Spatiotemporal analysis of Shiraz metropolitan area expansion during 1986-2014: Using remote sensing imagery and landscape metrics

This Paper attempts to investigate the patterns of land cover changes and also the process of urban growth in Shiraz Metropolitan Area. Since detailed information of current urban processes is required for future developments and managements of urban areas, this study utilizes remote sensing data and landscape metrics, as useful tools to gather information on urban growth and dynamics, in order to examine the spatial pattern of Shiraz metropolitan area (SMA) from 1986 to 2014. Since, the northwestern areas of SMA are superior in terms of ecological advantages, analysis of types and patterns of SMA growth were separately examined for each sector (NW, NE, SE, and SW). Five landscape metrics were used to analyze compactness and dispersion of urban patches derived from remotely sensed images. The results showed that over the past 28 years, SMA experienced sweeping changes with unexplainable growth during 1996-2006: a great horizontal expansion with 5.89 percent annual growth rate. After facing great urban sprawl, especially on the edge of the main city in the 96-06 period, periphery rural areas beyond the city borders started growing drastically during last decade. While measuring landscape metrics indicates a process of compactness in the growth patterns of NE, SE and SW areas, NW is going to be more dispersed in the coming years.