Increase In Built-up Area Research Articles

Analysis of spatio-temporal dynamics of land use and cover changes in Western Kenya

The western region of Kenya is experiencing remarkable land changes resulting from population growth and related impacts. The study used remote sensing and GIS techniques to analyze the land use/cover changes in the years 1995, 2001, 2010 and 2017. Multi-spectral Landsat (TM, ETM + and OLI) images were pre-processed and classified using maximum likelihood algorithm in ENVI version 5.4. The overall classification accuracies in all the images were more than 80%. The results revealed major conversions of each land use/land cover type in varying trends and magnitudes. Between 1995 and 2001, there was an increase in built-up areas by 71%, forest cover by 43%, farms by 5%; and decrease in grassland by 47%. By 2017, the built-up areas had increased by 225% and farms by 17%; the forestland, grassland and water reduced by 38, 10 and 11%, respectively. The observed changes are characterized by increased settlements and encroachment of sensitive ecosystems.

Horizontal Development of Built-Up Area and Its Impacts on the Agricultural Land of Peshawar City District (1991–2014)

Peshawar City is experiencing a rapid spatial urban growth primarily as a result of high rate of urbanization along with economic development. This paper was designed to understand the impacts of urbanization on agriculture land use change by particularly focusing on land use change trajectories from the past (1991–2014). We used Landsat imageries (30 m) for 1991 and 2014. The ground truthing of the satellite data was performed by collecting information from Peshawar Development Authority, revenue department, real estate agents and interviews with the officials of city administration. The temporal satellite images were processed by applying supervised maximum likelihood classification technique in ArcGIS 9.3. The procedure resulted into five main classes of land use, i.e., built-up area, farmland, barren land, cultivable wasteland and water bodies. The analysis revealed that in Peshawar City, the built environment has been doubled from 8.1% in 1991 to over 18% in 2014 by predominantly encroaching land producing food. Furthermore, the CA–Markov model predicted that the area under impervious surfaces would continue to flourish during the next three decades. This rapid increase in built-up area is accredited to the lack of proper land use planning and management, which has caused chaotic urban sprawl with detrimental social and environmental consequences.

Landscape Transformations in Rapidly Developing Peri-urban Areas of Accra, Ghana: Results of 30 years

Abstract Beyond the loss of peri-urban agricultural and forested land as a result of built-up expansion, not much information exists on the changes in the structure of the peri-urban landscape in Ghana. The aim of this paper is to examine the extent to which urban expansion is driving changes in landscape structure of the peri-urban fringes of Accra. We submit that rapid peri-urbanisation will fragment the existing agricultural and forested landscape with consequent ecological, socio-economic and urban governance implications. Using Landsat satellite images for the years 1985, 1991, 2002 and 2015 the study area was classified into four land cover classes. The study adopted the use of Urban Intensity Index (UII) and the Annual Rate of Urbanization (R) as measures of urbanization. Edge density (ED), largest patch index (LPI) and Aggregation index (AI) were used as proxies to measure landscape structural transformations. The study reveals substantial reductions and fragmentation in agricultural lands, riverine and open forests, while there has been over 200 percent increase in built-up areas. Beyond these revelations in spatiotemporal changes in landscape structure, the paper points to the ecological implications of the changes, and three key socio-economic and urban governance implications.

Development of Rain Water Harvesting System through National Highway Profiles by Using GIS and Field Survey

In last few decades groundwater recharge has reduced and surface water runoff has increased due to increase in built-up areas. Most of the rainwater is wasted due to the runoff in absence of proper water harvesting plan. It is required to develop a technique to harvest rainwater from all possible ways. It is easy to implement the project of rainwater harvesting system on National Highways. Longitudinal as well as cross-sectional slopes of National Highways are already very accurate to channelize the rainwater for harvesting. In this study, an integrated approach for assessing the rainwater harvesting capacity in minimum cost by using GIS and field survey approach for the study area on National Highway 27, Udaipur bypass. In a pilot study of 5 km segment of National Highway 27, it is found that 65 million liters of water can be harnessed for future use by 2000 villagers for about 240 days with per capita consumption of 135 lpcd (litre per capita demand). RS and GIS provide a good opportunity to gain a better understanding of contour pattern, natural and manmade profiles. The result indicates the application of GIS techniques help for conducting detailed field survey for planning the proper drainage system along the highways to store rainwater in the nearest reservoir. The socioeconomic survey was also conducted to select a good insight into the local situation.

