Entropy-Based Approach for the Analysis of Spatio-Temporal Urban Growth Dynamics

Garima Nautiyal,Archana Sharma,Ashutosh Bhardwaj,Sandeep Maithani

doi:10.3390/ecea-5-06670

Abstract

Relative Entropy (RE) is defined as the measure of the degree of randomness of any geographical variable (i.e., urban growth). It is an effective indicator to evaluate the patterns of urban growth, whether compact or dispersed. In the present study, RE has been used to evaluate the urban growth of Dehradun city. Dehradun, the capital of Uttarakhand, is situated in the foothills of the Himalayas and has undergone rapid urbanization. Landsat satellite data for the years 2000, 2010 and 2019 have been used in the study. Built-up cover outside municipal limits and within municipal limits was classified for the given time period. The road network and city center of the study area were also delineated using satellite data. RE was calculated for the periods 2000–2010 and 2010–2019 with respect to the road network and city center. High values of RE indicate higher levels of urban sprawl, whereas lower values indicate compactness. The urban growth pattern over a period of 19 years was examined with the help of RE.

Highlights

Rapid urbanization and changes of the landscape have been witnessed in some developing countries as a result of fast economic development
Buffer zones were developed for analysis around the roads (Figure 6) and city center (Figure 7)
The Relative Entropy (RE) calculated with respect to the road network and city center is shown in Tables 1 and 2

Summary

Introduction

Rapid urbanization and changes of the landscape have been witnessed in some developing countries as a result of fast economic development. Entropy is an effective indicator to evaluate the patterns of urban growth, whether compact or dispersed, with regard to a factor. It measures the degree of randomness of any geographical variable (i.e., urban growth) among n zones [2,3]. The entropy structure and behavior of different systems (i.e., urban sprawl) can be described [4]. Entropy-based approaches have been widely used for measuring urban growth patterns by using remote sensing and Geographical Information System (GIS) [5–9]. An attempt has been made to evaluate urban growth using the Relative Entropy of Dehradun

Methods

Results

Conclusion