Monitoring Urban Sprawl Dynamics Through Spatiotemporal Analysis Using Normalized Difference Built-up Index in Mardan City, Pakistan

Abstract

The assessment of  spatial distrubution and expansion-driven urban sprawl is cruical for effective urban planning and ensuring sustainable resource management. This study presents a spatiotemporal assessemnt of urban expansion dynamics in Mardan City, Pakistan, by employing the Normalized Difference Built-up Index in the ArcGIS 10.7 environment using Landsat satellite images data. For this purpose, the Landsat 4-5 Thematic Mapper for 1998, Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus for 2005, and Landsat 8-9 Operational Land Imager for 2017 and 2022 were used to determine spatial changes in the urbanized area of the city. The data indicates a marginal expansion in the built-up area of Mardan City, which rose from 25.12 km2 in 1998 to 25.88 km2 in 2005, reflecting a slow rate of urbanization during this timeframe. However, a considerable growth was observed from 27 km2 to 33 km2, between 2017 and 2022, reflecting rapid growth of urbanization. Prospectively, the proposed study could play a crucial role in supporting decision-making and policy formulation regarding urban growth. Moreover, the present approach can provide valuable guidelines for urban planners, policymakers, and researchers to address the challenges and opportunities associated with urbanization in this region.