URBAN GROWTH ASSESSMENT AND MODELLING USING CELLULAR AUTOMATA AND GEOSPATIAL TECHNIQUES - A CASE STUDY OF PUNE CITY, INDIAPRITANKA SANDBHOR AND T.P. SINGHAbstract A spatio-temporal understanding of urban growth is vital for planners and policymakers for future urban development planning. In the present study, the spatio-temporal urban growth pattern (during 1991-2014) is assessed and predicted for 2028 for Pune city of Maharashtra, India, using remote sensing and GIS techniques. The results show enormous land cover transformation in the city during the analysis, where open land and open scrublands were the dominant classes in 1991 and 2000 respectively but were taken over by urban in 2014. The urban area has shown consistent area gain from 40.87 sq. km in 1991 to 57.46 sq. km in 2000 and 101.77 sq. km in 2014 with an overall growth rate of 149% across 1991-2014. While all other classes suffered area loss, agriculture experiencing the highest loss (67%) during the same period. Significant changes in the land cover are observed in the time interval (2000-2014) with 12% loss in vegetation, 29% in open scrubland, and 64% in agriculture, while an area gain of 77% in urban. The predicted map for 2028 depicts massive urban expansion and an equal reduction in agriculture and urban scrubland. These findings provide valuable information on landscape transformation in Pune city and will aid further landscape and urban development planning for the city. |