Najaf City Between Urbanization And Changing Quality Of Life An Analytical Study Of The City's Reality In 2024

Abstract

It has experienced an extreme metamorphosis in the last several decades, characterized by the fast demographic growth, diffusion of space, and accompanying changes in land-use patterns and the provision of social services in Najaf.  The ongoing investigation attempts to identify the expressions of urbanization in Najaf through the methodical studying of demographic trends, spatial expansion patterns, and transformation of vital infrastructural sectors such as water supply, electrification, sanitation, and transport simultaneously evaluating the adequacy of the educational and health facilities. In this regard, our analysis uses decennial population censuses between 1977, 1987, 1997, 2009 and 2024, as well as spatial interrogation using satellite imagery and open-source GIS platforms.  Najaf population data demonstrates that the population of the area has increased by some 6.3 per cent per year since the year 1977 with the population standing at 188,509 in the year 1977 and currently estimated to be 819,566. The urbanized area increased to 12,810 hectares as compared to the 900 hectares, which is a sign of massive sprawl. However, mounting inadequacies in water, electrical, transportation and sanitation services are also raised up in the study, which is made worse by the influx of informal housing, rising land prices, and environmental degradation. The quality of life indicators has been worsened in a number of districts due to the deficit of services and low quality infrastructure. Finally, the study emphasizes the need of comprehensive urban policies to improve standards of living, maximize the provision of spatial services to achieve sustainable urban development.