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IdentificationofUrbanSprawlPatternforMaduraiRegionUsingGIS
Saravanan.P,Ilangovan.P
DepartmentofEnvironmentalRemoteSensingandCartography
MaduraiKamarajUniversity,Madurai 625021,TamilNadu
saraavanan.p@gmail.com

ABSTRACT
ThepresentstudyfocusesonthenatureandpatternofurbanexpansionofMaduraicityoverits
surroundingregionduringtheperiodfrom1991to2006.BasedonitsproximitytotheMadurai
city, the rural urban fringe was fragmented into two zones namely Ring I and Ring II.
Subsequently,twosamplevillages fromtherespectivezoneswereselectedtostudythepattern
of urban expansion and there from identify the factor responsible for the urban sprawl of
Madurai city. The study has indicated that road transport was solely responsible for the rapid
urbandevelopmentinthesamplevillages.Inaddition,GISbasedanalysisofthepatternofurban
expansionoverthedemographicchangeandlandusemodificationshasalsoindicatedthaturban
growthhasmainlytakenplacelinearlyalongthemajorroadsinthestudyarea.
Keywords:UrbansprawlPattern,Changedetection,Demographiccharacteristics,GIS,
Maduraicity
1.Introduction
Urbanization takes place either in radial direction around a wellestablished city or
linearlyalongthehighways.Thisdisperseddevelopmentalonghighways,orsurroundingthecity
and in rural countryside is often referred as urban sprawl (Theobald, 2001). The expanding
networks of roads and increasing reliance on the automobile, population began shifting from
citiestofringe.Highwayexpansionallowedworkerstocommutegreaterdistancesbetweentheir
residences and central cities and encouraged businesses and industries to locate or relocate to
suburban.Thespatialpatternsofurbansprawloverdifferenttimeperiods,canbesystematically
mapped,monitoredandaccuratelyassessedfromsatellitedata(remotelysenseddata)alongwith
conventional ground data (Lata et al., 2001). The recent technologies like GIS and remote
sensinghelpsinidentifyingthepatternofgrowthanditsrate.Mappingurbansprawlprovidesa
"picture"ofwherethistypeofgrowthisoccurringandtosuggestthelikelyfuturedirectionsand
patternsofsprawlinggrowth.
Howeveronlyafewstudieswereattemptedtoestablishtheinterrelationshipbetweenthe
road transport development and Landuse changes in rural urban landscape at a micro level.
Hencebyrealizingthegapthepresentattempthasbeen madeatamicrolevel by selectingthe
two villages namely Avaniyapuram and Othakadai which shows a prominent sprawl of urban

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areaalongthe majorroads inMadurai,Tamil Nadu.Thispaper isan attemptofunderstanding

theurbansprawlphenomenon.
1.1AimandObjectives

ToidentifythepatternsofurbansprawlforMadurairegion
Tostudyandcomparethedemographicchangebetweenthesamplevillages
Tospatiallymaptheresidentialdevelopmentofsamplevillage

