An Assessment of the Response of Land Surface Temperature to Land Use/Land Cover Change for Sustainable City

The influx of people from the rural settlements to urban settlements has brought about the conversion of natural surfaces to artificial impervious surfaces. These urban features directly influence the Land Surface Temperature (LST) in the Cities. In order to analyze the changes in Land Use/Land Cover (LU/LC) and its effect on LST in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria, from 1988 to 2018, this study used Geographic Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing. In this study, Abeokuta Landsat satellite data from 1988, 1999, 2013, and 2018 were used. A Land Use/Land Cover Changes (LU/LC) analysis was conducted using ERDAS Imaging 9.2 to ascertain the areas covered by each land use type from 1988 to 2018. Landsat images were used to obtain the city's LST values from 1988 to 2018. The research findings indicate that between 1988 and 2018, built-up land use type increased while vegetative land use declined within the research area. Furthermore, the study shows that in response to changes in land use and land cover, the amount of LST increased in Abeokuta along with the increase in built-up land use. Therefore, the study suggests creation of green belts within the city in order to mitigate the impact of impervious artificial surfaces on LST. This will make the cities comfortable for its dwellers and will ensure the sustainability of the of the urban areas.