line buffers and Geographical Vacant Land (1.297 km2) compromising of natural sites. Planned vacant land is recognized as a crucial resource supporting the ecosystem functions while geographical vacant land contributes significantly to the city’s ecological health with higher density of trees. This typological study provides framework for planners and authorities to strategically utilize urban vacant lands for enhancing ecosystem services and exploring adaptive reuse strategies.