Assessing post apartheid settlement growth patterns using remote sensing and GIWS: A case study of Cape Town metropolitan area

Abstract

The significant land-use change in South African metropolitan areas, due to urbanization, created challenges of spatial development planning, infrastructure and service provision. This paper outlines the change detection analysis method applied on Landsat imagery to extract land-use change classes for the Cape Metropolitan Area, which experienced a significant population growth since 1994. Using the post-classification method of change detection, two classified Landsat images of different dates (i.e. 1994 and 2002) were compared in order to highlight the differences that occurred between those years. The classified Landsat images were validated using high-resolution SPOT images and aerial photography prior to the change detection analysis. The result of the change detection analysis provided beneficial insight into the amount and type of land-use change in the Cape Metropolitan Area, which would enable decision makers to appraise the extent of the land use change and to develop sustainable land-use management practices