Spatio-Temporal Patterns of Land Use and Cover Change from 1990 to 2010: A Case Study of Jiangsu Province, China.

Land use and cover change (LUCC) is one of the most significant parts of global environmental changes, which reflects the interaction between human society and natural resources. In China, the urbanization process is experiencing a rapid sprawl since the reform and open program in 1978, and there has been a serious change in situation in the human–land relationship. In this paper, taking Jiangsu province located in the eastern coastal developed region as an example, the historic evolution process of the land use situation from 1990 to 2010 was explored. Landsat images from three periods were analyzed, using the land use transition matrix model, the land use dynamic degree model, and the land use degree model to evaluate the LUCC of Jiangsu during two research periods from 1990 to 2000 and from 2000 to 2010. Additionally, logistic regression models and some quantitative analysis were applied to identify the major potential driving factors behind the LUCC during the research period based on different dimensions. The results showed the following: (1) the most obvious change was the continuous increase of built-up area and the decrease of arable land, which reflected the deterioration of the ecological environment and the accelerate of the urbanization trend. (2) The land use change dynamic degree from 2000 to 2010 was much greater than that from 1990 to 2000. (3) Socio-economic elements and human activities were the major driving forces of LUCC in Jiangsu province. Amongst these forces, the driving factors of the population change, GDP, per capita household income, and per capita housing area have an obvious effect on the arable land loss and the built-up area expansion.

MAPPING OF LAND-COVER CHANGE ANALYSIS IN MA’RIB AT YEMEN USING REMOTE SENSING AND GIS TECHNIQUES

Abstract. Studies on the change in occupation and land-use are of great importance in order to understand landscape dynamics in the process of agricultural land degradation, urbanization, desertification, deforestation and all change in the landscape global of a region. The most effective procedure to measure the degree of land-cover and land-use changes is the multi-date study. For this purpose, the aim of this work is to analyze the current evolution of land-use and land-cover (LULC) using remote sensing techniques, in order to better understand this evolution. For this purpose, a diachronic approach is applied to satellite images acquired in 1987 to 2018 of Ma’rib city Yemen. The LULC maps we obtained were produced from different image analysis procedures (non-supervised classification and recode technique) to map the land-use and land-cover. The objective of this study is to apply reproducibly and generalizable a predefined nomenclature to different scenes of satellite images. The first step consists in interpreting the radiometric classes obtained by non-supervised classification so as to form the classes of the thematic nomenclature. An improvement of the classification is then obtained by using the recode technique which makes it possible to correctly reassign the previously badly classified pixels of the satellite images classification. Land-cover maps obtained from remote sensing were used to quantify the rate of change (Tc) and (Tg) of area occupied by each class. The results will indicate the most changeable period and the percentage of overall change in the study area (Ma’rib Yemen), and helped to identify and characterize the spatial and temporal evolution of land use in the district over a period of thirty-one years (1987 to 2018). They reveal that annual average rates of decline for the water body is −83.5% and −9.96% for the sandy land. However, it was observed an increase in built-up area 365.52% and farm land 324.52% classes.

Simulating Land Cover Changes and Their Impacts on Land Surface Temperature in Onitsha, South East Nigeria

The increasing urbanization generally is brought about by many eco-environmental problems, such as the drastic change of land use and development of urban heat island. This study identified the pattern of land cover changes in Onitsha, South East Nigeria, and assessed the trend in temperature over the area from 1986 to 2016, simulated the land cover changes for 2030 and 2044, and estimated their impacts on land surface temperature (LST). These were with the view to determining the effects of changes in land use/cover on the LST in the area. Primary and secondary data were used for the study. The primary data were coordinates of geographic features within the study area, collected through the use of global positioning system. The secondary data were minimum and maximum temperature data from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET), high-resolution Quick-bird imagery, Landsat TM/ETM imageries for four epochs (1986, 2002, and 2016) with path and row of 189 and 56. Individual components (bare surface, built-up, vegetation and surface water bodies) in the study area were extracted from the images. Radiometric correction was first performed (for 2016 landsat imagery) to fill the line scan corrector (LSC) gaps using Focal Analysis tool in ERDAS Imagine 14.0. This was followed with clipping of the satellite imagery to extract only those portions that are within the boundary of the study area. Supervised image classification was done for the three series of remotely sensed imageries to extract the spatial pattern of land cover change. The results revealed that the study area has been growing to a relatively compact urban agglomeration. The concentration of built-up area at the western and the central part of the study area has been getting larger and more aggregated. Built-up area increased by 11.49% from 1986 to 2002 and 5.68% from 2002 to 2016 while vegetation decreased by 6.03% from 50.26% in 1986 to 44.23% in 2002. The decrease further continued from 44.23% in 2002 to 29.79% in 2016 (change of 14.44%). Expansion to spread into the sub-urban and rural communities bounding the metropolis, converting agricultural and green area to built-up areas. The land cover trend of the study area from the period of 1986-2016 shows dramatic changes for the dominant land cover types. The analyzed trend in temperature change shows that the central parts of the city have a temperature higher than the outlying parts. The results indicated that the average temperature of the study area increased from 24&#176C in 1986 to 28&#176C in 2016. The simulated land cover also showed a decreasing trend in vegetal cover. The study concluded that the increase in built-up area caused an annual increase in land surface temperature (0.31&#176C) over the study period.

