Abstract
Urban sprawl is generally defined as the urbanization of space adjacent to a city, which results from that city’s development. The discussed phenomenon involves land development, mainly agricultural land, in the proximity of cities, the development of infrastructure, and an increase in the number of residents who rely on urban services and commute to work in the city. Urban sprawl generates numerous problems which, in the broadest sense, result from the difficulty in identifying the boundaries of the central urban unit and the participation of local inhabitants, regardless of their actual place of residence, in that unit’s functional costs. These problems are associated not only with tax collection rights but with difficulties in measuring the extent of urban sprawl in research and local governance. The aim of this study was to analyze the applicability of the CORINE Land Cover (CLC) database for monitoring urbanization processes, including the dynamic process of urban sprawl. Polish cities with county rights, i.e., cities that implement independent spatial planning policies, were analyzed in the study to determine the pattern of urban sprawl in various types of cities. Buffer zones composed of municipalities that are directly adjacent to the central urban unit were mapped around the analyzed cities. The study proposes a novel method for measuring the extent of suburbanization with the use of the CLC database and Geographic Information System (GIS) tools. The developed method relies on the overgrowth of urbanization (OU) index calculated based on CLC data. The OU index revealed differences in the rate of urbanization in three groups of differently sized Polish cities. The analysis covered two periods: 2006–2012 and 2012–2018, and it revealed that urban sprawl in the examined cities proceeded in an unstable manner over time. The results of the present study indicate that the CLC database is a reliable source of information about urbanization processes.
Highlights
The observations made in the recent decades indicate that the development of cities in Europe and around the world has been progressing in a chaotic manner due to insufficient control
Uncontrolled urban expansion is clearly visible in metropolitan areas and it often results from insufficient space within city limits that can be zoned for development in cities characterized by rapid economic and demographic growth [3]
Urban sprawl has been long associated with the development of areas that directly surround the urban core in metropolitan areas [4]
Summary
The observations made in the recent decades indicate that the development of cities in Europe and around the world has been progressing in a chaotic manner due to insufficient control. Urban sprawl has been long associated with the development of areas that directly surround the urban core in metropolitan areas (functional urban areas) [4] This phenomenon is encountered in the vicinity of much smaller settlements, along city boundaries and in rural areas where vast changes in land-use can be observed [5,6]. Urban sprawl is regarded as a natural process that accompanies social and economic change This phenomenon has generally negative connotations because it denotes rapid, uncontrolled, and chaotic expansion of cities [20].
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
