GEOSPATIAL ANALYSIS OF URBAN SPRAWL, LAND USE/LAND COVER

ABSTRACT

Urban areas experience rapid growth and dynamic land use changes. This causes modification of natural environments to impervious ground surfaces such as asphalt and bricks. These surfaces characteristically absorb heat and release it later. This study adopted Remote Sensing and GIS to assess the Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) changes and determine its correlation to Land Surface Temperature (LST) variation in Benin City from 1987 to 2021. The correlation analysis of this thirty-four-year study period used Landsat TM/ETM+ images to determine the graphical and percentage changes in Land Use and Land Cover. In the selected years, built up areas experienced an increase from 14.9% to 48% of total area. LST maps also indicated that built up areas were associated with higher heat signature when compared to dense vegetation cover. Average contribution of LST was also found out to have increased from 23^oC to 33^oC. Further correlation analysis depicted that there was a strong coefficient of determination (R²) ranging from 0.4 to 0.6 which proved a positive correlation between changes in LULC and LST changes. The relationship indicated that places with built up areas were major driving factors for this thermal increase. Recommendations in this work pointed out the opportunities that exists with adopting green architecture as part of urban planning strategies. Urban forestry as well as afforestation, reafforestation and other green initiatives should also be adopted to ensure thermal comfort in Benin City.