The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, Volume XLII-3/W11, 2020

PECORA 21/ISRSE 38 Joint Meeting, 6–11 October 2019, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

MANAGING URBAN SPRAWL USING REMOTE SENSING AND GIS

Krishnaveni K.S. 1, Anilkumar P.P. 2

1 Research Scholar, Department of Architecture & Planning, NIT Calicut, Kerala, India - [email protected]
2 Department of Architecture & Planning, NIT Calicut, Kerala, India - [email protected]

KEYWORDS: Urban sprawl, remote sensing, GIS, built-up index, Shannon’s entropy, sustainability

ABSTRACT:

Indian cities, like several other developing cities around the world, are urbanizing at an alarming rate. This unprecedented and
uncontrolled urbanization may result in urban sprawl, which is characterized by low-density impervious surfaces, often clumsy,
extends along the fringes of metropolitan areas with unbelievable pace, disperse, auto-dependent with environmentally and socially
impacting characteristics. The ill-effects of urban sprawl in developing countries scenario is a bit complicated compared to that of
developed countries because of uncontrolled population growth and haphazard urbanization. This paper attempts to investigate the
capabilities of remote sensing and GIS techniques in understanding the urban sprawl phenomenon in a better way compared to time-
consuming conventional methods. An overview of the enormous potential of remote sensing and GIS techniques in mapping and
monitoring the Spatio-temporal patterns urban sprawl is dealt with here. The spatial pattern and dynamics of the urban sprawl of
Kozhikode Metropolitan Area (KMA, Kerala, India) during the period from 1991 to 2018 using the integrated approach of remote
sensing and GIS are attempted here. Index derived Built-up Index (IDBI) which is a thematic index-based index (combination of
Normalized Difference Built-up Index (NDBI), Modified Normalized Difference Water Index (MNDWI) and Soil Adjusted
Vegetation Index (SAVI)) is used for the rapid and automated extraction of built-up features from the time series satellite imageries.
The extracted built-up areas of each year are then used for Shannon’s entropy calculations, which is a method for the quantification
of urban sprawl. The results of IDBI and Shannon’s entropy analysis highlight the fact that there occurs an alarming increase in the
built-up areal extent from 1991 to 2018. The urban planning authorities can make use of these techniques of built-up area extraction
and urban sprawl analysis for effective city planning and sprawl control.

1. INTRODUCTION

The 2019 review of the World Population Prospects by the

United Nations Population Division sets out that by the year jobs, fiscal impacts, political impacts, impacts on transport,
2030, the World’s urban population will increase to 4.9 billion, impacts on agriculture, and open space.
whereas the World’s rural population is projected to reduce by
some 28 million between 2005 and 2030. Indeed, by 2050, very It is imperative to discover the appropriate methods to analyze
few nations are anticipated to have higher rural shares than the spatial features, and unique mechanism of urban sprawl
urban ones. More than half of the world’s population currently within the Indian context as the consequences of urban sprawl
lives in metropolitan regions and is projected to reach two- in India are on the rise. The measurement, mapping, and
thirds by 2050. (Web-1). Therefore, at a global scale, all tracking of urban sprawl are essential for public authorities and
potential population rises will be focused more in towns and planners in any region to accomplish adequate management of
cities, majority of them will be in developing countries. This urban sprawling. The process of urban sprawl measurement has
massive increase in the urban population, together with an been a hot topic of research among the academic fraternity. In
unprecedented rate of urbanization, may cause unplanned, this context, remote sensing and geographical information
uncontrolled or unrestricted growth/spreading of urban areas system (GIS) methods are outlined in this study to monitor and
into the peripheries may be recognized as urban sprawl. evaluate urban sprawl. To monitor dynamic changes in urban
sprawl, the built-up regions were extracted from Landsat
classified images of four distinct periods. Across the world,
The notion of urban sprawl has been interpreted and defined in researchers are focusing on various multi-dimensional
countless ways, and as a consequence, there has been no indicators of urban sprawl by employing remote sensing and
agreement on the definition of urban sprawl. However, a widely GIS-based analysis or descriptive statistical analysis. (Ewing et
accepted definition is uncontrolled, unlawful, unplanned, and al., 2002) (Frenkel, M. A. 2005) (Galster, G. et al. 2001)
uncoordinated low-density single-use development facilitates (Barnes et al. 2001) (Song et al. 2004). This study attempts to
that does not provide for a functional and appealing find an easy way to extract the built-up features using an index
combination of land use mixes and/or is not functionally derived built-up index through the techniques of remote sensing
connected to neighboring land-uses and which variously and GIS.
appears as leapfrog, or isolated development, ribbon or strip
with scattered residential neighbourhoods and commercial strip Among the various indicators of urban sprawl, this study
development, with automobile dominance which are considers the built-up features as an indicator of urban sprawl
aesthetically displeasing in nature (Nelson, 1995,Hiller, 2013). and attempted to map all the built-up features within the study
There is an enormous number of journals and publications that area using a completely automated method of built-up
explore the adverse effects of urban sprawl on metropolises. extraction known as Index-derived built-up index (IDBI) which
Freilich (1999) identified seven adverse sprawl effects, was proposed by Xu in 2008. The three thematic indices used
including impacts on society, impacts on housing, impacts on

