Conclusion

Urban growth is the spatial pattern of land development to accommodate anthropogenic demand, influencing other land uses (open spaces, etc.). Urban growth patterns of Chennai and the sprawl in the surrounding 10 km buffer have been assessed using temporal remote sensing data of four decades and spatial metrics. The spatial characteristics of land use features were measured using spatial metrics to explain the physical characteristics, forms and pattern of the land use. The area under vegetation has declined from 70% to 48% with urbanization has increased from 1.46% to about 18.5%. The study has demonstrated that urban growth processes, patterns and structures can be quantified and monitored using a combination of remote sensing data, geo-informatics and spatial metrics through gradient approaches. The combination of remote sensing, landscape metrics and gradient analysis provides insights into the multidimensional phenomenon of urbanisation and of dispersed growth– factors essential for urban planning. The spatial metrics reveal a significant increase in number of urban patches in all directions and gradients during two decades, indicating landscape fragmentation post 2000. Patches at the city center are combining to form a single clumped dominant patch, whereas in outer gradients is more fragmented. The analysis of urban growth patterns emphasize the need for judicious land-use transformation, as well as the formulation of urban development policy with an emphasis on the sustainable utilization of natural resources.