Rethinking agricultural land use in Algiers: A spatial analysis of the Eastern Mitidja Plain

Abstract

The impact of urban change in developing countries has been manifold. With increasing change in urban morphology, urban peripheries have increased in numbers and typologies. In recent decades, patterns of Algerian population change have concentrated in the peripheries around Algiers. Consequently, forms of development have resulted from the rapid growth of periphery's cities, leading to impacts on agricultural land in the eastern part of the Mitidja Plain. Changes in land use, and regional implications on previously existing agricultural land types, have led to land degradation and ecosystem vulnerability. Availability of satellite imagery focusing on the eastern part of the Mitidja Plain, combined with quantifiable analytics of planning registers support the assessment of long-term trends in land-use change. This combinatory information may provide valuable insights to control and employ efficient regional planning strategies to support policy and decision processes. The objective of this paper is threefold: (i) to quantify the land-use changes along the Mitidja Plain from a spatial-temporal perspective, (ii) to aggregate a regional framework for measuring and monitoring agricultural land use challenges employing spatial interaction, and (iii) to conclude on recommendations brought from policy and planning to enlighten the debate of peripheral urban processes the eastern part of the Mitidja Plain, a vital region for the countries' economic development.