Research Article ISSN 22779051

International Journal of Remote Sensing and GIS, Volume 1, Issue 3, 2012, 144-153
Copyright 2012, All rights reserved Research Publishing Group
www.rpublishing.org

144

Study of Urban Sprawl of Patna City Using
Remote Sensing and GIS

Indhira Gandhi S
1
and Madha Suresh V
2
and Stalin M
3

1
Research Scholar, University of Madras,
2
Reader, University of Madras, Chennai, Tamil Nadu and
3
Director, Survey of India, Bihar
E-mail: sindhiragandhi@gmail.com
Received 24 August 2012; received in revised form 24 September 2012; accepted 08 October 2012

Abstract: Urbanization is the movement of population from rural to urban areas and the resulting increase in
proportion of population that resides in urban rather than rural places. The present study focuses on the nature and
pattern of urban expansion of Patna city over its surrounding region during the period from 1991 to 2008. Patna
urban agglomeration area consists of eleven constituents. Subsequently, two sample towns from the respective zones
were selected to study the pattern of urban expansion and there from identify the factors responsible for the urban
sprawl of Patna city. The demographic parameters of the study reveal the conversion of agricultural workers to other
workers and non-workers. The land use change illustrates that the urban expansion is inversely proportional to
agricultural land use as the urban area increases with decrease of agricultural land. The settlement and commercial
area have been increased. The study indicates that road and rail transport are solely responsible for the rapid urban
development in the sample towns. In addition, GIS based analysis of the pattern of urban expansion over the
demographic change and land use modifications also indicate that urban growth of the Patna city has mainly taken
place linearly along the major river Ganga.
Keywords: Urbanization, Demographical, Land use, Remote Sensing and GIS


1. Introduction

Urban sprawl may be defined as the scattering of new development on isolated tracts, separated from other areas by
vacant land (Lata et al., 2001). It has also been described as leapfrog development (Jothimani, 1977; Torrens and
Albert, 2000). The need for monitoring urban development has become imperative to help curb the problems of this
type of growth. Monitoring urban development is mainly to find the type, amount and the location of land
conversion for future planning (Shekhar, 2001). Urban sprawl varies in degrees between the developed and the
developing world and subsequently they have differing consequences.

Urban growth indicates a transformation of the vacant land or natural environment to construction of urban fabrics
including residential, industrial and infrastructure development. It mostly happens in the fringe urban areas
(Shenghe and Sylvia 2002). This process can be regarded as the spatial representation of the economic structural
shift of labour away from agricultural to industrial-based activities. Crucial to this shift are the output gains
associated with resource transfers from the low-productivity agricultural sector to the high productivity industrial
sector (KamWing Chan 1994).

Urbanization takes place either in radial direction around a wellestablished city or linearly along the highways. This
dispersed development along highways, or surrounding the city and in rural countryside is often referred as urban
sprawl (Theobald, 2001). The expanding networks of roads and increasing reliance on the automobile, population
began shifting from cities to fringe. Highway expansion allowed workers to commute greater distances between
their residences and central cities and encouraged businesses and industries to locate or relocate to suburban. The
spatial patterns of urban sprawl over different time periods, can be systematically mapped, monitored and accurately
assessed from satellite data (remotely sensed data) along with conventional ground data (Ohri and Poonam, 2012;
Lata et al., 2001). The recent technologies like GIS and remote sensing helps in identifying the pattern of growth
and its rate. Mapping urban sprawl provides a "picture" of where this type of growth is occurring and to suggest the
likely future directions and patterns of sprawling growth.

2. Objectives

To identify the factors and problems of urban sprawl in Patna City
To study and compare the demographic change between the sample Towns
To study the changing pattern of land use and map the urban development of sample towns using RS & GIS.
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3. Input Data

Survey of India Topo sheets: 72G/2 / NE,NW,SE,SW Scale 1:50,000
Satellite data: Landsat TM and ETM+ (1991) and (2008)
Census of India Primary Census Abstract 1991 & 2001
Master Plan Report (Source: Patna Urban Development)

4. Study Area

Patna, the capital of Bihar state, is a city with an ancient past. Patna is located between Latitude: 25 30' to 25
40North and Longitude: 85 0' to 85 15East, and lies on the south bank of the Ganga River. The study focuses on
the fringe constituent of Patna city. The area of jurisdiction of Patna Urban Agglomeration Area covers 135.79 sq.
km. It consists of totally 104 villages including Patna Municipal Corporation.