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 The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, Volume XLII-3/W11, 2020
PECORA 21/ISRSE 38 Joint Meeting, 6–11 October 2019, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

for the generation of IDBI are the Soil Adjusted Vegetation

Index (SAVI, the Normalized Difference Water Index (NDBI),),
and the Modified Normalized Difference Water Index
(MNDWI). IDBI helps to extract built-up features very quickly
by effectively eliminating background noise caused by water,
soil, etc.

2. URBAN SPRAWL: CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES

Although there are various measures and dimensions for the

phenomenon of urban sprawl, there is no common universally
accepted definition for the process of urban sprawl. It should
always be better to describe rather than to define the concept of
urban sprawl. (Galster et al. 2000, Wilson et al.). Generally,
urban sprawl is characterized by an example of a sprawling city
like Los Angeles which symbolizes sprawl characteristics or as
an aesthetic condition or as the cause of an unwanted externality
or as selected patterns of land use/ land development or even
defined as a process of development over time and space
(Galster, 2010). A widely accepted definition of urban sprawl is
low-density, dispersed, decentralized, polycentric sub-urban
development, which is mainly catalyzed by low-cost auto travel
and technological innovations (Ewing, 1997). The notable
characteristics of urban sprawl are discontinuous development
with low-density residential patterns, fragmentation of land
uses, transportation dominated by private vehicles, excessive
land consumption, and social segregation with aesthetically
displeasing type of development. Based on its spatial form,
sprawl can be classified as linear strip\ribbon development
(occur as a result of rail/road development), leapfrog
development, single-use development, and continuous low-
density sprawl and single-use development. (Batty et al., 2003).

There are a large number of factors that add fuel to the process
of urban sprawl. They are urban expansion coupled with
population growth, rural-urban migration, economic growth,
industrialization, lower land value in the peripheries, lower tax
rates in the fringes, lack of affordable housing at the city core,
physical geography, emergence of Information and
Communication Systems (ICT) and other technological
innovations, desire for living in greener surroundings, lack of
spatial planning and failure to enforce planning etc. These
causative factors vary from place to place. In a developed
country, people see sprawl as a choice, whereas in a developing
country, sprawl is mainly seen as a result of necessity (Kew,
2013).

The damaging dimensions of urban sprawl are very much

critical, and it is inevitable to tame it for the sustainability of
3. URBAN SPRAWL MANAGEMENT USING REMOTE
our environment. Urban sprawl consequences can be broadly
SENSING NAD GIS
categorized into three groups; social/community impacts,
economic impacts, and environmental/ecological impacts. Table
1 summarizes the detrimental impacts arising from uncontrolled In order to understand the rapid changes that are happening to
urban sprawl. The measurement, mapping, and surveillance of our cities, mapping and monitoring of the urban evolution at
the extent of urban sprawl are exceptionally crucial for spatial and temporal scales are inevitable. Uncontrolled
government officials and planners in any region to manage the urbanization, together with unprecedented population growth,
undesired effects resulting from urban expansions. results in detrimental land-use land-cover changes, which can
be considered as a threat to urban sustainability. Remote
sensing and GIS techniques are innovative tools widely used to
Table 1: Impacts of uncontrolled Urban Sprawl track and monitor urban growth, changes in land use land cover
Commu Economic Ecological features and urban transition. (Bhatta, 2012).
nity Impacts Impacts
Impacts
Remote sensing is the art and science of obtaining information
about an object, an area or phenomenon, without direct contact

