identification of urban sprawl pattern for madurai region ... · pdf filethe present study...

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GEOMATICS AND GEOSCIENCES Volume 1, No 2, 2010

© Copyright 2010 All rights reserved Integrated Publishing services Research Article ISSN 0976 – 4380

141

Identification of Urban Sprawl Pattern for Madurai Region Using GIS

Saravanan.P, Ilangovan.P Department of Environmental Remote Sensing and Cartography Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai 625 021, Tamil Nadu

[email protected]

ABSTRACT

The present study focuses on the nature and pattern of urban expansion of Madurai city over its surrounding region during the period from 1991 to 2006. Based on its proximity to the Madurai city, the rural urban fringe was fragmented into two zones namely Ring I and Ring II. Subsequently, two sample villages from the respective zones were selected to study the pattern of urban expansion and there from identify the factor responsible for the urban sprawl of Madurai city. The study has indicated that road transport was solely responsible for the rapid urban development in the sample villages. In addition, GIS based analysis of the pattern of urban expansion over the demographic change and landuse modifications has also indicated that urban growth has mainly taken place linearly along the major roads in the study area.

Keywords: Urban sprawl Pattern, Change detection, Demographic characteristics, GIS, Madurai city

1. Introduction

Urbanization takes place either in radial direction around a wellestablished city or linearly along the highways. This dispersed development along highways, or surrounding the city and in rural countryside is often referred as urban sprawl (Theobald, 2001). The expanding networks of roads and increasing reliance on the automobile, population began shifting from cities to fringe. Highway expansion allowed workers to commute greater distances between their residences and central cities and encouraged businesses and industries to locate or relocate to suburban. The spatial patterns of urban sprawl over different time periods, can be systematically mapped, monitored and accurately assessed from satellite data (remotely sensed data) along with conventional ground data (Lata et al., 2001). The recent technologies like GIS and remote sensing helps in identifying the pattern of growth and its rate. Mapping urban sprawl provides a "picture" of where this type of growth is occurring and to suggest the likely future directions and patterns of sprawling growth.

However only a few studies were attempted to establish the inter relationship between the road transport development and Landuse changes in rural urban landscape at a micro level. Hence by realizing the gap the present attempt has been made at a micro level by selecting the two villages namely Avaniyapuram and Othakadai which shows a prominent sprawl of urban



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area along the major roads in Madurai, Tamil Nadu. This paper is an attempt of understanding the urban sprawl phenomenon.

1.1 Aim and Objectives

• To identify the patterns of urban sprawl for Madurai region • To study and compare the demographic change between the sample villages • To spatially map the residential development of sample village

1.2 Date Base

§ Survey of India Toposheets: 58 K/1 NE,NW,SE,SW Scale 1:25,000 § Satellite data: LANDSAT TM – (1991) and LANDSAT ETM+ (2006) images

(source: http://glcf.umiacs.umd.edu) § Census of India – Primary Census Abstract – 1991 & 2001 § Local Planning Report (Source: Madurai Corporation Office)

2. Study Area

The study focuses on the fringe villages of Madurai city. The study area extends from 78 o 00’ to 78 o 13’ E latitude and 9 o 48’ to 10 o 01’ N longitude. It consists of totally 79 villages excluding Madurai Corporation. The villages are classified into two rings. First ring comprises of 28 villages (105.025 Sq.kms) and second ring with 51 villages (168.718 Sq.kms) respectively. The total area including Madurai city covers around 327.419 Sq.kms.

The two villages Avaniyapuram of ring I and Othakadai of ring II which are located on the southern and northern part of Madurai city (Fig: 1). The important national highway NH45B which connects Trichirapalli District and Thoothukudi District passes through these villages. The total population of Avaniyapuram and Othakadai are 53,006 & 12,185 persons respectively. The geographical area of the villages are 14.95 & 1.82 Sq. Kms. Avaniyapuram town panchayat falls in class II town and Othakadai census town in class IV town as per 2001 census.

3. Result and Discussion

3.1 Urban Sprawl of Madurai city

The urban sprawl and the direction of growth of Madurai city can be explained with the help of Monocentric – City Model. The spatial growth of city is clearly delineated by the Monocentric – City Model development by Alonso (1964), Mills (1967), and Muth (1969) which portrays the city as organized around a single, central workplace. Earlier Madurai cities growth was based on Meenakshi Amman temple as the central place. The development was uniform around the temple and the road network established was regular in shape. So the residential and commercial activities spread evenly in all directions, as a result the pattern of urban expansion was radial. Later the development was due to rapid population growth and due to the restriction



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for the vertical development, since no construction should be higher than the towers of Meenakshi Amman temple, eventually it leads to horizontal expansion. The horizontal development was not uniform in all direction, the development in northern part was restricted by river Vaigai since connectivity between south and north was poor. To overcome and to develop northern part various measures has been taken like establishing and shifting many public and semi public organization (Collector Office, Corporation Office, District Court, High Court, Government Hospital etc) to the north, improving road connectivity by constructing bridges over river Vaigai, improving the transport system by locating two main bus terminal (Mattuthavani and Anna Bus stand). After the development of road network around Madurai region and interlinking of highways and major roads, the pattern of sprawl has been changed to linear. The change is due to roads connectivity and accessibility to all the service providers. Fig: 2 clearly show the linear pattern of sprawl along the major roads.