The two towns of Danapur and Phulwari which are located on the western part and southern part of Patna city which
is shown in Figure 1, the important national highway NH30 which connects Bakhtiyanpur and Mohania passes
through Danapur town and the Railway line from Patna city to Ara which passes through Phulwari Railway Station.
The total population of Danapur and Phulwari are 1,59,410 & 53,451 respectively. The geographical area of the
villages are 15.05 & 6.48 sq. km. Danapur town panchayat falls in Danapur cum Khagul C.D. Block and Phulwari
town panchayat falls in Phulwari C.D. Block as per 2001 census.



Figure 1: Study Area Map of Patna City and Blocks

5. Methodology

The methodology in this study rests on the integration of GIS and Remote Sensing which is shown in figure 2 to
identify the factors for urban growth in Patna city. In order to determine accurately the growth rates, the study
depends on the various data. ArcGIS 9.2 and ERDAS 9.0 were the main software used in data acquisition, data
storing, and data processing. Various GIS base layers were created from the topo sheets, such as roads and railway
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network, water bodies and the administrative boundaries for the analyses. The highway passing between the two
towns was digitized separately. Using remote sensing data land cover and land use analyses was done with
maximum likelihood Supervised classification.




Figure 2: Flow Chart of Methodology

6. Result and Discussion

6.1 Urban Sprawl of Patna city

Patna has a very long river line, and it is surrounded on three sides by riversthe Ganga, Sone, and Poonpun. Just to
the north of Patna the river Ganga flows into the river Gandak making it a unique place having four large rivers in
its vicinity. The 5850m long bridge over the river Ganga, namely Gandhi Sethu is said to be the longest single river
bridge in the world. Today Patna is an important business centre of eastern India. Since the city of Patna is also a
gateway to the Buddhist and Jain pilgrimage centers of Vaishali, Rajgir, Nalanda, Bodhgaya and Pawapuri, it
attracts a lot of tourists, apart from business class people. This shows that Patna not only played an important part
culturally but also spiritually.

The natural growth of Patna City has been towards the west till date, with the older part of Patna being in the East
side of the city. The direction of growth of Patna City is shown in figure 3. This core area of Patna faces problems of
over crowding, which has led to enormous pressure on the physical infrastructure and traffic congestion. The newer
development areas lying in the central and western part of Patna comprises of both plotted developments and
apartment houses. The apartments in the newly developed area are again straining on the existing infrastructure, as
the upgradation of the physical infrastructure has not been done in proportion to the increase in population being
accommodated in the apartments. This has led to problems of water supply, sewerage, drainage, solid waste
management, parking etc. In the southern part of Patna city there are low-lying areas lined along the bypass road,
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which again cause a constraint to the development of the area. These areas are being presently used for dumping of
solid waste. In fact, almost the entire stretch of the bypass road is being used for dumping of city waste.



Figure 3: Direction Growth of Patna City

The linear pattern of sprawl is not only found along the river lane but also along Railway line. The important railway
line which stimulates the development of urban connecting Ara and district highway connecting Bakhtiyanpur and
Mohania helps for the urban growth of Patna city. According to the urban expansion, map prepared from satellite
imagery using visual interpretation technique indicates that the total urban area of Patna District in 1991 was 196.91
Sq.kms and it expanded to 234.70 sq.km in 2008. The growth in urban area over seventeen years is 37.79 sq.km.

