Road Transport Development and Urban Growth in Gombe Metropolis, Gombe State, Nigeria

Bala Rabiu Hashidu,Bibi Umar Muhammed

doi:10.23953/cloud.ijarsg.362

Abstract

Road transport improvement and urban growth, particularly in developing countries of the world continue to draw attention as they happen to be amongst the crucial issues of global change in the 21st century affecting the physical dimension of cities. The study examines the impact of road transport development on urban growth in Gombe City, Nigeria. To achieve the objectives of this research, road maps of Gombe Metropolis of 1996, 2005 and 2014 were analysed to determine the changes in road network development using alpha, beta and gamma indices. Geographic Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS) techniques was also adopted to determine the pattern of urban growth. The results of the computation of gamma: 56.9%, 57.9% and 60.0%, beta: 1.61, 1.70 and 1.80 and alpha 31.3%, 35.3% and 38.9% indices indicated that there is a significant increase in the level of road network connectivity in Gombe Metropolis from 1996 through the 2005 to 2014. Results obtained from the analysis of urban growth pattern showed that the total built up area has grown from 809.28 hectare (8.29km2) in 1996 to 1,655.05 hectares (16.55km2) in 2005 and to 3,689.01 hectares (36.89km2) in 2014. The study successfully captured the changing pattern of urban growth in the area during the period under study. The results of the urban growth pattern analysis reveal that Gombe is witnessing a fragmented urban growth process, especially at the fringe areas with considerable increase in built-up area, while the city centre underwent relatively compact growth by infilling open spaces and edge expansion over the period of time. Comparison of the changes in urban area and the 3 road network connectivity indices suggest an improvement in network connectivity with increasing urban expansion. It is concluded that road transport development is contributing to urban growth in the study area and therefore, recommends further expansion of existing road network and the introduction of light rail system in order to improve and diversify the commercial nature of Gombe Metropolis by ensuring free flow of people and goods. Keywords Road transport development; Remote sensing; Transport connectivity and remote sensing; Urban growth DOI: https://doi.org/10.23953/cloud.ijarsg.362

Highlights

Transportation plays a vital role in shaping the economy of any nation because modern industries and commercial activities rely on proper, well developed and efficient transport systems (Anyanwu et al, 1997). Wane (2001), pointed out that transportation is a crucial vector for urban insertion since it gives access to economic activity; facilitate family life, and helps in spinning social networks
In order to determine the changes in connectivity over time in Gombe Metropolis, three graphic theoretic measures were used in analyzing the network connectivity, which are all based upon the relationship between the number of edges and vertices in a network
The results of the computation of gamma, beta, and alpha indices indicated that there is a significant increase in road network connectivity in Gombe Metropolis from 1996 through the 2005 to 2014

Summary

Introduction

Transportation plays a vital role in shaping the economy of any nation (or region) because modern industries and commercial activities rely on proper, well developed and efficient transport systems (Anyanwu et al, 1997). Wane (2001), pointed out that transportation is a crucial vector for urban insertion since it gives access to economic activity; facilitate family life, and helps in spinning social networks. Wane (2001), pointed out that transportation is a crucial vector for urban insertion since it gives access to economic activity; facilitate family life, and helps in spinning social networks. Those cities with transport modes in an integrated system are more likely to evolve and IJARSG– An Open Access Journal (ISSN 2320 – 0243). Different conventional transportation modes exist: roads, rail, air, water and pipelines. These modes of transport are all important in one way or the other. Road networks are observed in terms of its components of accessibility, connectivity, traffic density, level of service, compactness and density of particular roads (Onakomaiya, 2012)

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Conclusion