Transition from Land Use/Cover into Urban Expansion in Dutse Metropolis, Jigawa State, Nigeria

The purpose of this research is to analyse the effect of Urban Expansion on Land Use/Cover Change in Dutse, Jigawa State, Nigeria. Landsat TM and ETM+ satellite imageries of 1986, 2000 and 2014 respectively, were used. The imageries were processed using ERDAS IMAGINE 9.2 software. A supervised classification approach using maximum likelihood classifier and Transition Change Analysis were carried out using IDRISSI 17.0 Selva Edition version. Results from the analysis revealed that increase in built-up area resulted to changes in other land use/cover categories between 1986 and 2014. Built up area was 20.4% in 1986 and increased to 28.4% in 2000. Further increase was witnessed in built up area to about 38.2% in 2014. The results further revealed that about 7.2% bare surfaces changed into built-up from 1986-2014. About 14.8% of cultivated land changed into built-up from 1986-2014. Vegetation witnessed a remarkable changes into built-up of about 4.5% from 1986-2014. There is need for Jigawa State Government to equip the planning authorities and other ministries involved in decision making with adequate spatial data to ensure broad based decisions. Land use suitability analysis of the study area is also recommended.

Assessing urban sprawl using remote sensing and landscape metrics: A case study of City of Tshwane, South Africa (1984–2015)

Urbanisation is a phenomenon that is of major concern in both developing and developed countries. Uncontrolled urbanisation leads to formal and informal settlements, industrialisation, improvement of transport networks and economic growth. Monitoring, quantifying and mapping urban sprawl as well as establishing the contributors of land cover change are crucial in designing strategies and policies for effective and sustainable land use management. This study determines the spatio-temporal characteristics of urban sprawl in the City of Tshwane (CoT) from 1984 to 2015 using Landsat satellite imagery. Supervised maximum likelihood classification mapped the land cover for the CoT from 1984 to 2015 using archival Landsat TM, ETM+ and OLI datasets. Post-classification change detection techniques coupled with landscape metrics helped to assess and quantify trends and patterns of urban sprawl. Change detection and analysis revealed that over the 31 years of study between 1984 and 2015 there was an increase in built-up areas in the CoT by 109% between 1984 and 2015. Landscape metrics confirmed also the increase in built-up areas in the CoT.

Urban Sprawl Typology in Semarang City

The population and economic growth increase the need of space leading to an increase in built-up area. There is an increased activity in the city centre which results in the residents feeling less comfortable to live in the area. Hence, the growth of the settlement area tends to head towards the periphery. This condition is an indication of the developments of the built-up area in the periphery. Urban sprawl is a phenomenon of development of an irregular built-up area which leads to the suburbs. Urban development as a result of urban sprawl will trigger an increase in the demand for supporting facilities and infrastructure. An urban Sprawl in Semarang City has resulted in the establishment of residential areas in a conserved region, which is against zoning regulations in the Semarang City Spatial Planning Document (RTRW). Urban Sprawl Typology Research in Semarang City aims to analyse the urban sprawl typology in the city. By knowing the typology, it can minimise the impact of urban sprawl. This research was conducted using the remote sensing method and geographic information system (GIS) with the Shannon's Entropy approach. The results indicated that in 2006 and 2016, urban sprawl in Semarang City had three types of typology that can be classified as typology I (low level), typology II (medium level) and typology III (high level). The impact of urban sprawl on typology II and III can be minimised through the provision of affordable housing with adequate infrastructure, and an improvement in the permit system for housing and settlement development.

