Urban Expansion Pattern and Land Use Dynamics in Dhaka, 1989–2014

Rapid change in land use and land cover (LULC) and unplanned urban expansion in Dhaka City, Bangladesh, receives continuous attention from local policymakers and the international community. This study employed a supervised classification procedure and postclassification change detection technique to estimate major changes between different LULC classes. The study revealed that built-up area increased significantly from 1989 to 2014. The total urban growth of 81.54 percent resulted in a substantial decrease in natural vegetation cover and agricultural land. In addition, water bodies have declined consistently over the last twenty-five years. The overall accuracy of LULC change maps produced from Landsat data ranged from 89.72 percent to 92.97 percent. The results should contribute to ongoing LULC information updates while forecasting possible future LULC change and sustainable development under greater population density.