Fluidity of land use patterns over the last century in and around the Baroda Urban Complex,Gujarat state

The fluidity of land-use patterns over the last century in and around the Baroda Urban Complex has been worked out using Survey of India topographic maps (1876–78, 1959–60) and SPOT satellite imagery (1988). The most striking feature of this study was the alarming loss of non-built up areas comprising agricultural land to urban sprawl. In 1876–78, non-built up land constituted 701.30 sq. km out of a total of 714 sq. km whereas in 1988, it was reduced to 625.27 sq. km. This urban growth pattern would not be conducive for sustainable development.