IMPACT ANALYSIS OF URBANIZATION ON LAND USE LAND COVER CHANGE FOR KHULNA CITY, BANGLADESH USING TEMPORAL LANDSAT IMAGERY

Abstract. Urbanization has given a massive pace in Land Use Land Cover (LULC) changes in rapidly growing cities like Khulna, i.e. the third largest city of Bangladesh. Such impacting changes have taken place in over-decadal scale. It is important because detailed analysis with regularly monitoring will be fruitful to drag the attention of decision maker and urban planner for sustainable development and to overcome the problem of urban sprawl. In this present study, changes in LULC as an impact of urbanization, have been investigated for years 1997, 2002, 2007, 2012 and 2017; using three generation of Landsat data in geographic information system (GIS) domain which has the height competence in recent time. Initially, LULC have categorised into Built-up, Vegetation, Vacant Land, and Waterbody with the help of supervised classification technique. Field work had been carried out for acquiring training dataset and validation. The accuracy has been achieved more than 85% for the changes assessed. Analysis has an outlet with increase in built-up area by 27.92% in year 1997 to 2017 and continued respectively in each successive interval of half a decade at the given years. On the other side waterbody and vacant land decreased correspondingly. Bound to mention, instead to having largest temporal durability, the moderate spatial resolution of Landsat data has a limitation for such urban studies. These changes are responsible by both of natural or anthropogenic factors. Such study will provide a better way out of optimization of land-use to prepare detail area plan (DAP) of Khulna City Corporation (KCC) and Khulna development authority (KDA).

Mapping urban expansion and its effect on the surrounding land uses using GIS and remote sensing. A case study in Debre Tabor Town, Ethiopia

In recent years, GIS and Remote Sensing technology has played a vital role in studying urban growth and development. This study is aimed to assess the effects of urban expansion on the surrounding land uses using GIS and Remote Sensing in Debre Tabor Town. Remote sensing data or products such as Aerial photograph (1984), Quick Bird Satellite Image (2000), and Aerial photograph (2016) were used to compute spatial or temporal changes of land use land cover due to urban expansion. ERDAS Imagine and Arc GIS software were used to analyze, model and map the data. The study revealed a significant change in urban boundary and urban land-use land cover between 1984 and 2016. The urban boundary expansion rate between the years 1984 and 2000 was 69.06%, higher than the rate experienced thereafter to the year 2016 (18.86%). However, for the last thirty-two years, between 1984 and 2016, the overall boundary increasement of almost eighty one percent (81.4) was very magnificent. The study also indicated that the area experiencing rapid increase in built-up areas (80.93 %), and agricultural land (23.81%). However, sharp decrease of forest by 36.07%, and open land by 65.02% was seen in the same periods of years. Built-up area expansion was found to have increased by expanding the urban boundary at the expense of open land, agricultural land, and forests. Therefore, integrating GIS and remote sensing technology for urban expansion mapping is a worthy method. Hence, it is recommended that it will be cost effective if the results of this study will be incorporated into ongoing urban planning and land use by concerned bodies.

Drivers and consequences of biophysical landscape change in a peri-urban–rural interface of Guwahati, Assam

North-east India is constituted of highly diverse ecosystems with unique characteristics with high dependency on primary sector income (86% on agriculture). It is very crucial to look into the issues like agriculture, ecosystem services and sociocultural aspects of endemic population, while urban areas are expanding. This paper examines the issues pertinent to peri-urban expansion with a case study from the biggest city of the region, Guwahati. The scope for sustainable development planning in peri-urban region through analysing spatial, economic, social, institutional and environmental aspects has been incorporated in this paper. Landscape research has been enhanced with temporal and spatial analysis of land-use and land-cover change for better landscape management. Remotely sensed data are the most important data source for land-cover change trajectories over three decades at three points of time (1991, 2001 and 2011) for the selected study landscape. This research explores the temporal composition of the main land-use land-cover classes. The major changes in land-use land-cover classes observed from the study are reduction in natural land cover (from 83.57 to 61.85%) and increase in built-up area (from 0.96 to 15.39%) and agricultural (from 6.01 to 15.59%) uses. Despite the intensification of agricultural land area, there has been decrease in agricultural livelihoods and subsequent reduction in income contribution from natural resource-based livelihoods. These findings on land-use land-cover change can be inferred as the impacts of peri-urbanization leading to degradation of agricultural land, deforestation, deterioration of wetland and wild habitat destruction.

