ASSESSING SPATIAL SUSCEPTIBILITY OF LAND USE CHANGE AROUND SUKHOTHAI HISTORICAL PARK AREA, MUEANG SUKHOTHAI DISTRICT, SUKHOTHAI PROVINCE, THAILAND

Sukhothai Historical Park is considered one of the most important ancient sites in Thailand. It was registered as an ancient site of Sukhothai Old City in 1935. It has been continuously restored and renovated until 1991 when it was registered as a World Heritage Site under the list number 574. Currently, it is affected by the encroaching constructions near Sukhothai Historical Park. Therefore, it is necessary to use geographic information technology to inspect the surrounding area. The purpose of this study is to assess the sensitivity to land use changes in the area surrounding Sukhothai Historical Park, Mueang Sukhothai District, Sukhothai Province during 2007-2021 using the statistical principle of logistic regression in ArcMap 10.8 software. The research results found that the area with high sensitivity to land use change covered the highest area of 244.022 km2 (43.77% of the total area). The area is mostly located in the central part of the study area, covering a 5km buffer zone of Sukhothai Historical Park. The results of the logistic regression analysis can identify important variables affecting land use changes in sensitive areas, including distance to road, distance to commercial and services area, distance to villages, and distance to recreation area. The preparation of spatial susceptibility of land use change Map in Mueang Sukhothai is a highlight of this research, which shows the level of sensitivity to land use change in the study area as a spatial pattern for systematic land use planning management, to support the sustainable change of the area surrounding Sukhothai Historical Park in the future.