Abstract
Urban expansion is a dynamic and complex phenomenon, often involving adverse changes in land use and land cover (LULC). This paper uses satellite imagery from Landsat-5 TM, Landsat-8 OLI, Sentinel-2 MSI, and GIS technology to analyse LULC changes in 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2020. The research was carried out in Opole, the capital of the Opole Agglomeration (south-western Poland). Maps produced from supervised spectral classification of remote sensing data revealed that in 20 years, built-up areas have increased about 40%, mainly at the expense of agricultural land. Detection of changes in the spatial pattern of LULC showed that the highest average rate of increase in built-up areas occurred in the zone 3–6 km (11.7%) and above 6 km (10.4%) from the centre of Opole. The analysis of the increase of built-up land in relation to the decreasing population (SDG 11.3.1) has confirmed the ongoing process of demographic suburbanisation. The paper shows that satellite imagery and GIS can be a valuable tool for local authorities and planners to monitor the scale of urbanisation processes for the purpose of adapting space management procedures to the changing environment.
Highlights
Martinez-FriasUrban expansion, associated with progressive demographic as well as economic, social, or political processes, is a dynamic and complex process that often has adverse effects on land use and land cover (LULC) changes [1]
The paper shows that satellite imagery and geographic information systems (GIS) can be a valuable tool for local authorities and planners to monitor the scale of urbanisation processes for the purpose of adapting space management procedures to the changing environment
The main objectives of the study are as follows: (1) detection of homogeneous LULC types with the use of supervised spectral classification and remote sensing indices based on the spectral characteristics of individual land cover elements; (2) analysis of spatial and temporal LULC changes; (3) analysis of spatial and temporal changes in built-up areas and their rate in individual equidistances: 0–3 km, 3–6 km, and more than 6 km from the city centre; (4) analysis of the rate of change in built-up areas in relation to the changing population; (5) analysis of the ratio of land consumption to the population growth rate
Summary
Urban expansion, associated with progressive demographic as well as economic, social, or political processes, is a dynamic and complex process that often has adverse effects on LULC changes [1]. These changes, determined by ongoing processes of urban sprawl, are some of the most important and very often irreversible types of environmental change, which in turn affect the transformation of natural vegetation cover and the functioning of urban ecosystems [2,3,4,5,6].
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