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Developing countries frequently encounter decision-making problems to achieve Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) throughout the development of coastal urban regions. Similarly, the prevailing Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) framework, the foundation of spatial environmental planning in Indian coastal regions, has shown limited effectiveness towards ICM enabled sustainable development in the past three decades. Therefore, efficient integrated geospatial approaches are required in such cases to synergize the coastal development and ecosystem services. In this work, Ideal Point (IP) based Coastal Area Index (IP-CAI) approach was developed to characterize coastal urban regions for rational allocation of coastal resources. The IP-CAI approach integrated decision and geospatial science for incorporating a geographical variation of physical coastal indicators in spatial planning. Further, experts' knowledge about the environmental sensitivity of physical coastal indicators toward coastal development was incorporated in the IP-CAI. The coastal megacity of Mumbai, India, was investigated to test and validate the IP-CAI approach for the quantitative characterization of coastal urban regions. The present study demonstrated the usefulness of IP-CAI in addressing a coastal region classification problem with a necessary scientific basis. The results, advantages, limitations, and implementation guidelines of IP-CAI are further discussed. [Display omitted] • Ideal Point approach based Coastal Area Index was developed. • Knowledge from group of experts were used to weight the physical coastal features. • The approach was tested to classify coastal areas of megacity of Mumbai. • Decision-support is improved for associated policy-makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Appropriate spatial planning and environmental management of coastal areas in cities are essential to maintain a balance of environmental quality and urban development, whereas unscientific planning practices lead to the degradation of coastal ecosystems. Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) guidelines are currently being used in India for management of the coast. These guidelines are difficult to implement and do not take into account the variation of physical characteristics of the coast. The alternative to this approach is a quantitative land classification in coastal areas based on geospatial and multiple criteria decision making techniques. In this work, we applied these two approaches to the three case locations of the coastal lands in Mumbai region representing areas which are i) predominantly urban, ii) rural and iii) no development areas. The classification results of the two approaches are systematically compared and contrasted to show the lacunae in the present method of CRZ classification and to highlight the advantages of using the quantitative approach in coastal land classification. The comparative analysis shows that the quantitative approach takes into account the variation of physical features along the coast and will help in conserving the coastal ecosystem more efficiently. Image 1 • Challenges are identified in current practice of coastal area classification. • Comparative assessment of quantitative and prevailing approach is carried out. • Field validation showed the advantages of new classification approach. • Quantitative approach is found better than approach of current practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]