CONCLUSION

A combination of qualitative and quantitative analyses of  spatial temporal land use analyses, fragmentation analysis and characterisation of urbanization process through spatial metrics direction wise for each gradients were adopted  for an improved understanding of urbanisation processes in the tier II city, Shimoga, Karnataka, India. Land cover analysis reveals that there was reduction in the vegetation cover from 89% to 66% during the past two decades in the study region.

Land use analysis reveals of increase in urban category from 13% (1992) to 33% (2010), which is about 253 times during the last two decades. Notable factor is that the Cultivation which is the major land use in the study region has increased to a small extent. Vegetation had decreased drastically over last two decades from 30% (1992) to about 6% (2010).

Spatial analysis revealed that land use in the outskirts is fragmented during 1998 – 2005. The process of clumping to form a single patch is noticed in the core area during 2005-2010 while in the urban fringe, it has been more contiguous and more disorganized in the form of leap frog growth. Presence of water bodies in the heart of the city is the reason for core area not getting aggregated. Shannon’s entropy showed that there was urban sprawl in the outskirts necessitating immediate policy measures to provide infrastructure and basic amenities. Landscape metrics conform of the urban sprawl in the buffer zone, whereas the core area had mix of classes and as we go from the center towards administrative boundary the urban density intensifies. Although Shimoga does show a high degree of infill development that is evident from the reduction of fragmented land. Governmental agencies need to visualize possible growth poles for an effective policy intervention. . Any efforts to do so, however, must take into account the multitude of social, environmental and biophysical realities that will continue to shape the region’s future. Physical urban growth in the region will undoubtedly continue, but it is required that the city planners and developers of Shimoga take a note of the situation and plan for further developmental urban activities in a sound, flexible and sustainable way.