Assessing spatio-temporal growth of urban sub-centre using Shannon’s entropy model and principle component analysis: A case from North 24 Parganas, lower Ganga River Basin, India

The present study aims to assess the spatio-temporal growth of urban sub-centre of North 24 Parganas District of West Bengal, India during 1989–2016. Landsat TM and Landsat 8 OLI satellite data for 1989, 2006 and 2016 along with Shannon’s entropy model and Principal component analysis were used to assess the spatial dispersion and consistency of urbanization. A concentric zone analysis was also applied to assess the trends of urban growth within the urban sub-centre of the district. Land use/land cover change analysis reveals that the built up areas have increased drastically over the study periods. The transformation of prime agricultural land and other lands (mostly barren) into built up areas indicates the growth of sprawl within the urban sub-centre. The overall result shows that urban growth of the study area is not compact in nature and it is an evidence of concentration of sprawl growth over the urban sub-centre. The study estimates that urban expansion has occurred mainly in Barrackpore I, Barrackpore II and Rajarhat area of the district. The integrated methodology involving Shannon’s entropy model and Principal component analysis and use of remote sensing and GIS techniques has proved to be useful in analyzing urban expansion and trends of urban growth. The outcome of this study can best be utilized for effective urban planning and management. Keywords: Land use/land cover change, Shannon’s entropy model, Principal component analysis (PCA