Urban Sustainability Analysis of Solan District, Himachal Pradesh, India

Urbanization is one of the most significant global trends of modern times, driving and driven by multiple social, economic and environmental processes. Due to uncontrolled urbanization, there is rapid environmental degradation which causes many problems. Scientific assessments can help provide solutions by considering the local realities. Numerous assessment strategies have been suggested such as emerge analysis, material flow analysis, data development analysis and ecological footprint analysis (EFA). EFA has been implemented as a useful analytical and planning tool for assessing urban sustainability in numerous cities. The aim of this study is to use one of the EFA components, viz. built-up land footprint (EF_built-up) to evaluate the urban sustainability of Solan district, Himachal Pradesh (HP), India, in terms of settlements. The study concludes that EF_built-up of Solan district, HP, exceeds its biocapacity, resulting in an ecological deficit. Therefore, element of built-up land in Solan district is considered as an unsustainable system.