6.2 Distribution of Various Land uses in Patna Urban Agglomeration Area

The most densely populated wards are mainly along the banks of river Ganga. They vary from 301 to 900 persons
per ha. The wards with lower density are along the southern and western side and their density varies from 100 to
300 persons per ha. The predominant land use in Patna Urban Agglomeration Area (PUAA) is residential which
constitutes 60.88 % of the total area. Over and above, 91.7 % of the residential area is unplanned. About 52 % of the
commercial land use is predominantly in the form of ribbon development along the major roads-typical organic
growth in unplanned areas which is finding in most of the India cities. Within the Patna Municipal Corporation
(PMC) area it has characteristic mixed land use along all the major arterial roads. Most of the Government and other
Public Sector Undertaking offices are located in the Western part of the city. There is a predominance of
Educational sector and Social infrastructure facilities like hospitals, which clearly shows the increasing tertiary
sector character of the city. The second major land use is agriculture, which is 18.88 % of the total land, revealing
the rural characteristic of the areas surrounding the urban areas in the PUAA.

Within the PMC area, mixed land use dominates along all the major arterial roads. Most of the Government and
other Public Sector Undertaking offices are located in the Western part of city. There is a predominance of
educational uses and Social infrastructure facilities, whereas recreational use constitutes only 1.56% and industrial
use only 1.76%.

6.3 Demographic Characteristics of the sample towns

In this present study, few demographic parameters like population, household, literates, illiterates, total workers,
main workers, cultivators, agricultural workers, other workers and nonworkers are considered as urban growth
indicators. The above mentioned parameters are obtained from Census of India report which helps to determine the
growth and rate of change for the time periods. The change detection is done for the period of ten years (1991
2001) for the sample towns. The demographic parameters and its changes are clearly illustrated in table No. 1 and
diagrammatically shown in figure no. 4 and 5.

Danapur town is located adjacent to the city showing a notable demographic change. The total population of
Danapur was 104,824 in 1991 and 159,410 in 2001 with an increase of about 20.66%. Eventually its raise in
households is 22.35 % which shows a remarkable expansion in residential area. There is a significant increase in
Direction of natural Growth of the City
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total main workers (+17.60%), total marginal workers (+98.71%) and tremendous decrease in cultivators (74.60%),
agricultural workers (29.67%) and household workers (-17.39%) which clearly explains the conversion of
agricultural land use to urban land use. The change shows that most of the cultivators converted into non workers.
The conversion of workers is due to the increased percentage of literates. The figure clearly shows the decline in
agricultural workers, cultivators and raise in other workers and non workers.


Figure 4: Demographic change of Danapur and Phulwari town

Similarly in Phulwari town the change in total population between 1991 and 2001 was 20.69% increase and its
household was increased by 23.89% in 10 years as per Census of India report. The change in total main workers is
+13.96%, whereas the change in total marginal workers are +95.69%, which is seven times of the percentage of total
marginal workers of Phulwari. There is decline in Cultivators (-38.93%) and Household workers (-12.57%), but a
tremendous change in agricultural workers (-76.39%). Phulwari also shows decline in illiterates (3.89%). The
change shows the conversion of agricultural workers to other workers and non workers. As per the figure no.4 the
demographic changes between Danapur & Phulwari town is nominal. While focusing the rate of transition of
agricultural workers, Danapur is comparatively lower than Phulwari, whereas Phulwari is comparatively lower than
Danapur in respect of the rate of transition of cultivators. Another factor for the conversion of workers is the
percentage increase of literates. Literates are ready to work as main and marginal workers than agricultural labours
and cultivators. The percentage of non workers is increased due to unemployment in the city.



Figure 5: Demographic Variation of Danapur and Phulwari

-70
-60
-50
-40
-30
-20
-10
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
110
%

o
f

C
h
a
n
g
e
Demographic Details
Demographic Changes between 1991 - 2001
% of
change of
Danapur
% of
change of
Phulwari
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Table 1: Demographic change between 1991 and 2001
Description Danapur Phulwari
1991 2001 % of change 1991 2001
% of
change
Population 104,824 159,410 +20.66 35,123 53,451 +20.69
Households 14,587 22,983 +22.35 4746 7725 +23.89
Literates 53,055 113,446 +36.27 16515 36,235 +37.38
Illiterates 51,769 45,964 -5.94 18608 17,216 -3.89
Total workers 25,642 40,863 +22.89 7,913 11,848 +19.91
Total main workers 25,614 36,559 +17.60 7,882 10,439 +13.96
Cultivators 9,102 1,324 -74.60 521 229 -38.93
Agricultural workers 6,320 3,428 -29.67 1,756 235 -76.39
Household workers 2,798 1,969 -17.39 1,021 793 -12.57
Other Workers 15,470 29,838 +31.71 4,584 9,482 +34.82
Total marginal workers 28 4,304 +98.71 31 1,409 +95.69
Non Workers 79,192 118,547 +19.90 27,210 41,605 +20.92
+ for Increase & for Decrease in percentage

