A methodological approach for land use planning in hill towns of India: a case of Shoghi special area of Shimla

Land is a finite, immovable, and valuable resource that supports diverse societal needs. Rapid population growth and consequent changes in land use have intensified development pressures, making systematic land use planning essential, particularly in India’s environmentally sensitive hilly regions. Topographical constraints, limited developable land, climatic variability, and high exposure to geohazards further complicate development planning in hill towns. However, contextual land use planning for Indian hill towns remains relatively under-researched. This study develops a systematic framework for land use planning and allocation in hill towns by integrating environmental, infrastructural, and hazard-related considerations. An integrated Analytic Hierarchy Process–Geographic Information System (AHP–GIS) framework was applied to the Shoghi Special Area, Shimla, using 20 criteria grouped into natural setting, built environment, and hazard proneness. Expert judgments were used to derive criterion weights, with all pairwise comparison matrices satisfying the consistency requirement Consistency Ratio (CR) ≤ 0.10; goal-level Consistency Ratio (CR) = 0.0%; group consensus = 96.9%. Category weights were 37.6% for hazard proneness, 33.8% for natural setting, and 28.6% for the built environment. Earthquake, landslide, and flood susceptibility received the highest individual weights. Criterion layers were prepared in ArcGIS 10.4.1, standardized using a five-level rating scale, and aggregated through weighted linear combination across 443 land facets delineated according to IS 14,496 (Part 2): 1998. Results indicate that 55.53% of facets scored above 50, while only 16.03% exceeded 60. No facet attained the Most Suitable or Extreme Suitability classes. The findings demonstrate that natural setting constitutes the principal constraint on development capacity, highlighting the need for context-sensitive, risk-informed, and sustainable land use planning in Indian hill towns.