Kolkata, hitherto known as Calcutta, till 2001, is the capital of West Bengal, India. Sutanuti, Kalikata, and Gobindapur were three villages that amalgamated today's town, which has a more than 300-year history and acted as the capital of British East India through 1911. Although one of India's oldest Heritage cities is developing in becoming the Smart City, the city has never designated planning policies. The Kolkata Municipal Corporation Authority (KMDA) was established in 1962, whereas the city’s coalescence occurred in 1690, leading to an extended period of unplanned city growth. Asymmetrical urban sprawl evolved due to several factors, creating multiple challenges for the city and its inhabitants. As a result, an immediate requirement for examining the urbanization over time till the current scenario to formulate subsequent development plans would be sustainable. The implementation of remote sensing data and GIS helps to analyze data to provide sustainable design approaches. This paper addresses problems that contribute to urban sprawl while promoting sustainable design to mitigate the future’s negative consequences. Urbanization and population growth, whereas the leading cause of urban sprawl, sustainable techniques provided would balance the heritage of past and future. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.