6.4 Spatial comparison of urban development of the sample towns

The spatial and temporal pattern of sprawl on landscapes can be detected, mapped, and analyzed cost effectively and
efficiently using remote sensing and Geographical Information System (GIS) (Barnese et al., 2001). The patterns of
sprawl are being described using visual interpretation techniques. Satellite product used for the analysis of sprawl is
Landsat imagery. The development of road network is obtained from Survey of India topo sheets. The temporal
analysis of land use / land cover of the sample towns are done for the period 1991 and 2008 using LANDSAT TM
and LANDSAT ETM+images. The land use classes considered for studying the urban development is urban,
agricultural land, commercial and water bodies.


Figure 6: Urban development of Danapur town

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Danapur town falls adjacent to Patna city limit where national highway NH30 passes through and various artillery
roads join this highway, as a result Danapur has well organized road network and residential blocks as shown in
figure 6. Ganga River plays a vital role in agricultural development which falls on the periphery of the town. The
bank of the Ganga River is the northern part of the town boundary. The agricultural land, commercial places and
water bodies contribute equally for the residential expansion of Danapur town.

The change in land use of Danapur town is illustrated in table no. 2 and diagrammatically is shown in figure 7. The
urban expansion is inversely proportional to agricultural land use, as urban area increases with decrease in
agricultural land. The settlements and commercial area have been increased by 20.13% and 11.01%, whereas
agricultural land has decreased by 26.28%, which is a common feature for developing economics as urban
extension, industrial and other developments take place on the agricultural land. The rapid population growth and
massive migration from rural to urban areas have resulted in the loss of productive agricultural land. The total units
of water bodies have been reduced by 4.86% due to encroachment on the Ganga River. This clearly explains a part
of agricultural land and water bodies have been converted as settlements and commercial areas. The major
conversion of land use takes place along the roads and the pattern of sprawl is found to be linear. The development
of this town is mainly due to establishment of Administrative offices (East Central Railway) and International
Schools. Day by day urban area and population are increased due to newly constructed Danapur Railway station,
where most of the trains are passing through this station.

Table 2: Land use change detection of Danapur town

S.No

Land use

Area (%)
Change in %
2001 2008
1 Urban Area 34.08 54.21 +20.13
2 Commercial Area 15.12 26.13 +11.01
3 Agricultural Land 38.66 12.38 -26.28
4 Water Bodies 12.14 7.28 -4.86




Figure 7: Land use changes of Danapur and Phulwari

Phulwari town is located in southern part of Patna city. The development of this town is slow compared to Danapur.
The development of this town was not only influenced by transport but also for other reasons like Railway station,
Administrative buildings and Industrial units which are located at the periphery of the town which is shown in figure
8. The most factors which supports the development of the Phulwari town is the commercial shops along the road.
This road development shows a drastic change in land value in this area, so these factors support towards the future
development in this region.

The change in land use of Phulwari town is illustrated in Table no. 3 and pictorial representation in figure no.8.
There is an increase in percentage of settlement to 15.13% and marked decrease in agricultural land to 14.54%.
There is slight increase in commercial area ie 1.96% and decrease in water bodies by 2.55%. The expansion of
settlements takes place mainly on agricultural land.

