Urban Planning – Controlling Urban Sprawl

About this opportunity

Applicants for this opportunity must be eligible for Omani Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation funding.

Uncontrolled urban sprawl fuelled by car dependency and population growth is currently a critical issue for Oman and other jurisdiction.

The Oman Vision 2040 focuses on the development of sustainable cities. In particular, the Vision seeks to achieve comprehensive geographic development through decentralization and the development of limited urban hubs and sustainable cities. Related objectives for delivering this strategic direction include the creation of highly resilient urban and rural areas that are capable of coping with climate change effects, smart and vibrant cities in close proximity to the countryside, and an integrated approach to urban planning and world-class infrastructure (including transport). In the urban planning context, the strategic direction and objectives in the Vision will be implemented by the Oman National Spatial Strategy.

There are close parallels between the strategic direction in the Oman Vision 2040 and the approach to Town and Country Planning in the United Kingdom. For example, the development of Garden Cities and the control of ribbon development, the designation of national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty in close proximity to densely populated conurbations, the containment of urban sprawl via Green Belt policies to prevent the coalescence of settlements, and the integrated approach to land use and transport planning evidenced by the Abercrombie Plan for London and the Holford Plan for Cambridge.

In contrast, low rise development and land subdivision policies have driven urban sprawl in New Zealand and produced a heavily car dependent society (with one of the highest OECD per capita vehicle ownership and use rates). Arguably, defining metropolitan urban limits and rural-urban boundaries under the Sustainable Management approach enacted via the Resource Management Act 1991 has not resolved urban sprawl and related infrastructure issues due to the fragmented nature of local government. However, enactment of the Planning Bill and Natural Environment Bill during 2026 and the introduction of regional spatial planning may resolve some of these issues over time.

This research project will provide PhD candidates with the rare opportunity to interrogate how the development of sustainable cities can be delivered via spatial planning. It will focus critically and comparatively on the experience in New Zealand, Oman, and the United Kingdom and provide recommendations for delivering the strategic direction outlined in the Oman Vision 2040. A key issue interrogated by the research project will be the comparative effectiveness and efficiency of national and regional approaches to spatial planning.

The conclusions and recommendations in the thesis will also be relevant for future urban planning in other jurisdictions.

Supervision of this PhD project will bring together the combined research and teaching excellence of Te Piringa Faculty of Law and the Centre for Environmental, Resources, and Energy Law at Waikato, and the Department of Land Economy and the Centre for Environment, Energy and Natural Resource Governance at Cambridge. The student may be based in Cambridge for a period of up to 6 months.

Ministry of Education in Oman

The University of Waikato has recently established a new international agreement with the Ministry of Higher Education in Oman, and as part of this agreement PhD students will be able to travel to New Zealand to study at Waikato full-time, on a premium stipend, and with their tuition fees covered for the duration of their study up to four years.

The Ministry will also advertise available research projects at Waikato through their channels for a period of three months.

Location

The University of Waikato, Hamilton Campus.

Scholarship Value

This opportunity is intended only for applicants eligible or intending to apply through the Omani Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation scholarship pathway. No University, supervisor-held or project-specific funding is currently available to support this PhD outside that scholarship pathway.

• Eligible for Omani Ministry of Higher Education, Research & Innovation funding.

• Applicants must be eligible to enrol in a PhD programme at the University of Waikato.