Conclusion

Urban dynamics of rapidly urbanizing landscape – Bangalore has been analysed to understand historical perspective of land use changes, spatial patterns and impacts of the changes. The analysis of changes in the vegetation cover shows a decline from 72% (488sq.km in 1973) to 21% (145sq.km in 2010) during the last four decades in Bangalore.

Land use analyses show that there has been a 584% growth in built-up area during the last four decades with the decline of vegetation by 66% and water bodies by 74%.  Temporal Analyses of Greater Bangalore reveals an increase in urban built up area by 342.83% (during 1973 to 1992), 129.56% (during 1992 to 1999), 106.7% (1999 to 2002), 114.51% (2002 to 2006) and 126.19% from 2006 to 2010.  Urban  growth  pattern  of  Greater Bangalore  has been done in  four  directions  through  landscape  metrics and gradient analysis across six time periods. The urban density gradient illustrates radial pattern of urbanization during 1973 to 2010 indicating of intense urbanization at central core and sprawl at outskirts, which conform with Shanon’s entropy, alpha and beta population densities. Landscape metrics further highlight of compact growth in the region. 

Gradients of alpha and beta densities illustrate urban intensification in the center and sprawl in NW and SW regions. Landscape metrics point towards compact growth in the region, due to intense urbanization in 2000.  The analysis confirms that the nature of land use depended on the activities while the level of spatial accumulation depended on the intensity and concentration of urban builtup. Central areas have a high level of spatial accumulation and corresponding land uses, such as in the CBD, while peripheral areas have lower levels of accumulation. Unplanned concentrated growth or intensified developmental activities  in a region has telling influences on natural resources (disappearance of open spaces – parks and water bodies), traffic congestion, enhanced pollution levels and also changes in the local climate.