Degree of Urbanization in Nepal

Public Health Nepal
0

 

Introduction

Historically, countries have used various criteria to define urban areas and cities, making it challenging to compare urban performance within and across countries. With the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015 and the New Urban Agenda (NUA) in 2016, both of which seek to track performance at the city level, there was an urgent need to harmonize how cities and urban and rural areas are defined. This need led to the development of the Degree of Urbanization (DEGURBA) approach, aimed at creating a globally harmonized and comparable method for defining urban and rural areas.


The DEGURBA Approach

DEGURBA is a collaborative initiative spearheaded by UN-Habitat, the European Commission, FAO, OECD, and the World Bank. The approach was introduced through regional consultative workshops held between 2018 and 2019, involving 250 participants from 85 countries, including Nepal. DEGURBA was endorsed during the 51st UN Statistical Commission meeting in March 2020 as a sound approach for defining urban and rural areas for statistical comparisons.


Urbanization in Nepal

Nepal's urban system has faced challenges due to the mismatch between how urban areas are defined and declared. The National Urban Policy (2007) and National Urban Development Strategy (2017) define urban centers based on the following criteria:

  1. Population exceeding 5000.
  2. Population density of at least 10 persons per hectare (ppHa).
  3. A minimum of 50% of the population above 10 years engaged in non-agriculture economic activities.

Despite these criteria, the number of urban municipalities in Nepal increased dramatically from 58 in 2013/2014 to 293 in 2017/2018, with the urban municipal population rising from 17% to 66%. This surge was primarily due to the declaration process that considered only population as the basis for declaring urban municipalities. As a result, many municipalities, though categorized as urban, remain largely rural in landscape, with low-density populations primarily dependent on agriculture.


Application of DEGURBA in Nepal

Recognizing the need for a common, agreeable definition of urban and rural populations, and leveraging the newly published Census 2021 data, Nepal participated in piloting the DEGURBA application in March 2022. This initiative, led by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), now the National Statistics Office (NSO), included a series of activities to implement the DEGURBA tool.


Data Harmonization Process

The application of DEGURBA was preceded by a data harmonization process. This entailed reviewing attributes, matching or editing data for consistency of names of the municipalities between the 2011 and 2021 Census data. Data harmonization ensured uniformity in the format and names used by the Department of Survey in the administrative boundary map/shapefile and the Census database. The merged data was used for further analysis.


Overview and Implementation Workflow

The DEGURBA classifies the entire territory of a country or region along the urban-rural continuum, combining population size and density thresholds to capture the full settlement hierarchy. The approach is applied in a two-step process:

  1. Grid Cell Classification: 1 km² grid cells are classified based on population density, contiguity, and population size.
  2. Local Unit Classification: Local units are classified based on the type of grid cells that contain the population.

DEGURBA has two hierarchical levels:

  • Level 1: Urban Centers, Urban Clusters, and Rural Grid Cells.
  • Level 2: Dense Urban Clusters, Semi-Dense Urban Clusters, Peri-Urban Grid Cells, Rural Clusters, Low-Density Rural Grid Cells, and Very Low-Density Rural Grid Cells.


Implementation Steps in Nepal

  1. Review and Preparation: Using the updated map of Nepal, participants reviewed the available spatial and attribute data at the national, province, district, municipality, and ward levels. The 2011 and 2021 population data at the ward level were prepared and merged with the shapefile to integrate with the built-up area as a base to prepare the population grid.

  2. Generation of Gridded Population at the Ward Level: The GHS-POP2G tool was used to generate grids at selected resolutions (1000 meters), allocating a population value to each grid based on point or polygon population data. This tool processes vast territorial areas in stages, facilitating the analysis.

    Input Data:

    • Shapefile with Population data
    • Built-Up Area of the administrative unit (open-source data – World Building Footprint)
  3. DEGURBA Classification: Settlements classification was applied over the population grid data, with quality checks to categorize the grids using DEGURBA classification. The classification focused on contiguity (4-point or 8-point/grid) thresholds of population density and size.

    Thresholds:

    • More than 1,500 persons/sq.km (15 ppHa) – Urban Centre (4-point contiguity), more than 50,000 people
    • 300-1,500 persons/sq.km (3-15 ppHa) - Urban Cluster (8-point contiguity), more than 5,000 inhabitants
    • 50-300 persons/sq.km (0.5-3 ppHa) - Rural Areas (8-point contiguity), less than 5,000 inhabitants.

