THE PATTERN AND DRIVERS OF URBAN EXPANSION IN GREATER LAGOS FROM 1984 TO 2006
O. E. Abiodun, J. B. Olaleye, J. O. Olusina and O. G. Omogunloye
Department of Surveying and Geo-informatics
University of Lagos, Lagos
E-mail: abiodunoludayo@yahoo.com; oabiodun@unilag.edu.ng
ABSTRACT
Urban expansion has been identified as a major cause of global climatic and environmental changes, which are predicted to accelerate in the 21st century with unknown and potentially serious implications to life and the environment. Accurate and up-to-date information about urban expansion in terms of changes in urban area is needed for sustainable urban planning. Lagos is one of the fastest growing cities in the world and may experience the most serious implication of this change in the whole of West Africa. Lagos has witnessed great urban sprawl in recent times, annexing nearby villages and spreading fast into the neighbouring states. This growth and physical expansion is virtually undocumented and adequate planning to prevent great consequences of this development is therefore impossible. In this work, LandSat imagery (1984, 2001, and 2006) was processed and overlaid on the Lagos State administrative map in a GIS environment. Changes in linear expansion were recorded from a 1Km X 1Km grid while areal changes were recorded from a grid of 25Km X 20Km imposed on the map. Results of the linear changes in a few selected locations and the results of the areal changes in all the cells are presented. The result shows a fast growth of urban expansion in Lagos from 1984 to 2001 and from 2001 to 2006. The result was discussed and inferences were drawn on the drivers of urban expansion in Lagos.