Monitoring Urban Sprawl: A Case of Jalandhar City, Punjab, India

Urbanisation significantly impacts both the sustainability of urban development and the quality of urban living today. Land, water, and the environment are under more pressure today, especially in large urban centres. It is due to rising urbanisation and industrialisation. As a result, the proportion of India's population living in urban areas has increased as well, from 79 million in 1961, or around 17.92 per cent of the country's total population, to 388 million in 2011, or 31.30 per cent, increasing the pressure on the existing city infrastructure and causing it to expand to its surroundings. Urban sprawl has led to the loss of surface water bodies, open green spaces, and fertile agricultural fields. Therefore, it is imperative to investigate, comprehend, and quantify urban sprawl. In order to take action towards the planned and healthy growth of urban areas, it is necessary to monitor such changes continuously and understand the procedures involved. Recent years have seen an increase in the use of remote sensing data for mapping and tracking urban sprawl. Together with traditional ground data, satellite data can be used to systematically map, track, and evaluate the spatial patterns of urban sprawl across time. To improve decision-making and promote sustainable urban growth, this study has made an effort to monitor Jalandhar City's built-up change over two time periods, from 1991 to 2021, to assess urban sprawl using Landsat series data.