Document Type : Original Article

Authors

• maryam soltani ¹
• Hassan Ahmadzadeh ²
• Ali Panahi ³

¹ geographie- faculty of humanities and educational sciences- islamicazad university- tabriz branch

² Department of Geography and Urban Planning, Tabriz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tabriz, Iran

³ Assistant Professor, Department of Geography and Urban Planning, Tabriz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tabriz, Iran.

Abstract

The phenomenon of urban sprawl refers to the irregular and dispersed expansion of cities into peri-urban and rural areas, reducing agricultural and natural lands, environmental degradation, and increasing informal settlements. In the metropolis of Tabriz, the annexation of villages into the urban boundary and the separate spatial development of the city have caused significant changes in land use and the environment of villages. This study aims to assess the effects of this sprawl on the environment in the peri-urban areas surrounding Tabriz. To achieve this, existing data and analysis of 30 years of time series were utilized through remote sensing and statistical models that analyze spatial and temporal dimensions of urban growth and its impacts on the surrounding environment. The trend and extent of this growth in different urban sectors were also identified. Land use was extracted using satellite images in Terrset and Arc/GIS software and supervised classification methods. The Crass-tab model was employed to analyze changes in various land uses, the Heldern model was utilized to assess horizontal expansion, and the Markov chain model was used to forecast land use changes until 2023. The analysis of satellite imagery revealed that from 1993 to 2023, built-up land increased by 15,255.18 hectares, representing an 11 percent growth. Additionally, the Markov and Heldern models indicated that over 70 percent of the development was due to population growth, while 30 percent was attributed to unbalanced urban expansion. Forecasts suggest that the expansion of built-up land will continue until 2033, posing a serious threat to the environment and natural resources of the region.

Keywords

• Urban Sprawl
• Rural Environment
• Rurbanes
• Tabriz Metropolis

Main Subjects

• Geography and Urban Planning