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 The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, Volume XLII-3/W11, 2020
PECORA 21/ISRSE 38 Joint Meeting, 6–11 October 2019, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

with the object or target under consideration (Lillesand & tools will enable us to visualize how and where the city is
Keifer). The electromagnetic radiation is used as a critical growing in an uncontrolled and unplanned manner. This will
information source in remote sensing. To study the properties of help the concerned local planning authorities to get an easy
a target, the technique of remote sensing makes use of the understanding of the development that can be sanctioned or
energy that is emitted/ reflected/ absorbed by the destination need to be avoided in a particular region. Additionally, the
under consideration. A Geographical Information System identification and preservation of pristine natural environmental
(GIS)is a “computer-based system that provides the following resources, natural open space, environmentally sensitive areas
four sets of capabilities to handle georeferenced data: input, like wetlands, sacred grooves, etc. will help in the reduction of
data management (storage and retrieval), manipulation and urban sprawl and thereby enhance urban sustainability.
analysis, output” (Aronoff, 1989). GIS is composed of a set of
tools for capturing, storing, retrieving, analyzing and displaying The advantages of remote sensing applications in urban sprawl
information which are spatially referenced to the earth. GIS mapping and monitoring are listed below.
offers forward mapping features like a database management • Possibility of incorporating multiple sensor data
system for displaying geographical information, as well as with the same or different spatial, spectral or temporal
backward mapping functions for carrying out “querying.” In resolutions.
addition to the quick data production capabilities, GIS
• Extensive areal coverage and quick data
technologies are an immense source of help for the policy
acquisition
implementers.
• Availability of temporal datasets/repetitive data
acquisition
With the integrated use of remote sensing and GIS techniques, • Can process the data digitally and analyze it
the urban sprawl phenomenon can be mapped effectively and efficiently compared to conventional methods
monitored regularly. Recent advances in satellite remote sensing • It can integrate with GIS/GNSS, database
sensor capabilities help to create urban maps with even tiny management systems, etc.
details and help planners and policymakers to get a more in- • Cost-effective
depth understanding of urban expansion, urban sprawl, and • Technologically sound
urban land management issues (NASA 2001). In the beginning,
• It provides an accurate and permanent recording
remote sensing was dominated by aerial photography. The first
of spatial data and processes.
launch of the Landsat satellite in 1972 paved the way for
satellite based remote sensing techniques. Later, the emergence Despite the countless benefits of remote sensing and GIS
of very high-resolution satellites paved the way for a vast array applications in urban sprawl studies, there are some challenges/
of urban applications with better results. Urban remote sensing limitations associated with it. Poor atmospheric conditions
with space-borne sensors is, in fact, an emerging area of become a real hindrance to the data availability of cloud-free
research for the remote sensing community, urban planners, etc. images of specific scenes and time period. High spatial
Integrated remote sensing and GIS technologies can contribute resolution images are often costly, and there are chances for the
much to the generation of digital maps with detailed data on occurrence of spectral variability within one class. In many
urban growth and the evolution of urban sprawl of a city or cases, the shadows of trees and buildings pose a greater threat to
region. The magnitude and level of urban sprawl, the various classification accuracies by reducing the class separability.
forms of sprawl and its existence, etc can be easily identified There will be spectral ambiguity arising from mixed pixels
using advanced remote sensing and GIS techniques. between urban land use and land covers such as bare soil and
dry mud with impermeable surfaces, vegetation with forest, etc.
Remote sensing and GIS applications will be immensely
The complexity and dynamics of the urban landscape is also a
beneficial to developing countries where there are restricted
challenge for urban geospatial applications. It is a cumbersome
funding and little data on urban land characteristics and their
task to integrate multi-source data especially in the case of
modifications over time. With these techniques, developing
temporal studies on urban dynamics. There are chances for
countries can establish an urban spatial information system by
errors while integrating satellite data with other supplementary
integrating conventional data (hard copy maps and reports),
data like census data. Besides, the presence of various built-up
ground measurements, and digital data (satellite images, digital
features in a small region results in the generalization of pixels,
maps, attribute data, etc.). The valuable information gained
ultimately contributing to errors in classification. It is, therefore,
from remote sensing can contribute much in the domains of
necessary to create new strategies and further refine prevailing
monitoring, quantifying, modeling and ultimately predicting the
tools and techniques to take complete advantage of the
phenomenon of urban sprawl. The implications of combined
enormous potential of remote sensing data in the urban setting.
remote sensing and GIS technologies are effective and timely
tracking of urban sprawl along with a better understanding of 4. CASE STUDY: URBAN SPRAWL QUANTIFICATION
various benefits applied in the areas of urban planning and USING REMOTE SENSING AND GIS
management.
The unprecedented population growth, together with
The extensive availability of freely downloadable satellite uncontrolled urbanization, force the cities to expand further to
imageries and other spatial data, together with numerous user- accommodate the urban growth. The urban expansion towards
friendly geospatial tools, resulted in a large number of the periphery is regarded as urban sprawl. An rise in the built-
applications relevant urban sprawl studies. Typical research of up features especially in the urban fringes can be considered as
urban sprawl includes an effort to quantify the built-up features common characteristic feature of urban sprawl. The built-up
and quantity of paved surface in a region using remotely sensed area is a prospective and comparatively precise parameter for
information from satellite imageries. In general, the built-up urban sprawl measurement. The dynamics of built-area change
area and the amount of paved surface are considered as over the years give vital information regarding the nature,
indicators of urban sprawl. The changes that are happening to extent, and development of urban sprawl. In other words, urban
the built-up and paved features will be used as a proxy to sprawl is linked to the growth of built-up features within a
quantify the nature and extent of urban sprawl. In other terms, region. In this study, a thematic index-based built-up index
the mapping and monitoring of urban sprawl using geospatial

