What Does Unsustainable Urban Sprawl Bring? Spatial Patterns Analysis of Built Environment in Cluj Metropolitan Area

Elena-Manuela BÎRSĂNUC1, Titus-Cristian MAN*2, Dănuţ PETREA3
* Corresponding author
1 Babeş-Bolyai University, Faculty of Geography, Cluj-Napoca, ROMANIA
2 Babeş-Bolyai University, Faculty of Geography, Department of Regional Geography and Territorial Planning, Cluj-Napoca, ROMANIA
3 Babeş-Bolyai University, Faculty of Geography, Department of Physical and Technical Geography, Cluj-Napoca, ROMANIA
E-mail: elena.birsanuc@ubbcluj.ro, titus.man@ubbcluj.ro, danut.petrea@ubbcluj.ro
Pages: 121-130

Abstract. Urban sprawl and population growth are the main triggers of land use reconversion around big cities. Due to the expansion of metropolitan areas, many land use categories (grasslands, arable lands, forests, pastures) have been transformed in living spaces. Determining the built-up area growth rate from satellite images, in correlation with demographics and dwellings data, leads to a better comprehension of sustainable urban development and the negative effects of chaotic urbanization. This study analyses the built-up area expansion growth rate in Cluj Metropolitan Area in 1991-2017 using the normalized difference built-up index and soil-adjusted vegetation index applied on Landsat imagery. Results highlight different spatial patterns within the studied area, based on the correlation between the growth rates of built-up area expansion and demographic data. The land use types most impacted by the urban sprawl are meadows and arable lands near the metropolitan centre and grassland in areas located at the periphery of the metropolitan area.

K e y w o r d s:  land use conversion, metropolitan area, SAVI, spatial patterns of urbanization, population growth rates, urban sprawl