0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Urban Area Commercial
Area
Agricultural
Land
Water Bodies
A
r
e
a

i
n

%
Landuse categories
Changes in Landuse of Danapur
2001
2008
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Urban Area Commercial
Area
Agricultural
Land
Water
Bodies
A
r
e
a

i
n

%
Landuse Categories
Changes in Landuse of Phulwari
2001
2008
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Table 3: Land use change detection of Phulwari town
S.No

Land use

Area (%) Change in %

2001 2008
1 Urban Area 46.08 61.21 15.13
2 Commercial Area 20.12 22.08 1.96
3 Agricultural Land 25.66 11.12 -14.54
4 Water Bodies 8.14 5.59 -2.55




Figure 8: Urban development of Phulwari town

The comparison between land use distribution for 1991 and 2008 of Danapur and Phulwari is shown in figure no.9.
From this chart it is understood that the percentage changes in land use categories of Danapur is comparatively high
due to rapid urbanization than Phulwari town. The rapid urban growth is due to migration of people from rural to
this town for school education, etc. Also the Railway Department has constructed the quarters for its staff and
officers, they shifted from rural to the town. Due to these reasons, settlements and commercial areas were increased
significantly in Danapur town.

6.5 Mapping Constraints

In Patna and Bihar in general, mapped data has been weak. Despite legislative support, the Directorate of Town
Planning is devoid of experienced planners. This affects adversely land use planning and capacity building for
planned intervention at Urban Local Bodies (ULB) levels. The Patna Master Plans 1962-81 and 1982-2001 are not
development integrative and the plan for 2001-21 is yet with consultants. Therefore some of the maps incorporated
in this paper are generated as structure plans and some of the maps from satellite imagery.

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Figure 9: Land use changes between 1991 and 2008


6.6 Urban Problems of Patna City

The Patna Urban Agglomeration Area has been facing various problems in recent years due to rapid urbanization
and other reasons. Patna being surrounded by three rivers has a constraint of growth on the northern side due to river
Ganga, southern side due to river Punpun and eastern side due to river Sone. Moreover the topography of Patna is
like a saucer due to the surrounding of three rivers. Thus drainage poses a major problem and pumping out of water
seems to be the only solution at present. The city is also otherwise prone to flooding. Some of the major problems
identified are:

The old city, which is in the eastern part of Patna Urban Area is congested, with narrow lanes, and
has critical traffic congestion problems.
Substantial parts of the city have grown spontaneously (unplanned);.
Drainage is the most crucial problem of Patna and its surrounding areas. It is the root cause of many
other physical and environmental problems.
Incompatible land uses side by side in some areas has led to unplanned development.

7. Conclusion

In a developing city such as Patna, development in urban areas and miscellaneous land use types are isolated in the
fringe areas followed by gradual filling of intervening spaces with similar uses. This is mainly due to rapid growth
in population size which is usually uncontrolled. The rapid rate of urbanization being experienced in Patna city has
created serious environmental problems noticeable along the Patna metropolis. There is unguided and uncontrolled
expansion without due consideration to interrelated factors such as transport, employment, health and other livable
factors. The city is experiencing expansion in one direction resulting in large scale urban sprawl and changes in
urban land use. It is noticed in the city fringes, that it has increased the built up area and change in land use patterns
which had led to loss in valuable agricultural lands and biodiversity. Therefore there is a need to monitor such
changes and to understand the process, so as to measure and direct growth for healthy development.

This paper demonstrates urban expansion of Patna, and identifies the spatial development patterns by using remote
sensing images and GIS tool. The findings of the present study are:

The pattern of urban sprawl of Patna is identified as linear along Railway line, major roads and National
Highways NH 30.
-30
-20
-10
0
10
20
30
Urban Area Commercial Area Agricultural Land Water Bodies
A
r
e
a

i
n

%
Land use Categories
Land use changes between 1991 and 2008
% of change of
Danapur
% of change of
Phulwari
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It is found that sample towns show equal change in percentage of urban area to the total, but drastic change
in percentage of cultivators and Agricultural workers.
The unemployment is increased due to change in percentage of literates and non workers.
The change in percentage of marginal workers is increased due to literate people not willing to work as
agricultural workers or cultivators.
While comparing the urban development in both the towns, development in Danapur is high due to well
planned road network and residential blocks, where as in Phulwari despite the establishment of Railway
station, industrial units and Administrative buildings the development is little low.

Knowledge of land use/ land-cover changes is important for urban planning. Integration of remote sensing and GIS
techniques facilitates in working out the mushrooming growth of urban extensions. This study would help the urban
development authority to formulate their policies and programmes for efficient management.

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