1.2DateBase
SurveyofIndiaToposheets:58K/1NE,NW,SE,SW Scale1:25,000
Satellitedata:LANDSATTM (1991)andLANDSATETM+(2006) images
(source:http://glcf.umiacs.umd.edu)
CensusofIndiaPrimaryCensusAbstract1991&2001
LocalPlanningReport(Source:MaduraiCorporationOffice)
2.StudyArea
ThestudyfocusesonthefringevillagesofMaduraicity.Thestudyareaextendsfrom78o
00 to 78o 13 E latitude and 9o 48 to 10o 01 N longitude. It consists of totally 79 villages
excludingMaduraiCorporation.Thevillagesareclassifiedintotworings.Firstringcomprisesof
28 villages (105.025 Sq.kms) and second ring with51 villages (168.718 Sq.kms) respectively.
ThetotalareaincludingMaduraicity coversaround327.419 Sq.kms.
ThetwovillagesAvaniyapuramofringIandOthakadaiofringIIwhichare locatedon
thesouthernandnorthernpartofMaduraicity(Fig:1).TheimportantnationalhighwayNH45B
whichconnectsTrichirapalliDistrictandThoothukudiDistrictpassesthroughthesevillages.The
totalpopulationofAvaniyapuramandOthakadaiare53,006&12,185personsrespectively.The
geographicalareaofthevillagesare14.95& 1.82Sq.Kms.Avaniyapuramtownpanchayatfalls
inclassIItownandOthakadaicensustowninclassIVtownasper2001census.
3.ResultandDiscussion
3.1UrbanSprawlof Maduraicity
TheurbansprawlandthedirectionofgrowthofMaduraicitycanbeexplainedwiththe
help of Monocentric City Model. The spatial growth of city is clearly delineated by the
MonocentricCityModeldevelopmentbyAlonso(1964),Mills(1967),andMuth(1969)which
portraysthecityasorganizedaroundasingle,centralworkplace.EarlierMaduraicitiesgrowth
was based on Meenakshi Amman temple as the central place. The development was uniform
aroundthetempleandtheroadnetworkestablishedwasregularinshape.Sotheresidentialand
commercial activities spread evenly in all directions, as aresultthe patternof urban expansion
wasradial.Laterthedevelopmentwasduetorapidpopulationgrowthandduetotherestriction
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for the vertical development, since no construction should be higher than the towers of
Meenakshi Amman temple, eventually it leads to horizontal expansion. The horizontal
developmentwasnotuniforminalldirection,thedevelopmentinnorthernpartwasrestrictedby
riverVaigaisinceconnectivitybetweensouthandnorthwaspoor.Toovercomeandtodevelop
northern part various measures has been taken like establishing and shifting many public and
semi public organization (Collector Office, Corporation Office, District Court, High Court,
GovernmentHospitaletc)tothenorth,improvingroadconnectivitybyconstructingbridgesover
river Vaigai, improving the transport system by locating two main bus terminal (Mattuthavani
and Anna Bus stand). After the development of road network around Madurai region and
interlinkingofhighwaysandmajorroads,thepatternofsprawlhasbeenchangedtolinear.The
changeisduetoroadsconnectivityandaccessibilitytoalltheserviceproviders.Fig:2clearly
showthelinearpatternofsprawlalongthemajorroads.
Thelinearpatternofsprawlisnotonlyfoundalongthenationalhighwaybutitisalsofound
along state and district highway. The important roads which stimulate the development are
nationalhighwayNH45B,NH7&NH49similarlystatehighwaySH72connectingDindigul
and district highway connecting Alagarkoil and Alaganallur helps for the urban growth of
Madurai. According to the urban expansion map prepared from satellite imagery (LANDSAT
TM AND ETM+) using visual interpretation technique for the tie points indicate thatthe total
urbanareaofMadurai in1991was54.803Sq.kmsand itexpandedto89.335Sq.kms in2006.
The growth in urban areaover fifteen years is 34.532Sq.kms. The fringe villages which show
notableurbanexpansionareAvaniyapuram,Thiruparangundram,VilacheriBitII,Samayanallur,
Thattaneri,Anaiyur,Thirupalai,Athikulam,Othakadai,Vandiyur,MelamadaiandAnuppanadi.

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Figure1:LocationmapofMaduraifringeandSamplevillages

Figure2:UrbanexpansionofMaduraiCity
3.2DemographicCharacteristicsofthesamplevillages
Thetermdemographyisusedinthestudyofhumanpopulation,itsstructureandchange.
Hereinthispresentstudyfewdemographicparameterslikepopulation,household,literates,total
workers, main workers, cultivators, agricultural workers and nonworkers are considered as