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

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

Geospatial Analysis of Wetlands Degradation in Makurdi, Nigeria

Abstract. Globally, the amount of wetlands have being on the decline due to the fragile nature of these ecosystems and unplanned land consumption practices. This has created pressure on suitable land for cultivation in most developing countries where most of the growing food demand originates. Previous studies revealed that wetlands and agricultural landuse dominated the landscape of Makurdi. However, the trend is changing in recent times. Makurdi has undergone tremendous transformation in its landuse/landcover due to rapid urbanization since 1976 when it became the capital city of Benue State. To estimate the land cover change in Makurdi, Landsat ETM, ETM+ and OLI satellite data for 1996, 2006 and 2016, respectively were utilised. The study adapted the Kappa index for assessing accuracy of the land use/cover maps generated from the analysis to improve the accuracy of results. An accuracy level of 80 to 91 % was achieved. The results reveal an overall significant increase in built-up area and other land uses at the expense of wetlands from 26.3 % in 1996 to 18.1 % in 2016. Further analysis includes the land consumption rate (LCR) and land absorption coefficient (LAC) which reveals the role of population expansion in the recorded levels of wetland losses recorded in this study. The study projects a further decline of wetland cover by 33.15 km2 (or by 22.57 %) in 2026 if steps are not instituted to control the rate of decline. Suggestions are made to align with and incorporate into policy the strategic need to adopt the provisions of the SDGs at local levels if we intend to avert the massive failure recorded by the now rested MDGs.

Impact of Land Use Change on Flow and Sediment Yields in the Khokana Outlet of the Bagmati River, Kathmandu, Nepal

Land use changes are a key factor for altering hydrological response, and understanding its impacts can help to develop a sustainable and pragmatic strategy in order to preserve a watershed. The objective of this research is to estimate the impact of land use changes on Bagmati river discharge and sediment yield at the Khokana gauging station of the Kathmandu valley outlet. This study analyzes the impact of land use changes from the year 2000 to 2010 using a semi-distributed hydrological, Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model. The Load Estimator (LOADEST) simulates sediment loads on limited available sediment data. Sensitivity analysis is performed using the ParaSole (Parameter Solution) method within SWAT Calibration and Uncertainty Procedure (SWAT-CUP), which shows that Linear parameters for calculating the maximum amount of sediment that can be re-entrained during channel sediment routing is a most sensitive parameter that affect the hydrological response of the watershed. Monthly discharge and sediment data from 1995 to 2002 are used for calibration and remaining monthly discharge and sediment data from 2003 to 2010 are used for validation. Four statistical parameters including the Coefficient of Determination (R2), Nash–Sutcliffe Efficiency (NSE), RMSE-observations’ standard deviation ratio (RSR), and Percentage Bias (PBIAS) are estimated in order to evaluate the model performance. The results show a very good agreement between monthly measured and simulated discharge data as indicated by R2 = 0.88, NSE = 0.90, RSR = 0.34, and PBIAS = 0.03. The model shows nearly the same performance also with sediment data. The land use change data shows about a 6% increase in built-up areas from the years 2000 to 2010, whereas the remaining areas such as Forest, Shrub, Grass, Agriculture, Open Field, and Rivers/Lakes are decreased. The surface runoff contribution to stream flow and sediment yields are increased by 27% and 5% respectively. In the contrary, lateral flow contribution to stream flow and groundwater contribution to stream flow are decreased by 25% and 21%, respectively.

Recommended lines of Kashubian Lakeland landscape management in the light of their quarter-century transformation in the vicinity of Gdańsk agglomeration

Planning of spatial development in suburban areas requires considering natural and landscape criteria. In the studied transect Gdansk - Kartuzy (189 km 2 ), which has undergone a dynamic development of build-up area, in the last quarter of a century, we carried out analysis and assessment of urban sprawl in the years 1987-2012 and its relationship with the features of the terrain as well as the degradation of visual landscape values – based on a broad set of numerical spatial data. There is a little negative correlation of the frequency of the built environment with relative heights and a positive with intensity degradation of visual landscape values. Within the given period, the increase in built-up area amounted to 137% and this trend may continue, in the light of the findings of the studies on conditions and directions of spatial development of municipalities. The latest development, to a small extent, interferes with elements of ecological networks: patches and corridors, however, the planned investments, especially metropolitan bypass road, can reduce the efficiency of the functioning of the ecological corridor of the Radunia valley. In order to present recommendations in the scope of the landscape management and protection, the area was divided into 12 zone types, which were assigned with different spatial policies. The largest of them include large forest complexes (A), farmland dominated by fields (D), multi-functional rural settlements (F) and suburban areas (G).

