Supporting the Integrated Planning for Land Use and Transport Systems by Examining the Distribution of Urban Centres and Public Transit Networks

The transit system is a well-known concept that can integrate land use and transport systems. One of the key strategies to implement such a system is to recognise the viable centres of activity. Moreover, a certain urban spatial form is required to achieve successful implementation. The type of the urban form is represented by the physical form of land use pattern and transport system. This research aims to find a way to adjust the transport system to the already established urban area and identify suitable urban spatial structure for the implementation of public transit systems. This research thesis set out to provide an empirical analysis of how Makassar’s urban centre identification can be used as a basis for planning an urban form that can enhance the implementation of a transit-based public transport system. The research aims are divided into four steps which include: 1) identifying the proxy indicators to identify the urban centre; 2) defining the centre hierarchy/classification; 3) comparing the results with the current and planned public transportation system; 4) defining the suitable urban spatial structure that can be developed to support an integrated transportation system. The study takes Makassar-Indonesia as the case study. Data of urban physical characteristics are obtained from open street maps and from the Makassar local spatial planning authority. This research combines quantitative and qualitative approaches. Spatial cluster analysis with a k-means algorithm is used to identify the urban centres while content analysis is applied to expert interviews analysis. The results of the expert interviews are used to obtain knowledge of local information and validate the results from the quantitative approach. The results show that 1) density, diversity and design (3Ds) are suitable proxy indicators to identify Makassar’s urban centres; 2) Makassar’s urban centres can be classified into primary, secondary, and tertiary centres; 3) Makassar’s urban centre distribution is not entirely integrated with the actual and planned public transportation system; 4) the combination of a strong monocentric and linear polycentric form is recommended for supporting an integrated transport system which adopts the public transit concept to the many pre-existing expanded cities. The linear polycentric form can be achieved by improving the 3Ds around the transportation nodes and networks.