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urban growth indicators. The above mentioned parameters are obtained from Census of India
reportwhichhelpstodeterminethegrowthandrateofchangeforthetimeperiods.Thechange
detection is done for the period of ten years (1991 2001) for the sample villages. The
demographic parameters and its changes were clearly illustrated in Table No: 1 and
diagrammaticallyshowninChartno:1
Avaniyapuram village is located adjacent to the city showing a notable demographic
change.ThetotalpopulationofAvaniyapuramwas35,810in1991and53,006in2001withan
increase of about 19.36 %, eventually its raise in households was 22.29 % which show a
remarkableexpansioninresidentialarea.Therewasasignificantincreaseintotalmainworkers
(+15.20), total marginal workers (+26.39) and decrease in cultivators (34.04), agricultural
workers(44.52)whichclearlyexplaintheconversionofagricultural landusetourban landuse.
Thechartclearlyshowsthedeclineinagriculturalworkers,cultivatorsandraiseinotherworkers.
DemographicChanges(19912001)
80
60
40

NonWorkers

Totalmarginal
workers

Agricultural
workers

Cultivators

Totalmain
workers

Totalworkers

Literates

20

Households

Population

20

40
60
Avaniyapuram

Othakadai

Chart:1DemographicVariationofAvaniyapuramandOthakadai
SimilarlyasOthakadaivillageisconsideredthechangeintotalpopulationbetween1991and
2001was3273personi.e15.51%increaseanditshouseholdwas1967in1991increasedto2895
in2001housesaspercensusofIndiareport.Thechangeintotalmainworkersis+11.54%where
as the change in total marginal workers is +57.19%, which is double the percentage of total
marginalworkerofAvaniyapuram.Othakadaivillagealsoshowsdeclineincultivators(32.20)
and agricultural workers (20.42). The change showsthe conversionof agriculturalworkers to
otherworkersbutwhilefocusingtherateoftransition ofagriculturalworkers,itiscomparatively
low than Avaniyapuram. Another factor for the conversion of workers was the percentage of
literates.Literatesarereadytoworkasmainandmarginalworkersthanagriculturallabors.

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TableNo:1Demographicchangebetween1991and2001
S.No

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Description

Avaniyapuram
1991
2001
%of
(TP
(TPII)
change
III)
35,810 53,006
+19.36
7783
12,248
+22.29
22908
38,803
+25.76
15104
20,750
+15.75
14464
19,651
+15.20

Population
Households
Literates
Totalworkers
Totalmain
workers
632
311
34.04
Cultivators
2928
1,124
44.52
Agricultural
workers
640
1,099
+26.39
Totalmarginal
workers
20706
32,256
+21.81
NonWorkers
**+Increase& Decreaseinpercentage

Othakadai
1991
2001
%of
(VPV) (CT
change
IV)
8,912 12,185
+15.51
1967
2,895
+19.09
5959
9,062
+20.66
3315
4,334
+13.32
3251
4,099
+11.54
117
460

60
304

32.20
20.42

64

235

+57.19

5597

7,851

+16.76

3.3Spatialcomparisonof residentialdevelopmentof the samplevillages

The spatial and temporal pattern of sprawl on landscapes can be detected, mapped, and
analyzed cost effectively and efficiently using remote sensing and geographical information
system (GIS) (Barnes et al., 2001). The patterns of sprawl are being described using visual
interpretation techniques. Satellite product used for the analysis of sprawl was LANDSAT
imagery.ThedevelopmentofroadnetworkwasobtainedfromtoposheetandGeoEyeimageryof
Googleearth.Thetemporalanalysisoflanduse/landcoverofthesamplevillagesweredonefor
the period 1991 and 2006 using LANDSAT TM and LANDSAT ETM+ images. The landuse
classesconsideredforstudyingtheresidentialdevelopmentaresettlements,agriculturallandand
waterbodies.
Avaniyapuram village falls adjacent to Madurai city limit where national highway
NH45Bpassesthroughand variousartilleryroads jointhis highway,asaresult Avaniyapuram
has well organized road network. Avaniyapuram tank play a vital role in agricultural
developmentinearly90sbutthistankhasbeenacquiredbygovernmentitselfforconstruction
of housing board colonies and other public buildings. The agricultural land and water bodies
contributeequallyfortheresidentialexpansionofAvaniyapuramvillage.
Table No: 2 illustrate the change in landuse of Avaniyapuram village. The residential
expansionisinverselyrelatedtoagriculturallanduse,whereresidentialareaincreaseagricultural
land decrease. The settlements have been increased by 12.64% where as agricultural land and
waterbodieshavebeenreducedby6.89%and5.75%respectively.Thisclearlyexplainsapartof

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agriculturallandandwaterbodieshavebeenconvertedassettlements.Themajorconversionof
landusetakeplacealongtheroadsandthepatternofsprawlarefoundtobelinear.