The linear pattern of sprawl is not only found along the national highway but it is also found along state and district highway. The important roads which stimulate the development are national highway NH 45B, NH 7 & NH 49 similarly state highway SH 72 connecting Dindigul and district highway connecting Alagarkoil and Alaganallur helps for the urban growth of Madurai. According to the urban expansion map prepared from satellite imagery (LANDSAT TM AND ETM+) using visual interpretation technique for the tie points indicate that the total urban area of Madurai in 1991 was 54.803 Sq.kms and it expanded to 89.335 Sq.kms in 2006. The growth in urban area over fifteen years is 34.532 Sq.kms. The fringe villages which show notable urban expansion are Avaniyapuram, Thiruparangundram, Vilacheri Bit II, Samayanallur, Thattaneri, Anaiyur, Thirupalai, Athikulam, Othakadai, Vandiyur, Melamadai and Anuppanadi.



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Figure 1: Location map of Madurai fringe and Sample villages

Figure 2: Urban expansion of Madurai City

3.2 Demographic Characteristics of the sample villages

The term demography is used in the study of human population, its structure and change. Here in this present study few demographic parameters like population, household, literates, total workers, main workers, cultivators, agricultural workers and nonworkers are considered as

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population



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urban growth indicators. The above mentioned parameters are obtained from Census of India report which helps to determine the growth and rate of change for the time periods. The change detection is done for the period of ten years (1991 2001) for the sample villages. The demographic parameters and its changes were clearly illustrated in Table No: 1 and diagrammatically shown in Chart no: 1

Avaniyapuram village is located adjacent to the city showing a notable demographic change. The total population of Avaniyapuram was 35,810 in 1991 and 53,006 in 2001 with an increase of about 19.36 %, eventually its raise in households was 22.29 % which show a remarkable expansion in residential area. There was a significant increase in total main workers (+15.20), total marginal workers (+26.39) and decrease in cultivators (34.04), agricultural workers (44.52) which clearly explain the conversion of agricultural landuse to urban landuse. The chart clearly shows the decline in agricultural workers, cultivators and raise in other workers.

Demographic Changes (1991 2001)

60

40

20

0

20

40

60

80

Pop

ulation

Hou

seho

lds

Literates

Total workers

Total m

ain

workers

Cultivators

Agricultural

workers

Total m

argina

l workers

Non

Workers

Avaniyapuram Othakadai

Chart: 1 Demographic Variation of Avaniyapuram and Othakadai

Similarly as Othakadai village is considered the change in total population between 1991 and 2001 was 3273 person i.e 15.51% increase and its household was 1967 in 1991 increased to 2895 in 2001 houses as per census of India report. The change in total main workers is +11.54% where as the change in total marginal workers is +57.19%, which is double the percentage of total marginal worker of Avaniyapuram. Othakadai village also shows decline in cultivators (32.20) and agricultural workers (20.42). The change shows the conversion of agricultural workers to other workers but while focusing the rate of transition of agricultural workers, it is comparatively low than Avaniyapuram. Another factor for the conversion of workers was the percentage of literates. Literates are ready to work as main and marginal workers than agricultural labors.



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Table No: 1 Demographic change between 1991 and 2001

S.No Description Avaniyapuram Othakadai 1991 (TP III)

2001 (TPII)

% of change

1991 (VPV)

2001 (CT IV)

% of change

1. Population 35,810 53,006 +19.36 8,912 12,185 +15.51 2. Households 7783 12,248 +22.29 1967 2,895 +19.09 3. Literates 22908 38,803 +25.76 5959 9,062 +20.66 4. Total workers 15104 20,750 +15.75 3315 4 ,334 +13.32 5. Total main

workers 14464 19,651 +15.20 3251 4,099 +11.54

6. Cultivators 632 311 34.04 117 60 32.20 7. Agricultural

workers 2928 1,124 44.52 460 304 20.42

8. Total marginal workers

640 1,099 +26.39 64 235 +57.19

9. Non Workers 20706 32,256 +21.81 5597 7,851 +16.76 ** + Increase & Decrease in percentage

3.3 Spatial comparison of residential development of the sample villages

The spatial and temporal pattern of sprawl on landscapes can be detected, mapped, and analyzed cost effectively and efficiently using remote sensing and geographical information system (GIS) (Barnes et al., 2001). The patterns of sprawl are being described using visual interpretation techniques. Satellite product used for the analysis of sprawl was LANDSAT imagery. The development of road network was obtained from toposheet and GeoEye imagery of Google earth. The temporal analysis of landuse / landcover of the sample villages were done for the period 1991 and 2006 using LANDSAT TM and LANDSAT ETM+ images. The landuse classes considered for studying the residential development are settlements, agricultural land and water bodies.

