A sustainable land development model is developed using GIS in an attempt to control urban sprawl under rapid rural urbanization in China. The recent land development in the Pearl River Delta is out of control

resulting in excessive encroachment on the best agricultural land in many rural areas as well as the urban fringe areas. Government interventions are needed to control such development because agricultural land use can not compete with urban land use. The objective of the model is to ensure that equity between generations and efficiency in land use can be achieved in land development so that development can be sustained in the future. The model is also used to study the impacts of agricultural land loss in Dongguan in 1988—1993 by comparing the actual development with optimal development derived from the sustainable land development model. Land use problems are identified in both spatial and time dimensions as some land conversions are found to occur at the ‘wrong’ time and locations. Future land development which can meet the objective of sustainable development is proposed using the model. By testing different development scenarios and land consumption parameters

planners and government officials can use the model as a decision support system for sustainable land development in China as well as other areas in the world which are under the pressure of rapid urban growth.