Pattern and Intensity of Urban Expansion in Moradabad District: A Spatio-Temporal Tehsil-Level Analysis

Abstract

Urbanization is one of the major land transformation processes taking place worldwide, particularly in developing countries such as India. In recent decades, secondary cities have expanded rapidly across the globe. In this context, a comprehensive understanding of Land Use Land Cover and Urban Expansion Intensity dynamics is crucial for rational urban planning and policy formulation. This study examined the spatiotemporal pattern of urban expansion using Remote Sensing and GIS techniques. Maximum Likelihood Supervised classification and Urban Expansion Intensity Index have been utilised through satellite imagery of Moradabad district for 2004 and 2024. LULC categories help quantify the growth of various land use classes, whereas Urban Expansion Intensity measures the rate and magnitude of urban growth in Moradabad District. The results reveal a significant increase in built-up area. Particularly in Moradabad tehsil, with a 176% growth over 20 year period, contrasted by decline in agricultural land, water bodies and vegetation cover. The Tehsil-level analysis exposes the uneven growth of built-up area within the district, with very high growth in Moradabad tehsil compared to Bilari, Kanth and Thakurdwara. The findings underscore the need for urban planning, afforestation, river buffer protection and sustainable development and the integration of geospatial monitoring in developmental policies.

Introduction

This study examines urban expansion and land use/land cover (LULC) changes in Moradabad District, Uttar Pradesh, between 2004 and 2024 using Remote Sensing and GIS techniques. Rapid urbanization, driven by population growth, economic development, and infrastructure expansion, has transformed land use patterns worldwide and increasingly in developing countries like India. Urban growth often leads to the loss of agricultural land, vegetation, and natural ecosystems, making monitoring and planning essential.

The research used Landsat satellite imagery, supervised classification, and the Urban Expansion Intensity Index (UEI) to analyze changes in Moradabad District. Five LULC categories were mapped: agricultural land, built-up area, water bodies, vegetation, and others. Data processing was carried out using QGIS, ArcGIS, ERDAS Imagine, and Google Earth Engine.

The results reveal significant urban growth over the 20-year period. Built-up area increased from 78.34 sq. km to 216.3 sq. km, a rise of 176.2%, increasing its share from 3.5% to 9.8% of the district area. In contrast, agricultural land decreased slightly by 1.14%, while water bodies declined by 50%, vegetation by 56%, and other land categories by 65%. These changes indicate that urban expansion has occurred largely at the expense of natural and agricultural land.

Urban Expansion Intensity analysis showed spatial differences among tehsils. Moradabad Tehsil recorded the highest UEI (0.40–0.49), indicating the fastest urban growth, followed by Bilari (0.29), Kanth (0.26), and Thakurdwara (0.16). Growth hotspots were concentrated around roads, rivers, industrial areas, and existing urban centers.

Accuracy assessment confirmed reliable classification results, with overall accuracies of 82.3% (2004) and 90.5% (2024) and Kappa coefficients of 0.78 and 0.88, respectively.

The study concludes that Moradabad District has experienced rapid urban expansion during 2004–2024, resulting in substantial increases in built-up land and reductions in water bodies, vegetation, and agricultural areas. The findings highlight the need for sustainable urban planning and effective land management to balance development with environmental conservation.

Conclusion

The present study highlights the dynamics of urban expansion in Moradabad District over a period of two decades. The spatiotemporal transformations have been studies with the help of Remote Sensing and GIS to obtain time-efficient and accurate results. The results of Land Use/Land Cover using supervised classification highlights the prominence of agricultural land in the district with increasing built-up area at the expense of waterbody, agricultural land and vegetation cover. It also highlights the grave situation of ecology in the district with less than 1 per cent area under vegetation cover. The Tehsil-level Urban Expansion Intensity (UEI) analysis shows a considerable heterogeneity within the district, with Moradabad Tehsil experiencing significant increase in built-up area (176.2%), followed by Bilari and Kanth, while Thakurdwara shows relatively lower growth. This shows unbalanced urban development within the district and skewed urban sprawl around the administrative, industrial and transport corridor. Such growth patterns, if not checked will eventually lead to environmental degradation, depletion of water resources and reduced agricultural productivity and ultimately increased vulnerability to climate-related risks.

References

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Copyright

Copyright © 2026 Yashi Tandon, Dr. Sandeep Singh Varman. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.