Assessment of Urban Dynamics Using Geospatial Techniques

Abstract

AbstractBengaluru, the capital of Karnataka state and IT capital of India, is well known globally for its affable weather and greenery. During the last few decades, Bengaluru has witnessed phenomenal growth due to various factors, including rapid urbanization, unprecedented population expansion, and Spatio-temporal changes in vegetation cover and lakes. Reliable quantitative information about urban dynamics, especially in terms of vegetation cover and the lake system, is extremely crucial for preserving the quality of life in cities, suburbs, and periphery of metropolitan areas. A detailed geospatial study was carried out using satellite to understand the decadal changes in the vegetated regions and other land use/land cover classes in Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) area to understand the decadal changes in the vegetated regions and ancillary datasets. An overall decrease of 4% area under vegetation cover was observed during 2006 and 2019. However, areas under other classes, mainly buildings, transport networks, and other urban categories, increased from 43.9 to 55.3%. A change map highlighting both positive and negative vegetation change areas and the vegetated areas with nominal changes was prepared for 198 BBMP wards. Karnataka Lake Conservation and Development Authority (KLCDA) requested a systematic spatial–temporal change detection study of drainages and lakes falling within the BDA limits. Under the project, lakes which required to be conserved, preserved, rejuvenated to prevent further deterioration the lakes, were identified using satellite and ancillary data. The study revealed that within the Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) limits, about 500 lakes existed as per the cadastral map inventory, which decreased to 408 as per the inventory of 2017 satellite image. A prioritization of lakes analysis was carried out using the EMPRI’s field support which indicated that 8.0% of lakes required revival and 46.0% of lakes required immediate action. The detailed database of lakes generated under the project is of immense importance to chalk out conservation and lake revival plans for a few lakes aimed at restoring the lake system of Bengaluru. This chapter highlights the findings of the studies undertaken for assessment of urban dynamics of Bengaluru city using geospatial techniques.KeywordsBengaluruUrbanizationVegetationLakesBBMPBDAGeospatial