Quantification of Urbanization and Its Impact on Agriculture Land from 1998 to 2017; Evidence from Punjab, Pakistan

In the last few decades developing countries experienced a significant increase in settlement, the reason behind this is accelerated human activities and a significant increase in population. In this research, image classification was done using the images LANDSAT-5 of 1998 and 2000, the LANDSAT-7 of 2010, and the LANDSAT-8 of 2017 for spatial analysis of the area. The results show that natural lands such as farmlands, and agricultural fields are converted into residential areas and urban settlements. The results of the study express the total change in land use from 1998 to 2017 which increased to 42.57%. There is a significant increase in built-up areas and a decrease in the fertile land during the period as investigated in the study. The increase in urban population and migration from surrounding areas causes these changes, which influence the agricultural land and convert it into the urban settlement as in the case of developing countries around the globe. The result of this research formulates recommendations on the bases of spatial analysis use as driving tools for sustainable urban planning and development. Finally, the government in developing countries should introduce rules and regulations for sustainable land use in the urban world.