Assessment of Land Use and Land Cover Dynamics in the Rural-Urban Fringe of Hisar City

Abstract

Rapid urbanization in Hisar city has significantly impacted the peri-urban areas, known as the urban-rural fringe (URF), where the boundaries between urban and rural landscapes are becoming increasingly indistinct. This study investigates land use/land cover (LULC) changes in Hisar's fringe areas, focusing on how the land has transformed over time. By utilizing geospatial technologies, we analyzed LULC changes through digital image processing and supervised machine learning classification applied to Landsat data from 2003, 2013, and 2023. The results reveal notable changes: barren land decreased by 28.2 sq km, while built-up areas expanded by 248.1 sq km in the inner fringe and 69.7 sq km in the outer fringe. Vegetation increased by 15.1 sq km in the inner fringe, but declined by 14.32 sq km in the outer fringe. Both water bodies and forested areas experienced substantial reductions, with losses of 15.5 sq km and 40 sq km in the inner fringe, and 39.12 sq km and 147.07 sq km in the outer fringe, respectively. These transformations indicate broader socio-economic and environmental shifts, emphasizing the need to understand the causes and consequences of urbanization for effective land management. The study highlights the importance of continuous monitoring of LULC changes to inform sustainable planning and development in the fringe area of Hisar city.