A city is a large human settlement. People are the main driving force in a city. The dynamism of a city is dependent on people and their behaviour. A preliminary understanding of the composition and diverse capabilities of the populations in a city should be the key to a successful urban study.
This section provides a description of the demographic status and trends in the city, primarily based on 2012 census data, presenting an overall view of the population. Trends and patterns of urban population are discussed including aspects of demography such as age, sex, ethnicity, education levels; and overall observations with regard to migration patterns, suburban population and gender.
Understanding the demographic and composition patterns of the population within the existing physical boundary will help in planning a livable city.
Source - Department of Census and Statistics
Males constitute 52.76% of the population and females 47.24% of the total population within Matale Municipal Council limits. The proportion of the total population divided by age was 25.21% for children under 15 years of age, 22.02% for children 15 to 29 years old, 38.63% for those aged 30-59 years and 14.14% for adults over 60 years of age.
Source - Department of Census and Statistics
Data showing the multinational language skills of ethnic group in 2012 in the Municipal Council Matale
Source - Department of Census and Statistics
The majority of migrants have been residents of the area for more than ten years.
Education has always been a significant element in societal development. The development of education facilities contributes substantially to the development in an urban area.
As a developing country it is crucial to address poverty in order to attain the development goals. Education plays a major role in poverty reduction. Presently, several global cities have been implementing the concept of smart city to improve the quality of life of the society, including in the field of education.
Good educational institutions and coverage enables a population to have decent livelihoods be they self employed or part of the workforce. Understanding how a city provides primary, secondary and tertiary eductional as well as skill development through vocational centres could provide some pointers to how well a city is doing or where it needs to develop further.
Source - Department of Census and Statistics
This graph shows that there is still a higher proportion of females that achieve a higher degree and above despite more females graduating from GCE (O/L) and GCE (A/L).
Source - Department of Census and Statistics
The graph shows that 15-19 age group is holding the highest level in computer literacy
Source - Department of Census and Statistics
In the city, about 63 percent of the 3 to 24 year old are out of school, compared to 24 percent of those without a school.
Municipal services is one of the key tasks an urban centre carries out fto ensure a functional living condition for its citizens.
The access to municipal services and the quality of their provision strongly influence the social, economic and environmental performance of a city as well as urban development.
Urban centres provide key services that underpin Sri Lanka’s socioeconomic development. Cities provide key government administration functions, such as vehicle registration services, access to social protection schemes, and a range of additional services (explored in detail in Chapter 9, urban governance in the SoSLC Report). Urban centres provide residents with health and education services: providing equitable access to quality healthcare and education. They also include services to facilitate social recreational activities and promote community cohesion, such as libraries, community centres and sports facilities. Ensuring quality services is a crucial component in securing an urban future for all Sri Lankans.
Source - IWMI Publication - Solid and Liquid Waste Management and Resource Recovery in Sri Lanka: A 20 city analysis
Matale MC is responsibile for the management of SW produced in the area. Waste in the municipal area is collected via 9 waste collection routes and the waste collection system has been designed in a manner to extend the collection service in all 13 wards. The council practices “Just in time” waste collection system in 10 wards before the daily city activities begin in order to avoid traffic and other inconveniences. Waste is collected separately as biodegradable and non-biodegradable. All households and commercial institutions are encouraged to segregate their waste. MC has scheduled to collect both biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste in city center on daily basis. Over 8,000 trade establishments and over 200 small and medium scale industries within the municipality limits contribute to the total waste generated in Matale (JICA, 2012). Hazardous waste from Matale hospital is not collected along with municipal solid waste and the hospital has adopted several waste management practices such as incineration, burying or flushing to an underground tank.
Proper management of land, a scarce resource, can bring about many benefits. This is of great importance especially in urban areas.
It is timely to figure out how land is allocated and being used for what purpose in our cities today. In order to create well planned cities with a futuristic vision, having a better understanding of current land use is imperative.
Land use maps are categorized into 36 sub-categories under two types – built-up and non built-up. The extent of land in each of these sub categories are indicated below.
In all of the cities it can be identified that the higher densities are concentrated in the city centres and the expansion is taken place along the roads. The expansion pattern is shaped by the geography of the surrounding area.
The selection of the area for the urban expansion analysis was followed by several preliminary studies. Initially, the urban index values which was identified using the remote sensing information were studied in the respective municipal areas including a fringe area.
Before selecting interested area for the expansion analysis it should consider following facts
- Municipal boundary
- At least 2-3 km buffer around Municipal boundary
- Rough boundary where the physical urban character disappearing
In the remote sensing discipline, the values higher than 0 represent the built-up areas.The boundary for the fringe area was identified by getting the extent of urban expansion as well as a fine boundary where the high-density expansion become insignificant. The identified boundaries were projected on to the latest satellite images to assure the identified urban index values are in line with the existing building densities.
