A Comparative Analysis of Temporal Changes in Urban Land Use Resorting to Advanced Remote Sensing and GIS in Karaj, Iran and Luxor, Egypt

Abstract

As many developing countries, Iranian and Egyptian cities are growing in population and physically expanding at a high rate. The uncontrolled scattered construction causes loss of orchards, agricultural lands as well as spatial chaos, traffic congestion and increasing costs of municipal services. As a consequence, this also induces a loss of identity and social characteristics of neighborhoods, poor quality of life and degradation of natural landscapes, etc. To face with these issues, it is important to quantify trend and the rate of land cover conversion in order to support plan for a rational land use policy. The main purpose of this research is to set up low cost and reliable tools useful for the monitoring of the urban growth. In this paper, multi-temporal satellite data (Landsat TM 1984, Landsat TM 1998 and L8 2016 have been analyzed for investigating and assessing the effects of the urban expansion in Karaj (Iran) and Luxor (Egypt). According to the results obtained from change detection analysis, both of the investigated sites clearly exhibit an increasing trend in urban expansion much more evident in the case of Luxor than Karaj area. The integration between remote sensing and GIS and the joint use of analytical methods for quantitative-qualitative assessment enable the identification of changes and the mapping of new planned and unplanned urban construction. The availability of timely information free available from NASA web site and the data processing herein adopted provide useful information for supporting planning and sustainable developing policies.

Revealing the paleolandscape features around the archaeological sites in the northern Nile Delta of Egypt using radar satellite imagery and GEE platform

“…Using the Geometric Correction tool and through the Terrain Correction option, the ‘Range‐Doppler Terrain Correction’ sub‐tool was used for transferring the Sentinel‐1 IW ground‐range detected data from ground‐range geometry into a map. The Range‐Doppler Terrain Correction tool was determined to transfer the single 2D of raster radar geometry and for accurately geocoding the images by correcting the SAR geometric distortions based on the SRTM for geocoding Sentinel‐1 images (Elfadaly, Murgante, et al, 2019).…”

Tracking the effects of the long‐term changes on the coastal archaeological sites of the Mediterranean using remote sensing data: The case study from the northern shoreline of Nile Delta of Egypt

“…Based on the results herein obtained, Cultural Heritage Management CHM bodies can devise some innovative solutions to mitigate the impact expected on the archaeological sites (Elfadaly et al, 2018, 2019; Elfadaly & Lasaponara, 2019). For example, the National Water Research Institute (NWRI) suggests planting suitable crops as ‘vegetative buffers’ and installing sand dune systems, both of them considered appropriate solutions for shoreline protection in the coastal area of the Nile delta (MWRI, 2013).…”

Multi-Sensor Satellite Images for Detecting the Effects of Land-Use Changes on the Archaeological Area of Giza Necropolis, Egypt

“…To reduce the impact of groundwater on the Great Pyramids and the Sphinx area, the stabilization of structures and moisture management should also be given top priority in preservation and restoration activities. Protecting cultural heritage, such as archaeological and cultural sites, is undoubtedly considered a critical issue and an urgent need [78][79][80][81]. In addition, the preservation of cultural heritage should be planned as a means of promoting conservation, documentation, and even restoration based on a specific strategy [82][83][84][85].…”