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 The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, Volume XLII-3/W11, 2020
PECORA 21/ISRSE 38 Joint Meeting, 6–11 October 2019, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

known as the index-derived built-up index (IDBI) is used to tasks related to image processing and index derivation, whereas
extract the built-up feature class quickly and efficiently. This mapping and display related works are carried out using
index is composed of three indices viz., the Normalized ArcGIS. Besides, the Google earth application is also made use
Difference Built-Up Index (NDBI), the Soil Adjusted in this study for various applications related to accuracy
Vegetation Index (SAVI) and the Modified Normalized assessment.
Difference Water Index (MNDWI). The objectives of the study
are to extract the built-up areas and quantify its areal extend
from 1991 to 2000 and 2018 using IDBI (Index derived built-up
index) and to measure the degree of dispersion using Shannon’s
entropy. The detailed study of urban sprawl using IDBI is
discussed with the built-up area changes from 1991 to 2018 in
the subsequent sections.

4.1 Study Area

Kozhikode Urban Agglomeration (KUA) in Calicut district of

Kerala state, India is chosen as the study area for smart growth Figure 2: Landsat images of the study area for various years
suitability analysis using GIS. As it is composed of contiguous
counties, it is better to take urban agglomeration as an Table 1. Details of Satellite imageries used
appropriate unit of analysis. It includes Kozhikode City
Corporation, Municipalities like Feroke, Koduvally, Payyoli,
Koyilandy, Ramanattukara, and Vadakara, together with some
census towns and outgrowths as per Census 2011. Figure 1
shows the map of the study area.