Avaniyapuram village falls adjacent to Madurai city limit where national highway NH45B passes through and various artillery roads join this highway, as a result Avaniyapuram has well organized road network. Avaniyapuram tank play a vital role in agricultural development in early 90’s but this tank has been acquired by government itself for construction of housing board colonies and other public buildings. The agricultural land and water bodies contribute equally for the residential expansion of Avaniyapuram village.

Table No: 2 illustrate the change in landuse of Avaniyapuram village. The residential expansion is inversely related to agricultural landuse, where residential area increase agricultural land decrease. The settlements have been increased by 12.64% where as agricultural land and water bodies have been reduced by 6.89% and 5.75% respectively. This clearly explains a part of



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agricultural land and water bodies have been converted as settlements. The major conversion of landuse take place along the roads and the pattern of sprawl are found to be linear.

Figure 3: Residential development of Avaniyapuram village

Table No: 2 Landuse change detection of Avaniyapuram village Area (%) S.No Landuse

1991 2006 Change in percentage

1. Residential Area 7.09 19.73 12.64 2. Agricultural Land 84.22 77.32 6.89 3. Water Bodies 8.69 2.95 5.75

Othakadai village is located in ring II. The development of this village is slow compared to Avaniyapuram, since the development of this village was not only influenced by transport but also for other reasons like establishment of High Court (Madurai Bench) and few industrial units which are located at the periphery of the village. Another factor which supports the development of the Othakadai village is the proposed fourway (under construction) which passing through this village. This road development shows a drastic change in land value in this area, so these factors support towards the future development in this region.



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Figure 4: Residential development of Othakadai village

Table No: 3 illustrate the change in landuse of Othakadai village.

Table No: 3 Landuse change detection of Othakadai village Area (%) S.No Landuse 1991 2006

Change in percentage

1. Residential Area 12.64 25.27 12.63 2. Agricultural Land 82.96 71.43 11.53 3. Water Bodies 4.40 3.30 1.10

There is an increase in percentage of settlement to 12.63% and notable decrease in agricultural land to 11.53%. The decrease in water bodies is 1.1%. The expansion of settlements takes place mainly in agricultural land.

4. Conclusion

This paper demonstrates urban expansion of Madurai, and identifies the temporal and spatial development patterns by using multitemporal remote sensing images and GIS tool. Various analysts have made considerable progress in quantifying the urban sprawl pattern



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(Theobald, 2001; Lata et al, 2001; Torrens and Alberti, 2000; Batty et al, 1999; Barnes et al, 2001). However all these studies have come up with different methodologies in quantifying sprawl. The present study determine,

§ The pattern of urban sprawl of Madurai is identified as linear along major roads especially on State Highway SH 72 and National Highways NH 45B, NH 7.

§ It is found that sample villages show equal change in percentage of residential area to the total, but while taking spatial distribution of population into consideration Avaniyapuram has been converted to Class II panchayat town and Othakadai to class IV census town.

§ While considering the residential development of both the villages, development in Avaniyapuram is due to well organized road network where as in Othakadai is because of establishment of High court, industrial units, educational institutes and Fourway (under construction).

The urban sprawl is one of the potential threats to sustainable development where urban planning with effective resource utilization and allocation of infrastructure initiatives are key concerns. Thus identification and analysis of the patterns of sprawl would help in effective landuse planning in urban area. It is important to study and understand the trend of urban sprawls, which ultimately focus for urban landscape planning and environmental management.

5. Acknowledgment

The authors are grateful to the UGC –UPE scheme for extending financial assistance to carry out this work. We would like to express our sincere thanks to Prof. G. R. Parthasarathy (Project Coordinator) UGCUPE Project No6, Mapping and Managing Natural Resources and Environment, Prof. K.Lakshmi, Prof. N.Krishnan and Asst. Prof. D. Ramesh, School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai for their help and encouragement.

6. References

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2. Cheng. J, and Masser, 2003, Urban growth pattern modelling: a case study of Wuhan city, PR China. “Landscape and Urban Planning”, Vol. 62, pp 199217.

3. Epstein. J, K. Payne, and E. Kramer, 2002, Techniques for mapping suburban sprawl. “Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing”, Vol. 63(9), pp 913 – 918

4. Fan. F, Y.Wang, et.al., 2009, Evaluating the Temporal and Spatial Urban Expansion Patterns of Guangzhou from 1979 to 2003 by Remote Sensing and GIS Methods, “International Journal of Geographical Information Science”, Vol. 23(11), pp 1371–1388

5. Hoyle. B.S, 1973, Geographical Readings Transport and Development, The Macmillan Press Ltd, London.



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6. Huang. B, Li Zhang and Bo Wu, 2009, Spatiotemporal analysis of rural–urban land conversion, “International Journal of Geographical Information Science”, Vol. 23(3), pp 379–398

7. Jensen. J.R, and D.L. Toll, 1982, Detecting residential landuse development at the urban fringe, “Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing”, Vol. 48(4), pp 629643.

8. Mahdibeigi. H, M. Mahdavi and A. Alihosseini, 2010, Transforming large villages into small towns and studying their role in rural development through Network Analysis Methodology: Rural district of Southern Behnam Arab (Javad Abad zone from the region of Varamin), “Journal of Geography and Regional Planning”, Vol. 3(6), pp 158168.

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