ABSTRACT

Urbanisation is a dynamic complex phenomenon involving large scale changes in the land uses at local levels. Human induced land use and land cover (LULC) changes have been the major drivers of the changes in local and global environments. Urbanisation pattern has a direct influence on urban growth process, which extends its influence on the neighborhood resulting in the sprawl or peri-urban growth. Unplanned urbanization and consequent impacts on natural resources has necessitated the investigation and understanding of mechanisms and dynamics of land use and land-use change on a range of spatial scales as well as evaluation on the environmental consequences of these changes at the landscape scale. Rapid urbanization subsequent to globalization in Karnataka state shows dominant changes in land use during the last two decades. Urban regions are getting urbanized at much faster rates while peri-urban areas are experiencing sprawl. Rapid burgeoning population pressure has resulted in unplanned growth in the urban areas to accommodate these migrant people leading to sprawl. It is a growing concern for city planners during the past decade in India. This paper has analysed urbanisation pattern of Raichur-a Tier II city of Karnataka considering a buffer region of 5 km from the current administrative boundary to account for the likely urbanizing regions. Temporal land cover and land use analysis provide the temporal dynamics. The built-up area of the city has increased from 1.41% in 1973 to 8.51% in 2010. Shannon’s Entropy (an urban sprawl index) shows that there is a remarkable urban sprawl in and around the city. As a result, the urban ecosystem has changed in the last four decades. Landscape metrics indicate a convoluted and a single patch urban growth at the center and a fragmented outgrowth near the boundary of the city and Buffer regions. This paper provides a valuable basis to understand the urban growth dynamics of Raichur City in India as a consequence of land use changes and helps the urban planners to visualize the developments for a sustainable future.

Keywords: Spatio temporal dynamics: Remote sensing: Shannon’s entropy: Raichur: urban sprawl: spatial metrics.