Site Suitability Analysis for Urban Expansion and Its Development in A Hill Town Using GIS and Multi Criteria Decision Making Along with AHP: A Case Study of New Shillong Township, Meghalaya, India

New Shillong Township appears to be an ideal location for urban development and expansion due to its undulating landscape, slope, and high land cost. GIS-based multi-criteria evaluation of slope, road proximity, land usage, property valuations, and other features are used to identify potential areas for urban expansion and development in New Shillong Township. ArcGIS 10.8 software assessed six thematic information layers and merged and pan-sharpened spatial data (Cartosat-1 and Kompsat) to choose suitable locations in New Shillong Township. It focuses on the Weighted Linear Combination and Overlay Weighted Average (OWA) Sum, both based on the GIS (WLC). Six criteria—drainage, aspect, cost, slope, road proximity, and land use—were assessed and given weights in this study. Using visual interpretation of satellite data, various thematic information layers were created for each characteristic, showing site suitability on an ordinal scale. The pair-wise comparison matrix method was used to normalize the maps based on various criteria. We have determined the weights of each criterion by comparing their importance to one another. OWA and WLC were used to combine criterion weights and maps. The joint comparison matrix displays the weights for the following: slope (=0.34), road proximity (=0.16), land use (=0.23), land cost (=0.12), drainage (=0.09), and aspect (=0.07). Consistency Ratio (CR =0.0117) of 0.10 suggested that the joint comparisons were reasonably consistent. The final suitability map, which covers an area of 40.8 square kilometers, was created using both weighted sum overlay and spatial analysis tools. Following suitability research, it was discovered that 0.03 sq km of the available area is not suitable. 1.18 square kilometres were classified as low suitable, 3.68 square kilometres as moderately suitable, 12.77 square kilometres as highly suitable, and 25.26 square kilometres as extremely highly suitable. The results revealed that agricultural or forest areas are appropriate for urban growth.