The Impact of Urban Sprawl on the Functional Structure of Baghdad City: A Study in Urban Geography

Abstract

This study examines the impact of urban sprawl on the functional structure of Baghdad City from an urban geography perspective, with a clear distinction between the city as an urban field and Baghdad Governorate as a wider administrative unit. The research addresses a central problem: urban growth in Baghdad City between 2000 and 2025, especially after 2003, has not been limited to a quantitative increase in built-up area, but has involved a spatial transformation in land use, peripheral growth, the conversion of agricultural and open lands, and growing pressure on transport and public services. The study adopts descriptive-analytical, spatial, and temporal approaches, drawing on remote sensing and GIS-based studies as well as planning documents related to the Baghdad Comprehensive City Development Plan 2030. Quantitative indicators show a marked increase in built-up areas, rising surface temperature, and a functional imbalance between residential expansion in the periphery and the concentration of major services and activities in the central city. The study concludes that the challenge is not to stop growth, but to guide it through a multi-centered urban model, integrated housing and transport policies, protection of remaining agricultural land, and realistic upgrading of informal settlements