A WOE method for urban growth boundary delineation and its applications to land use planning

The aim of this study is to develop a new approach for delineating urban growth boundaries (UGBs) by applying the weight of evidence (WOE) method to land suitability assessments. Rapid urbanization is causing urban areas to encroach on agricultural land in China, posing a threat to national food security. Land use planning with clear delineation of UGBs is an effective method for controlling urban expansion. However, existing methods for delineating UGBs are typically complex or involve arbitrary decision-making. To address these drawbacks, we introduced the WOE method to develop a new UGB delineation approach, and applied this approach to a case study in the city of Jinan, China. This application achieved satisfactory accuracy; therefore, we concluded that the WOE method was an objective and effective approach to land use suitability assessments and UGB delineation. Land use planning could be benefitted considerably from the application of this method to land allocation and other planning decisions.