    Input Data:

    • Output data from Step 4.3 (Pop2G Output)
  4. Classification of Territorial Units by Degree of Urbanization: The DU-TUC tool was used to classify the population grid into territorial units by the degree of urbanization. This classification was done at the ward level, using population, density, and contiguity thresholds. The results were further analyzed in Microsoft Excel at the ward, municipality, and national levels.

    Input Data:

    • Shapefile with Population data (Same file used in Step 4.3)
    • Output data from Step 4.3 (Pop2G Output)
    • Output data from Step 4.4 (DUG Output)


Benefits of DEGURBA

The pilot countries, including Nepal, benefited from the application of the DEGURBA tool and methodology in several ways:

  • Generation of Comparable Urban Data: Produced urban and rural population data based on a globally harmonized definition, enabling the creation of comparable datasets.
  • Complementing National Systems: Implemented a method of analysis that complements existing national systems, aiding in SDG data reporting and generating globally comparable datasets.
  • Disaggregated Data Analytics: Enabled the production of detailed data analytics at the country level, providing critical insights for policy formulation and decision-making to guide urbanization and development.


Capacity Building and Technical Support

The DEGURBA implementation in Nepal included a series of on-the-job training sessions targeting technical teams from statistical offices, mapping agencies, urban development institutions, and other relevant agencies. These trainings encompasses:

  • Introductory Workshop: Equipping policymakers and technical units with an in-depth understanding of the DEGURBA approach.
  • Technical Advisory Workshops: Conducted in two phases to build in-country capacity for implementing DEGURBA and computing SDG 11 indicators.
  • Continuous Technical Support: Provided to in-country technical teams throughout the pilot project period and beyond, covering DEGURBA implementation, data interpretation, and reporting.


Categorization of Urbanization into 7 categories 

The DEGURBA results are broadly classified into three classes in Level 1 (L1) category, namely Urban Center, Urban Cluster and Rural Cluster. Further, these three Classes are categorized into seven classes in Level 2 (L2) category ranging from Very Low Dense Rural areas to Urban Centers. The classification is based on population, population density, built up area coverage and contiguity. Analysis is based on 1 sq.km x 1 sq.km grid, for overlay of population and rasterized built-up area data, to further generate results at the territorial unit level, guided by the national administrative boundary.


Based on the matrix below urban center are characterized by density over 15 persons per hectare (ppHa) and population over 50,000, with 4-point contiguity and more than 50% of the area coverage built-up. Dense Urban Cluster is characterized by density over 15 ppHa, population between 5,000-50,000- and 4-point contiguity. Semi-Dense Urban cluster is characterized by density 3 – 15 ppHa, population between 5,000 – 50,000 and 4-point contiguity. Peri-Urban Area is characterised by density 3 – 15 ppHa, with 8-point contiguity and no population threshold. Rural Clusters in general are characterized by density from 3 ppHa and below and population no more than 5,000 with 8-point contiguity.


The population distribution in percent by DEGURBA 7 category from census 2011 and 2021 is given below.




Recategorization of Urbanization into 3 categories from 7


The three recategorizeda area are Urban area, Peri-urban area and rural area. Urban Areas are characterized by population density minimum 3 upto over 15 ppHa and population over 5,000, with 4-point contiguity. Peri-Urban Areas are characterized by density between 3 - 15 ppHa and no minimum population threshold, with 8-point contiguity. Rural Clusters are characterized by density 3 ppHa or below and population no more than 5,000 with 8-point contiguity.



Conclusion

The DEGURBA approach has proven to be a valuable tool for Nepal in accurately defining urban and rural populations and generating comparable data for SDG and NUA indicators. By participating in the DEGURBA pilot project, Nepal has taken significant steps towards harmonizing its urban-rural definitions with global standards, aiding in effective policy formulation and urban planning. The successful implementation of DEGURBA in Nepal showcases the potential of this approach to provide uniformity and a basis for comparison across cities, towns, and areas within and across countries.





Download Button Download report

Post a Comment

0Comments

Post comment

Post a Comment (0)

#buttons=(Accept !) #days=(20)

Our website uses cookies to enhance your experience. Learn More
Accept !