Figure3:ResidentialdevelopmentofAvaniyapuramvillage
TableNo:2LandusechangedetectionofAvaniyapuramvillage
S.No
Landuse
Area(%)
Changein
percentage
1991
2006
1.
ResidentialArea
7.09
19.73
12.64
2.
AgriculturalLand
84.22
77.32
6.89
3.
WaterBodies
8.69
2.95
5.75
OthakadaivillageislocatedinringII.Thedevelopmentofthisvillageisslowcompared
toAvaniyapuram,sincethedevelopmentofthisvillagewasnotonlyinfluencedbytransportbut
alsoforotherreasonslikeestablishmentofHighCourt(MaduraiBench)andfewindustrialunits
whicharelocatedattheperipheryofthevillage.Anotherfactorwhichsupportsthedevelopment
oftheOthakadaivillageistheproposedfourway (underconstruction)whichpassingthroughthis
village.Thisroaddevelopmentshowsadrasticchangeinlandvalueinthisarea,sothesefactors
support towardsthefuturedevelopmentinthisregion.

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Figure4:ResidentialdevelopmentofOthakadaivillage
TableNo:3illustratethechangeinlanduseofOthakadaivillage.
TableNo:3LandusechangedetectionofOthakadaivillage
Area(%)
Changein
S.No
Landuse
percentage
1991
2006
1.
ResidentialArea
12.64
25.27
12.63
2.
AgriculturalLand
82.96
71.43
11.53
3.
WaterBodies
4.40
3.30
1.10
There is an increase in percentage of settlement to 12.63% and notable decrease in
agriculturallandto11.53%.Thedecreaseinwaterbodiesis1.1%.Theexpansionofsettlements
takesplacemainlyinagriculturalland.
4.Conclusion
This paper demonstrates urban expansion of Madurai, and identifies the temporal and
spatial development patterns by using multitemporal remote sensing images and GIS tool.
Various analysts have made considerable progress in quantifying the urban sprawl pattern
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(Theobald, 2001 Lata et al, 2001 Torrens and Alberti, 2000 Batty et al, 1999 Barnes et al,
2001). However all these studies have come up with different methodologies in quantifying
sprawl.Thepresentstudydetermine,
The pattern of urban sprawl of Madurai is identified as linear along major roads
especiallyonStateHighway SH72andNationalHighwaysNH45B,NH7.
Itisfoundthatsamplevillagesshowequalchangeinpercentageofresidentialareatothe
total,butwhiletakingspatialdistributionofpopulationintoconsiderationAvaniyapuram
hasbeenconvertedtoClassIIpanchayattownandOthakadaitoclassIVcensustown.
While considering the residential development of both the villages, development in
AvaniyapuramisduetowellorganizedroadnetworkwhereasinOthakadaiisbecauseof
establishment ofHigh court, industrial units, educational institutes and Fourway(under
construction).
The urban sprawl is one of the potential threats to sustainable development where urban
planning with effective resource utilization and allocation of infrastructure initiatives are key
concerns. Thus identification and analysis of the patterns of sprawl would help in effective
landuseplanninginurbanarea.Itisimportanttostudyandunderstandthetrendofurbansprawls,
whichultimatelyfocusforurbanlandscapeplanningandenvironmentalmanagement.
5.Acknowledgment
TheauthorsaregratefultotheUGCUPEscheme forextending financial assistanceto
carry out this work. We would like to express our sincere thanks to Prof. G. R. Parthasarathy
(Project Coordinator) UGCUPE Project No6, Mapping and Managing Natural Resources and
Environment, Prof. K.Lakshmi, Prof. N.Krishnan and Asst. Prof. D. Ramesh, School of Earth
and Atmospheric Sciences, Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai for their help and
encouragement.
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