Figure 1: Map of Study Area

4.2 Methodology

4.2.1. Data and pre-processing

4.2.2. Automated built-up area extraction using Index
The satellite data used for this study were downloaded freely derived built-up index
from the USGS Earth Explorer website(Web-2). Landsat The methodology adopted for the rapid extraction of built-areas
temporal images of the years 1991, 2000 and 2018 were used areas from time series of Landsat satellite imageries is given in
for this study. Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) of 1991, Landsat Figure 3. From the website of USGS Earth explorer satellite
Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM+) of 2000, and Landsat 8 of imageries of interest were freely downloaded. It includes
2018 were made use of. (Table 1). To minimize the errors from Landsat 5-TM of 1991, Landsat 7 ETM+ OF 2000, and Landsat
temporal variation, only the imageries of the same time period 8 of 2018. Then all these images were clipped/ subsetted by
(February-March) were considered in this study. The using the shapefile of Kozhikode Urban Agglomeration as input
downloaded imageries were in GeoTIFF format, and data were for the extent of the study area to be clipped. The data were
initially pre-processed and finally cropped to the extent of the
study area (Figure 2). Erdas imagine software is used for all

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 The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, Volume XLII-3/W11, 2020
PECORA 21/ISRSE 38 Joint Meeting, 6–11 October 2019, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

initially pre-processed and rectified after subsetting it to the d. Index derived Built-up Index (IDBI)
required areal extent of Kozhikode Urban Agglomeration.

IDBI is an index derived from three indices, namely, NDBI,

MNDWI, and SAVI. In this index, the spectral clusters of the
built-up, water body, and vegetation are well isolated, and there
is a significant reduction in redundancy between original
imagery and thematic band imageries. Its value ranges from -1
to +1 wherein, built-up features exhibit positive values, and
suppressed vegetation or water noise should have zero to
negative values. A notable feature of IDBI is that the image can
be used as itself without geometric corrections for further
computations.

4.3 Results and Discussions

4.3.1. Built-up Area Extraction Using Index –based Built-up

Figure 3: Flow chart of the methodology Index (IDBI)
a. Normalized Difference Built-up Index(NDBI)
Here, an increase in built-up areas is considered as a proxy for
the rise in urban sprawl. A thematic index-based index called
Proposed by Zha et al. (2003). In the Mid Infrared (MIR)
Index Derived Built-up Index (IDBI) is used to perform the
region, an increased spectral reflectance is shown by the built-
automatic extraction of the built-up classes from the landsat
up features compared to the Near Infrared (NIR) region of the
imageries of 1991, 2000 and 2018. The built-up features were
electromagnetic spectrum. There are chances for the mixing of
displayed in a light grey to white colour in the IDBI image
vegetation noise with the built-up land information. In Landsat
whereas the vegetation and water features were substantially
TM and ETM+, band 4 denotes NIR, and band 5 denotes MIR,
obscured and outlined in dark grey to black shade. To extract
whereas, in Landsat 8, band5 and 6 denote NIR and MIR,
the urban built-up classes of 1991, 2000, and 2018, threshold
respectively.
values that best discriminate built-up features were manually
determined. In general, water and vegetation classes showed
b. Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI)
negative IDBI values whereas built-up features exhibited
positive values. Pixels with values above the threshold value
Where L is the soil adjustment factor (Normally value=0.5). In
have been categorized as built-up land and given a value of 1,
Landsat TM and ETM+, band 3 denotes Red, and band 4
whereas pixels with values less than or equal to the threshold
denotes NIR, whereas, in Landsat 8, band4 and 5 denote Red
are labelled as non-built up features and assigned a value equal
and NIR, respectively. SAVI is preferred over NDVI because it
to zero. The resulting image is, therefore, a binary image with
is more sensitive in vegetation detection even in urban areas
value one as extracted built-up information and zero as other
with less vegetation coverage. A study conducted by Ray (2006)
classes. Figure 4 shows the final map of built-up areas of
on vegetation indices concluded that NDVI shows better
1991,2000 and 2018.
performance of vegetation mapping in areas with plant cover
30% or more, whereas SAVI performed with better accuracies .
in areas with plant cover as low as 15%. SAVI is adopted here
because it is more suitable for an urban area.

c. Modified Normalized Difference Water Index (MNDWI)