The impact of urban expansion on the regional environment in Myanmar: a case study of two capital cities

This study examines the spatio-temporal patterns of urban expansion for Yangon and Nay Pyi Taw, the former and new national capitals of Myanmar, and its impact on the regional environment between 2000 and 2013. The objective is to examine different driving forces of urban expansion for Yangon and Nay Pyi Taw, and their environmental consequences during Myanmar’s transitional economy. Classified time-series Landsat images are used to evaluate urban expansion processes. Environmental parameters being evaluated in this study include five sets of remotely sensed MODIS land products that are land surface temperature (LST), percent tree cover (PTC), evapotranspiration (ET), terrestrial ecosystem net primary productivity (NPP), and aerosol optical depth (AOD). A time-series trend analysis technique is used to examine the environmental consequences. The built-up areas in Nay Pyi Taw and Yangon exhibit exponential and polynomial increase, respectively. A 1% increase of built-up area could potentially cause an increase of daytime LST of 0.7 °C, a PTC loss of 2.3%, a decrease in NPP of 34.3 kg/m2, and an ET decrease of 42.2 mm for Yangon. Similarly, for Nay Pyi Taw, a 1% increase in built-up area could potentially cause a daytime LST increase of 0.3 °C, a nighttime LST increase of 0.06 °C, a PTC loss of 2.5%, a decrease in NPP of 15.1 kg/m2, and a decrease of 19.2 mm ET. No significant change was observed for AOD for either city. Both cities have experienced extensive urban expansion but with different spatial and temporal characteristics, and their effects on the regional environment are different. Urban expansion of Nay Pyi Taw mainly was government-induced municipal infrastructure development. Yangon’s expansion is mainly caused by population pressure and migration from rural areas. The urban expansion in Yangon was mainly due to reconstruction and renovation, as well as infill development during the study period.

Land Use and Cover Change during the Rapid Economic Growth Period from 1990 to 2010: A Case Study of Shanghai

China has experienced a period of rapid economic growth during the past few decades especially in Shanghai. The rapid urbanization has caused great change for land use and cover change (LUCC), which is a prominent feature of global change. This paper focuses on land use history and the driving forces of LUCC in Shanghai from 1990 to 2010. We evaluated the LUCC of Shanghai based on three period Landsat images using the land use transition matrix model, the land use dynamic degree model, and the land use degree model. Then we analyzed the potential driving forces from different dimensions. The results show that the most obvious pattern of LUCC is the increase of built-up area and the decrease of arable land. The land use change dynamic from 2000 to 2010 is much greater than that from 1990 to 2010. The main driving forces of LUCC are human activity and social economic development.

Comparative Analysis of Responses of Land Surface Temperature to Long-Term Land Use/Cover Changes between a Coastal and Inland City: A Case of Freetown and Bo Town in Sierra Leone

Urban growth and its associated expansion of built-up areas are expected to continue through to the twenty second century and at a faster pace in developing countries. This has the potential to increase thermal discomfort and heat-related distress. There is thus a need to monitor growth patterns, especially in resource constrained countries such as Africa, where few studies have so far been conducted. In view of this, this study compares urban growth and temperature response patterns in Freetown and Bo town in Sierra Leone. Multispectral Landsat images obtained in 1998, 2000, 2007, and 2015 are used to quantify growth and land surface temperature responses. The contribution index (CI) is used to explain how changes per land use and land cover class (LULC) contributed to average city surface temperatures. The population size of Freetown was about eight times greater than in Bo town. Landsat data mapped urban growth patterns with a high accuracy (Overall Accuracy > 80%) for both cities. Significant changes in LULC were noted in Freetown, characterized by a 114 km2 decrease in agriculture area, 23 km2 increase in dense vegetation, and 77 km2 increase in built-up area. Between 1998 and 2015, built-up area increased by 16 km2, while dense vegetation area decreased by 14 km2 in Bo town. Average surface temperature increased from 23.7 to 25.5 °C in Freetown and from 24.9 to 28.2 °C in Bo town during the same period. Despite the larger population size and greater built-up extent, as well as expansion rate, Freetown was 2 °C cooler than Bo town in all periods. The low temperatures are attributed to proximity to sea and the very large proportion of vegetation surrounding the city. Even close to the sea and abundant vegetation, the built-up area had an elevated temperature compared to the surroundings. The findings are important for formulating heat mitigation strategies for both inland and coastal cities in developing countries.