Land Use Change Detection — Periurban Fringe
Multi-temporal land use / land cover change detection along Vijayawada's periurban fringe using Sentinel-2 imagery and supervised classification.
Context
Vijayawada's periurban belt has undergone rapid transformation since the Amaravati capital city announcement in 2015. Agricultural land conversion, informal settlement growth, and real estate speculation have reshaped the periurban landscape significantly.
Problem Statement
How has land use changed in Vijayawada's periurban fringe between 2015 and 2023? What is the rate and pattern of agricultural land conversion to urban uses?
Methodology
Sentinel-2 multi-spectral imagery for 2015, 2018, 2021, and 2023. Supervised classification using Random Forest classifier in Google Earth Engine. Accuracy assessment using stratified random sampling with ground truth points.
Analysis
Change detection matrix between classification periods. Hotspot analysis for land conversion patterns. Spatial correlation with Amaravati capital region boundary and road infrastructure.
Insights
37% of agricultural land within 10km of city boundary converted between 2015–2023. Conversion accelerated post-2019 CRDA dissolution. Highway corridors show highest conversion intensity.
Outcome
Evidence base for periurban planning policy reform. Analysis contributed to academic paper on periurban transformation in post-capital Indian cities.