Bands 2 and 5 denote Green and MIR respectively in Landsat

TM and ETM+ imageries, whereas bands 3 and 6 denote Green
and MIR in Landsat 8 Imagery. MNDWI is the modified
version of the Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI)
developed by McFeeters in the year 1996. NDWI is obtained by
substituting middle infrared (MIR) with near infra-red(NIR)
band. MIR is more sensitive to water information compared to
NIR, and hence MNDWI offers better performance in extracting
water features compared to NDWI. It helps in the enhancement
of open water features while effectively suppressing noises from
built-up land, vegetation, and soil features.
Figure 4: Built-up area map of 2018, 2000 and 1991 derived
from IDBI

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 The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, Volume XLII-3/W11, 2020
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4.3.2. Accuracy Assessment

4.3.2. Urban Sprawl Analysis Using Shannon’s Entropy
For accuracy assessment, field data points were selected, and Rudolph Clausius, in 1867, proposed the concept of entropy
the spatial locations of these points were identified with the from the second law of Thermodynamics. (Claudius,1867). In
help of a handheld GPS. About 610 ground truth points were the year 1948, Shannon has developed the concept of entropy as
selected. About 310 points are selected for built-up features, a measure of randomness and disorganization. In view of the
and 300 points for non-built-up features were collected using complexities of urban growth, sprawl and urban evolution,
handheld GPS. The ground sample points are overlaid on each entropy value must remain within the range set by the minimum
of the maps to determine the classification accuracies. For this, value below which the system becomes vulnerable and unstable,
all the built-up features raster maps were converted into a vector and the maximum value over which the system becomes
format. Then intersection is carried out between sample data unsustainable. (Cabral, 2013). The integration of GIS and
points and all built-up maps. The accuracy assessment of built- remote sensing technologies allows to effectively apply the
up features derived from IDBI is shown in Table 2. The analysis entropy principle in the calculation of urban sprawl. Shannon’s
shows that with a kappa coefficient of 0.812, the overall entropy measure is one of the most commonly used urban
accuracy is 90.65% sprawl indexes to describe the degree of dispersion or spatial
concentration of a specific variable in a particular area.
(Bhatta(2009), Li (2004)).The formula of Shannon’s entropy (
) is
The total areal extent of Kozhikode Urban Agglomeration is
1803km2. After converting the raster to polygon, the areal
extent of built-up classes for different years is obtained. For the
year 1991, the built-up areal extent of KUA was about 324.54
km2, which was 18% of its total land area. In the year 2000, the
built-up areal extent increased to 522.87km2 (29 % of the total Where denotes probability of a phenomenon (variable)
geographical area of KMA). When it reaches 2018, the built-up
areas increased to an areal extent of 829.38 km2 (46% of occurring in the ith zone ( , where is the observed
KMA’s total area). Figure 5 shows the built-up area change for value of the variable in the ith zone), and n denotes the total
the years 1991, 2000 and 2018. number of zones/ grids. The range of Shannon’s entropy value
varies from 0 to loge(n). Values closer to zero means that built-
up features are extremely compact in distribution, while values
closer to loge(n), indicates the scattered distribution of built-up
areas. Higher entropy values highlight sprawl occurrence. The
threshold value to categorize sprawl and non-sprawl is taken as
the mid-way mark of loge(n). If a city crosses its threshold
entropy value, it is said to be a sprawling city. The difference in
entropy between two time intervals t1 and t2 can be used to
show the magnitude of urban sprawl transition.

Here, the study area is divided into 17 grid zones, each of size
15km x 15km. Considering each grid as a distinct spatial entity,
Figure 5: Change in the areal extent of built-up and non-built- Shannon’s entropy has been calculated for all the 17 grid zones.
up classes for 1991, 2000 and 2018. The total number of zones in KMA is thus, n=17 and the upper
limit of entropy value is loge(n)= 2.833. Figure 6 shows
From the above graph, it is clear that there is an alarming Shannon’s entropy grid map of 1991.
increase in the built-up area from 1991 to 2018, which
indirectly highlights that there is severe urban sprawl/urban
growth in the study area. The method of extracting built-up
features from various indices is found to be very effective and
efficient compared to traditional methods of built-up land
extraction like supervised image classification which is tedious
and time-consuming.

