Urban Spatial Decision Support System for Municipal Solid Waste Management of Nagpur Urban Area Using High-Resolution Satellite Data and Geographic Information System

Abstract

Solid waste generation is undoubtedly related to anthropogenic activities and culture. The management of solid waste becomes more challenging in densely populated heterogeneous cultures in developing countries. Proper management of solid waste may be done only after proper characterization of the waste, which varies with anthropogenic activities and population densities, which in turn are related to land use patterns of urban areas. The spatial characterization of waste in urban areas is mandatory for designing management strategies, including waste segregation, collection, transportation, and disposal. In this paper, solid waste is characterized within the Nagpur urban area, and coefficients are generated through regression analysis for spatially estimating quantities of waste components for various land use classes. Satellite data are used to generate population indexes for various land use classes. Simple linear regression analysis is used to generate indexes for computing physical and chemical characteristics of solid waste for residential land use classes. Based on the indexes generated, a spatial representation of solid waste components using a geographical information system (GIS) is obtained. This spatial representation acts as a tool to understand the status of parameters within any urban area. A spatial decision support system has also been developed, which can assist a decision maker involved in management of solid waste in urban areas.