Abstract: Urbanization may be a process having a serious impact ashore use characteristics. Basically, as an impression of urbanization, the world is observed with rapid change within the land use character of agricultural land. Generally, the agricultural land is employed for various development activities like industrial establishments, residential colonies and other urban infrastructure during the method of urbanization. it's necessary to possess a periodical assessment of land use change for the developing populated area , which helps to make a decision the longer term expansion strategies for the world. Nashik city is located in the state of Maharashtra in the western part of India. It is one of the most dynamic cities of India with a rapid growth rate due to migration from various parts of Maharashtra. The Nashik city is presently spread over an area of 264.15 sq. km. with a periodical increase in municipal corporation boundary during the last few decades. As a result of urbanization and expansion of municipal corporation limits, the city has undergone drastic changes in land use character. In this study, land-use change is quantified for the existing six zones of Nashik city during the last 30 years using remote sensing and GIS. The study has analysed the relationship between urban expansion and the loss of agricultural land because of an increase in a built-up area and other land use. The study present excellent scenario for land use change during the year 1991, 2001, 2011 and 2020. This can surely guide the development strategies for the study area of Nashik. Also the study can be extended for conducting a suitability analysis to assess future change of land use based on various criteria. Keywords: Land use, Remote sensing, GIS, Supervised classification, Urbanization, Agricultural land loss
Land use change mapping and analysis using Remote Sensing and GIS: A case study of Simly watershed, Islamabad, Pakistan
