Year: 2026 | Month: February | Volume: 13 | Issue: 2 | Pages: 440-451
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52403/ijrr.20260242
A Systematic Review of Land Use Plan Effectiveness and GIS-Based Compatibility in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh
Md. Abdul Kader1, Dr. Fowzia Gulshana Rashid Lopa2
1,2Department of Urban and Regional Planning
Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology, Chittagong, Bangladesh.
Corresponding Author: Dr. Fowzia Gulshana Rashid Lopa
ABSTRACT
Guided by the PRISMA framework, a systematic literature review provides a precise, reliable, and structured way to synthesize existing research. Using this method, this study evaluates the effectiveness of land-use planning and GIS-based compatibility in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, a coastal region facing rapid urbanization and ecological vulnerability. Despite existing master plans, intense development pressure has led to significant incompatibility between designated zones and realized uses. Using the PRISMA framework, this study analysed 33 peer-reviewed articles sourced from Scopus and Google Scholar. Moving beyond simplistic conformance measures in advanced GIS and remote sensing methods, this review advocates adopting more innovative tools to quantify spatial development compatibility, using multi‑criteria evaluation frameworks that have emerged internationally. The findings indicate that such innovative tools have not been used in spatial analysis in Cox’s Bazar and also show that land-use plan effectiveness is driven by political and institutional rigidity, weak legal enforcement, and economic pressures, rather than purely technical flaws. The study identifies two critical gaps: the lack of spatially explicit models linking actual land-use deviations to functional planning goals in Cox's Bazar, and the weak institutional integration of drivers into spatial disparity analysis. To improve compliance, this study suggests integrating non-compensatory geospatial evaluation tools with adaptive management frameworks focused on governance analysis, converging both theory and practice towards sustainable urban management in Cox’s Bazar.
Keywords: Spatial analysis, integration of geospatial tools into governance frameworks, Cox’s Bazar spatial planning, land-use planning, quantifying spatial development compatibility, and spatial planning and management.
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