Spatio-Temporal Land Use Land Cover Changes in Peri-Urban Areas of Nakuru City, Kenya

Developing countries, including those in Sub-Saharan Africa, continue to register high rates of urbanization, which is associated with significant changes in land use within its peri-urban areas. Nakuru City, in Kenya is not an exception. The city is one of the fastest growing cities in Eastern Africa. This is brought about by the high population growth rate and increased human activities. The growth of the city has caused notable changes in land use land cover in its peri-urban areas. Despite this, factual data on the extent of land use land cover changes is lacking, yet the data is critical for sustainable urban planning. Thus, this study sought to establish the spatio-temporal land use land cover changes in peri-urban areas of Nakuru city since 2003 to 2023. Study area polygon was used to select cloud free images and appropriate off-nadir angle of inclination. Purposive sampling was used to select three study locations out of seven locations which surround the city council of Nakuru. Supervised and unsupervised classification techniques were employed to get thematic information from satellite imagery. Idrisi remote sensing software was used to analyze spatial data on land use land cover changes. The results disclosed that land use land cover in peri-urban areas of Nakuru city changed significantly during the past two decades, between 2003 and 2023. Farmlands, built-up areas, bare lands and water bodies increased from 2003 to 2023. Forest area and shrub land, however, depicted a fluctuating trend with an area decrease in 2014 and then an increase in 2023. The area under grasslands constantly decreased. The findings of the study contribute towards achievement of the Kenya’s Vision 2030, which aim at providing high quality life, clean and secure environment to all through inclusive process involving all Kenyans. Appropriate measures need to be employed to reduce the rapid change in land use land cover and to integrate environmental conservation with urban development.