Land use diversity indices and change of mixed land uses in lskandar Malaysia from 1980s to 2000s

Abstract

Mixed land uses are the combination of more than one type of land uses such as commercial residential and industrial within one geographical area. Although mixed land uses are popularly practiced in mixed use development for the past decades, current land use practice have moved towards the separation of residential and non residential type of land uses. This paper discusses the changes of land use mixes from before 1980s to beyond 2000s. lskandar Malaysia, Johor has been selected as the study area for this research whose objectives are to identify the level of land use diversity and its trend for the past few decades. Two types of diversity indices are used which are Simpsons Diversity Index (SDI) and Shannons Diversity Index (ShaDI). Both of these indices are capable of showing the existing diversity of mixed uses as it reflects the real condition of neighborhoods. The results show that the diversity indices have been on the decrease steadily but quicken beyond 2005 when the lskandar Malaysia has been launched. This may not be good for sustainability if the decrease in land use diversity is not immediately addressed.