Spatial assessment on influence of land use and population density in the achievement score of sustainable development target 11.1

The United Nations (U.N.) has declared the present decade a “decade of action” to accelerate the phase of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) endorsed in 2015. These 17 goals are intended to protect the earth's environment, eradicate poverty and inequality, and guarantee that everyone lives in peace, harmony, and prosperity. Target 11.1 for safe and affordable housing from SDG 11: Sustainable cities and community is a crucial target for most developing nations. This target addresses the slums and informal settlements, which indicate inequalities in the urbanized city. The proportion of the population living in slum dwellings and informal settlements was the indicator to measure the achievement level of the target. The study area to assess the target is Tirunelveli City municipal corporation from southern India. The field survey was conducted in all 55 wards to locate and count the population of slums and informal settlements and to map the spatial variation of target scores among the wards. The spatial assessment was performed by comparing the attributes of population density and land use classes (water, built area, and bare land) with the achievement score of target 11.1 for each ward. With an overall score of 90.08, this city has no significant relation with population density (R2 = 0.07) and relevant land use classes (R2 = 0.05) at the ward level. The spatial tool, weighted mean centre, has concluded that slum settlements appeared randomly and dispersed throughout Tirunelveli without any pattern.