Urban Growth of Samastipur City (Samastipur District), Bihar, India: Challenges and Planning

The process of urbanization in India's smaller cities has gained momentum in recent decades, particularly in regions like Bihar, where demographic pressure and infrastructural development are reshaping the urban landscape. Samastipur, a rapidly growing city in northern Bihar, has emerged as a key administrative, commercial, and transport hub in the Mithilanchal region. Despite its growing importance, the spatial configuration and functional dynamics of the city remain under-examined in academic and policy discourse. This study aims to investigate Land use and Land cover changes over the two decades from 2000 to 2024. The research utilizes high-resolution satellite imagery, topographical maps, and demographic data from the 2011 Census, integrated within a Geographic Information System (GIS) framework. Key methodologies include Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) classification.