Abstract

The changes in land cover and usage at different scales have significant environmental consequences. Human influences on the environment are happening at magnitudes, rates, and spatial scales that were previously unheard of. The study indicates that the built-up area was he most dominant land use land cover (LULC) class from 1991 to 2021. Agriculture, bare land, vegetation and water have decreased by 41.6%, 50.5%, 47.9%, and 17.84% respectively, while built-up have increased by 141.2%. Agriculture decreased by 142.95 ha/year while bare land, vegetation and water decreased by 243.1 ha/year, 83.11 ha/year and 18.21 ha/year respectively. In contrast, the study showed that the built-up area increased by rate of 487.4 ha/year. All types of land features were converted to built-up land class, with bare land conversion being the most dominant. Agriculture was the second highest area of land that converted to built-up. Vegetation was also converted to built-up, bare land and agriculture. On the other hand, the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) result show that resultant minimum and maximum values ranged from -0.136 to 0.667 in 1991 while it is from -0.12 to 0.56 in 2021. The reduction in vegetation and water areas has led to environmental concerns, such as increased heat island effects, loss of biodiversity, and reduced ecosystem services. Additionally, the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) result shows a decrease in vegetation cover, which can further impact the environment. Therefore, it is crucial to implement effective governance policies that consider the impact of land use changes on the environment and promote sustainable urbanization practices to ensure the preservation of urban green infrastructure.

Key Words: Urban green infrastructure, Governance, Land use/ land change, Landsat image