Land use and land cover change in Greater Dhaka, Bangladesh: Using remote sensing to promote sustainable urbanization

This study evaluates land use/cover changes and urban expansion in Greater Dhaka, Bangladesh, between 1975 and 2003 using satellite images and socio-economic data. Spatial and temporal dynamics of land use/cover changes were quantified using three Landsat images, a supervised classification algorithm and the post-classification change detection technique in GIS. Accuracy of the Landsat-derived land use/cover maps ranged from 85 to 90%. The analysis revealed that substantial growth of built-up areas in Greater Dhaka over the study period resulted significant decrease in the area of water bodies, cultivated land, vegetation and wetlands. Urban land expansion has been largely driven by elevation, population growth and economic development. Rapid urban expansion through infilling of low-lying areas and clearing of vegetation resulted in a wide range of environmental impacts, including habitat quality. As reliable and current data are lacking for Bangladesh, the land use maps produced in this study will contribute to both the development of sustainable urban land use planning decisions and also for forecasting possible future changes in growth patterns.