Effects of Urbanization on Land Use Land Cover of Warangal Region Using RS and GIS

Rapid expansion of urbanization has increased the population and economic growth of towns and cities in various parts of the country. This increase in urbanization has affected the natural resources such as vegetation and water bodies. In the present study, the effects of urbanization on LULC (Land Use Land Cover) changes of Warangal urban and rural areas are studied for the years 2014, 2017 and 2020 for a span of 6 years using the RS and GIS techniques. LANDSAT imagery of 3 years is collected and enhanced and LULC data is extracted for four classes i.e., urbanization (built-up land), agriculture cum forest (vegetation), bear soil (barren land) and water bodies. RS and GIS tools are used to compare and analyze the effect of urbanization. LULC feature extraction is made for urban and rural areas of Warangal region using supervised classification to study the growth of urban areas and its effect on LULC changes. The results indicate a drastic increase in urbanization and barren land, severe decrease in vegetation and a very slight increase in waterbodies. Increase in urbanization and decrease in agriculture cum forest indicates vegetation reduction and built-up area increment which directly affects the climate and environment. Warangal region is being affected due to the rising population and the improper usage of land. The quantitative results obtained explain the effect of urbanization on LULC changes of Warangal rural and urban areas, which helps in the best management and planning of land use for Warangal region.