Nexus of Urban Expansion and Socio-Economic Transformation of Bahawalnagar, Pakistan: A Geospatial Perspective

Abstract

Urban expansion is a serious threat, and many cities worldwide face unorganized expansion issues. This problem is widespread in developing countries, especially in Pakistan and Bahawalnagar, South Punjab's essential and historical city. The urban area has increased and created so many problems in cities, including food security, loss of agricultural land, the stress on educational and health facilities, the economy, housing accessibility and affordability, an increase in land prices and also an increase in the gap between rich and poor. This research analyses urban expansion through satellite data from 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2020. Supervised classification results show that the urban area increased from 1235 acres to 2717 acres from 1990 to 2020, and the agriculture area decreased from 4446 acres to 3458 acres from 1990 to 2020. Prediction simulation also shows that the agriculture area will decrease and the built-up area will increase. The impacts are analyzed through questionnaire data. Most respondents agree and strongly agree that the social and economic problems have increased in the last few decades due to the expansion. This study clarifies the scenario and provides the baseline for the sustainable management of the city for present and future needs.