Distance & Directional Based Assessment of Urban Sprawl in Eluru City, Andhra Pradesh, Using GEE and ArcGIS

Abstract

This study evaluates two decades of urban expansion in Eluru city using multi‐temporal Landsat imagery processed in Google Earth Engine and spatial analyses in ArcGIS. Three time series from 2004, 2014, and 2024 were mapped using a Random Forest classifier to determine the dynamics of land use and land cover. Achieving overall accuracies above 85 % and Kappa coefficient values over 0.80. Concentric buffers at radii of 5 km, 10 km, 14 km created around the center of the city. combined these buffers with 16 directional segments, computed both radial and compass‐oriented growth. Results show urban area increasing from 12.7 km2 in 2004 to 39.0 km2 in 2024, with the fastest expansion between 2004 and 2014. The zonal assessment revealed the most significant expansion occurred in the west-northwest and northeast quadrants. These growth patterns align with major transport corridors and areas well-suited for peri-urban development. Buffer statistics reveal a core to periphery shift. Where the 5 km zone’s built‐up cover rose by 13.34 km2 while the outer 14 km ring exhibited emerging sprawl. These spatial trends signal ongoing conversion of agricultural lands, degradation of riparian buffers, and reinforce flood risk. By combining cloud‐based classification in Google Earth Engine with detailed GIS buffering, this approach provides a remarkable method for tracking urban expansion. These findings underscore the importance of strategic, sustainable land-use policies and recommend implementing green infrastructure and robust flood-mitigation strategies to ensure that the development of Eluru and its peri-urban areas aligns with ecosystem conservation.