Landscape transformation processes in two large and two small cities in Egypt and Jordan over the last five decades using remote sensing data

Abstract

Much research has tackled the physical expansion of urban growth and concomitant ruralurban transformation of land use in many parts of the world, but this phenomenon remained largely overlooked in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. To fill this knowledge gap, this study investigated land use changes from the 1970s to 2018 in the cities of Luxor and Cairo in Egypt and of Aqaba and Amman in Jordan using different Landsat datasets. Land cover classifications were performed with Maximum Likelihood Algorithm and Spectral Angle Mapper. In all four cities peri-urban green areas shrunk or shifted due to increased expansion of built-up areas. The largest reduction of peri-urban green areas were observed for Amman and Luxor, which decreased by 122.4 km² and 17.2 km², respectively, over the study period. For Cairo, an increase of peri-urban green area by 29 km² was detected, but its location shifted over the last five decades due to urban expansion. Green areas (urban and peri-urban) on a per-capita basis were 4.6, 12, 91, and 142 m 2 /capita for Aqaba, Cairo, Amman, and Luxor, respectively, in 2018. Land cover changes reflected critical political events like the so-called "Arab Spring", international treaties, recent migration waves and population growth. Rapid increases in urban built-up area put pressure on scarce land and water resources in the peri-urban fringes, thereby potentially leading to environmental stress. Effective city planning is needed to address the multiple challenges and competing interests of urban and peri-urban environments.

Developing a Gap-Filling Algorithm Using DNN for the Ts-VI Triangle Model to Obtain Temporally Continuous Daily Actual Evapotranspiration in an Arid Area of China

“…Hence, actual ET is a key measurement for irrigation programs, particularly where there is insufficient precipitation to meet crop growth requirements [3,4]. However, as a result of increased irrigation, drinking water demands, and urban water usage, groundwater levels have decreased significantly through over-pumping [5][6][7]. To improve both water use efficiency and the level of water resource management to balance these different water demands, it is necessary to obtain temporally continuous daily actual ET data to more accurately calculate total water consumption.…”

Effect of Water-Saving Society Policy on Water Consumption in the Cities of China: A Propensity Score Matching Analysis

“…Remote sensing and geographical information system analysis are often adopted to examine the effect of human activities on water resources or landscape change [47,48]. Although combined with post-classification comparison, sudden change caused by immediate factors like extension of roads and infrastructure or critical political events can be clearly explored [48], impacts of other simultaneous factors should be further considered. Our goal in this study is to estimate the effect of urban water-saving society policy on water consumption.…”

“…To obtain a representative and fixed sample, we selected 285 cities at the prefecture level and above as the study area ( Figure 1). In accordance with Riad et al [48], cities differing in water endowment, economy, and size were included.…”

A Comparative Analysis of Spatial Data and Land Use/Land Cover Classification in Urbanized Areas and Areas Subjected to Anthropogenic Pressure for the Example of Poland

“…Anthropogenic pressure is one of the main drivers of change in space which directly affects land-use structure [1][2][3]. Changes in land-use structure transform the natural environment and, indirectly, lead to changes in climate and biodiversity [4][5][6].…”