Construction and Use of a Simple Index of Urbanisation in the Rural–Urban Interface of Bangalore, India

Ellen M. Hoffmann, Monish Jose, Nils Nölke and Thomas Möckel
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Ellen M. Hoffmann: Organic Plant Production and Agroecosystems Research in the Tropics and Subtropics, Organic Agricultural Sciences, Universität Kassel, 37213 Witzenhausen, Germany
Monish Jose: Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, Agricultural Sciences, Georg-August Universität Göttingen, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
Nils Nölke: Forest Inventory and Remote Sensing, Forest Sciences, Georg-August Universität Göttingen, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
Thomas Möckel: Grassland Science and Renewable Plant Resources, Organic Agricultural Sciences, Universität Kassel, 37213 Witzenhausen, Germany

Sustainability, 2017, vol. 9, issue 11, 1-21

Abstract: Urbanisation is a global trend rapidly transforming the biophysical and socioeconomic structures of metropolitan areas. To better understand (and perhaps control) these processes, more interdisciplinary research must be dedicated to the rural–urban interface. This also calls for a common reference system describing intermediate stages along a rural–urban gradient. The present paper constructs a simple index of urbanisation for villages in the Greater Bangalore Area, using GIS analysis of satellite images, and combining basic measures of building density and distance. The correlation of the two parameters and discontinuities in the frequency distribution of the combined index indicate highly dynamic stages of transformation, spatially clustered in the rural–urban interface. This analysis is substantiated by a qualitative assessment of village morphologies. The index presented here serves as a starting point in a large, coordinated study of rural–urban transitions. It was used to stratify villages for random sampling in order to perform a representative socioeconomic household survey, along with agricultural experiments and environmental assessments in various subsamples. Later on, it will also provide a matrix against which the results can be aligned and evaluated. In this process, the measures and classification systems themselves can be further refined and elaborated.

Keywords: land use transition; landscape structure; peri-urban agriculture; village morphology; stratified random sample; correlation analysis; frequency distribution; discontinuity analysis; social–ecological system (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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