Title: Land use and land cover changes impacts in the harbour city of Thoothukudi

Authors: S. Rajakumar; M.C. Sashikkumar

Addresses: Department of Civil Engineering, University VOC College of Engineering, Thoothukudi – 628008, Tamil Nadu, India ' Department of Civil Engineering, University College of Engineering, Dindigul – 624622, Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract: Population growth directly disturbs the environment for development, suburbanisation, and social changes. Urban growth leads to shrinking agriculture and forest land and has substantial impact on the land and coastal ecosystem. Regular studies on urban sprawl growth modelling and analysis are needed to provide better urban growth and ensure sustainable urban development. The city of Thoothukudi, located in the states of Tamil Nadu, India, has faced rapid population growth and urban extension over the past three decades. Geospatial tools and satellite imagery were employed to investigate previous changes and growth in the urban landscape. Random forest classification was used to study sustainability and urban growth in Thoothukudi city's administrative border and the suburbs within a 15 km buffer zone. The result shows that Thoothukudi experienced rapid urban growth, increasing by 68.42% between 1997 and 2017. The outcome of this study will assist government officials and urban planners to provide a better strategy to reduce the environmental and social consequences, facilitate the development of the city in a sustainable way and protect the ecosystem services in the near future.

Keywords: land use; land cover; urban sprawl.

DOI: 10.1504/IJESD.2020.106667

International Journal of Environment and Sustainable Development, 2020 Vol.19 No.2, pp.123 - 137

Accepted: 13 Aug 2019
Published online: 16 Apr 2020 *

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