Figure 6: Shannon’s Entropy Grid Map of Study Area

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 The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, Volume XLII-3/W11, 2020
PECORA 21/ISRSE 38 Joint Meeting, 6–11 October 2019, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

For the Kozhikode Urban Agglomeration, the value of The maximum entropy value is 2.833, whereas the threshold
Shannon’s entropy has been calculated from the built-up areas value is identified as 1.42 which is exactly the half-way mark of
for all the 17 zones over the years 1991, 2000, and 2018. The loge(n). The value of entropy is less than the threshold value of
results are summarized in Table 3 and Table 4. 1.42 in the years 1991 and 2000. But in the year 2018, the
entropy value exceeds the threshold value which in turn
Table 3: Shannon’s entropy calculation for 17 grids over the highlights the fact that the city is sprawling. From this figure,
years 1991, 2000, and 2018. we can easily conclude that the city started its tendency to
sprawl from the year 2012 onwards.

5. CONCLUSION

The issue of urban sprawl is a matter of concern in many

countries across the world, especially in developing countries. If
it is left unchecked, the phenomenon of uncontrolled urban
sprawl will ultimately result in damaging impacts on urban
sustainability. To evaluate and monitor the changes in urban
settings, continuous spatial and temporal monitoring of our
urban environment is a must. Together with its persistent and
synoptic coverage, the multispectral capabilities of satellite
remote sensing make it a versatile instrument for mapping and
monitoring the changes in the urban core and urban planning
applications. This will help to reduce unplanned urban
expansion and thus helps in the preservation of sustainability of
our urban environments. Adequate spatial inputs which portray
the urban sprawl phenomenon can be obtained cost-effectively
Table 4: Shannon’s entropy with the magnitude of urban sprawl and efficiently using integrated GIS and remote sensing
change ( for the years 1991, 2000 and 2018 technologies. The dynamics of built-up area change over the
Sl.N Year Shannon’s years give noteworthy information about the nature, extent and
o Entropy development of urban sprawl.
1 1991 0.74 -
2 2000 1.09 0.35
In this study, the built-up area is considered as an indicator of
3 2018 1.57 0.48
urban sprawl. Built-up features of the study area for the years
loge(n)= 1991, 2000 and 2018 were obtained from an automated thematic
2.833
index-based index known as Index derived built-up index
(IDBI). IDBI is derived from three thematic indices viz,
Figure 7 shows the graphical variation of Shannon’s entropy
Normalized Difference Built-up Index (NDBI), Modified
values for the years 1991, 2000, and 2018. We can see an
Normalized Difference Water Index and Soil Adjusted
increasing trend in the value of Shannon’s entropy values from
Vegetation Index (SAVI). Built-up land features can be rapidly
1991 to 2000 and to 2018. The increase in the value of
extracted, whereas soil, water, and vegetation noises, etc can be
Shannon’s entropy indicates an increase in the dispersion of
effectively suppressed using IDBI. The accuracy assessment
built-up areas, which in turn is an indication of the occurrence
showed that the overall accuracy is 90.65%, with a kappa
of the phenomenon of urban sprawl. As the values get more and
coefficient of 0.812. A commonly used urban sprawl metric
more closer to the upper entropy limit (2.833), there is more and
called Shannon’s entropy is used for the measurement and
more dispersion of built-up areas in the region. The difference
quantification of the phenomenon of urban sprawl in the study
in entropy between the years 1991 and 2000 is 0.35, and 2000
area. The spatial concentration or degree of dispersion in a
and 2018 are 0.48. Here also, we can see a tremendous increase
particular area can be easily tracked using Shannon’s entropy
in urban sprawl as the years pass.
coupled with remote sensing and GIS. The results of IDBI and
Shannon’s entropy analysis highlight the fact that there occurs
an alarming increase in the built-up areal extent from 1991 to
2018. The city started its tendency to sprawl from the year 2012
onwards. The urban planning authorities can make use of these
techniques of built-up area extraction and urban sprawl analysis
for effective city planning and sprawl control. There is a need to
create innovative approaches and further refine current methods
and techniques in order to take complete benefit of the variety
of remote sensing data within the urban setting

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