Analysis of Land Use Changes Using Remote Sensing and GIS Tools in the Peri Urban Ecosystems of Dar es Salaam (Published)
Land use changes in peri urban areas have resulted from urban expansion and have attracted many researchers during the last two decades. In this paper, urban expansion and their spatial growth patterns of the Dar es Salaam City has been studied over a period of 30 years (1980-2010) through statistical classification approaches based on the remotely sensed images obtained from sensors both Landsat TM5 and SPOT4. The research method included, mapping of land use changes using multi-temporal images, land use/land cover change as detected by applying remote sensing tools. Thereafter, based on the results of image classification, the analysis of land use/land cover changes was made. A model of urban expansion is also analysed by applying diverse technologies of the GIS. Research shows that land use/land cover change detection using remote sensing and GIS are good means of research of urban expansion. In addition, times series data of land use/land cover changes reveal temporal spatial change useful in determining timely planning intervention. Moreover, the analysis of the ecosystems and general urban expansion as established by land use/land cover changes in meticulous areas can be carried out. It is recommended that the national land related policies are reflective of these findings.
Keywords: Change Detection, land use change and ecosystem., spatial growth, urban expansion