Application of Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System in Identification of Urban Growth nodes: A Case of Surat City, India

Abstract

With the passage of time, the city's growth behavior will not change unless and until the government intervenes, and thus its identity will shift from monocentric to polycentric to meet the needs of citizens. As a result, this study is being conducted to identify emerging growth nodes within a selected area of Surat City, as well as their growth drivers over a 30-year period. Quantified built-up area within a patch size of 1km x 1km was used to compute patch density at five-year intervals from 1991 to 2021. In addition, the spatial changes that occurred within patches over the same time period were examined. Both analyses aid in determining the emerging growth nodes over a 30-year period. From 1991 to 2021, the city was driven by socioeconomic criteria such as land price, availability of good health and educational facilities, water and sewerage networks, fire stations, proximity factors such as proximity to major roads, bridges, bus stations, metro, railway stations, airport, environmental factors such as the development of riverfront and linear park, bio-diversity park, and government interventions in terms of Town Planning Schemes. This study thus aids urban planners and decision-makers in selecting which growth nodes to plan for new development and type of development, what to connect, and what to protect in the years to come.