Assessing Land Cover Transformation for Urban Environmental Sustainability through Satellite Sensing

Syed Atif Bokhari, Zafeer Saqib, Sarah Amir, Salman Naseer, Muhammad Shafiq, Amjad Ali, Muhammad Zaman-ul-Haq, Azeem Irshad and Habib Hamam
Additional contact information
Syed Atif Bokhari: Department of Geography, Government Graduate College, Asghar Mall, Rawalpindi 46000, Pakistan
Zafeer Saqib: GIS and Eco-Informatics Laboratory, Department of Environmental Science, International Islamic University, Sector H-10, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
Sarah Amir: Department of Environmental Science, Female Campus, International Islamic University, Sector H-10, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
Salman Naseer: Department of Information Technology, University of the Punjab Gujranwala Campus, Gujranwala 52250, Pakistan
Muhammad Shafiq: Department of Information and Communication Engineering, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan 38541, Korea
Amjad Ali: Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO), Karachi 75270, Pakistan
Muhammad Zaman-ul-Haq: Department of Environmental Science, International Islamic University, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
Azeem Irshad: Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering, International Islamic University, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
Habib Hamam: Faculty of Engineering, Uni de Moncton, Moncton, NB E1A3E9, Canada

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 5, 1-19

Abstract: Rapid urbanization in Pakistan is triggering regulated and unregulated land cover changes in planned and semiplanned urban areas. The key objective of this study is to assess the spatial–temporal fluctuations in the land use/land cover (LULC) transformations in planned (Islamabad) and semiplanned (Rawalpindi) urban areas over the last forty years (1976–2016). The study focuses on the orientation of LULC modifications and analyzes concomitant impacts on urban environmental sustainability. Therefore, remotely sensed data were retrieved and processed through Google Earth Engine (GEE) by applying supervised classifier algorithms on each of the five chosen Landsat images. The trajectory of LULC changes for each of the four periods 1976–1988, 1988–1995, 1995–2006 and 2006–2016 was critically scrutinized. The observations revealed massive physical expansions and LULC convergences during these timeframes. The proportionate share of built-up surfaces in this contextual setting substantially stretched from 0.83% in 1976 to 23.23% in 2016, while the shares of cropland and shrubberies significantly reduced. The orientation and magnitude of such changes were observed asymmetrically in the adjoining urban settlements. The assessments formulate that availability of land for urban growth, urban planning and regulatory control significantly determines the speed, scale and orientation of urbanization in planned and semiplanned areas. The study substantiates the notions that the efficient use of cost-effective remotely sensed data offers a pragmatic and reliable tool for assessing, evaluating and monitoring urban land resources. The inferences and insights are relevant for urban and regional planners as well as for other scientific communities.

Keywords: environmental sustainability; land cover; hyperactive urbanization; remote sensing; geographic information system (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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