Changing urban structure and physical expansion trends of Kafanchan Metropolis, Kaduna State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study examines the changes in the urban growth of the city using empirical methods. First, the population growth was analysed to track changes between 1978, 1991, and 2016. Secondly, the city's physical, structural expansion was assessed from 1990 to 2016 using earth observation satellite images over the two epochs on supervised classification and the maximum likelihood criterion. The study generated digital maps of land use/land cover changes of the two epochs. Results showed that the developed area had increased from 8.93 % in 1990 to 22.1 % in 2016. Most expansion took place at the periphery of the town. Considering population indices, from 1978 to 1991, there was 9.6% growth and a tremendous growth between 1991 and 2016 of 227.6%. Considering population growth and spatial land cover change increase, there is over 200% growth of both indices. The study recommends the need for the Kaduna State Urban Planning and Development Agency (KASUPDA to continuously monitor urban growth and compliance with the Master plan using similar empirical methods developed in this study.

Keywords: Urban Growth, Urban expansion, Kafanchan, Population, Trends, GIS.