Identification of Urban Expansion onto Agricultural Lands Using Satellite Remote Sensing: Two Case Studies in Egypt

Abstract

A critical desertification problem facing the Egyptian government is the expansion of urban centers onto productive agricultural lands. Timely and accurate information is needed by national planners to identify the rate of urban growth. In this study, the rate of urban expansion and corresponding loss of agricultural lands is evaluated for two cities in the Nile Delta. The extent of urban areas identified on SPOT images acquired in 1987 and 1995 is compared to areas identified on a topographic map published in 1950. For both cities, the rate of urban growth was much greater during the more recent 1987‐1995 period than during the earlier 1950‐1987 period.