An investigation into the spatiotemporal dynamics of land use change in Wa Municipality, Ghana

Abstract Urban land use/cover change is rapidly expanding, particularly in secondary cities in developing countries, where growth often outpaces planning capacity. These changes pose a threat to ecosystem stability and sustainable development in urban areas. This study aimed to analyse the spatiotemporal dynamics of land use/cover changes in Wa Municipality, a rapidly growing secondary city in Ghana. Guided by relevant ecological theories, we integrated supervised classification of multi-temporal Landsat imagery (1990–2023) with local perspectives gathered through Participatory Geographic Information Systems (PGIS) and two semi-structured key informant interviews. Classification accuracy ranged from 86 to 94%. Results revealed a more than tenfold expansion of settlement areas from 568 ha in 1990 to 5760 ha in 2023, at the expense of close savannah, open savannah, water bodies and bare land. Changes and fragmentations were most pronounced in the southern and south-western zones. The integration of PGIS and interview data corroborated the remote sensing results. The research underscores an underestimated pace of land use change in the area. If current trends continue, further conversion of ecologically sensitive areas will likely increase. Integrated land-use monitoring systems, participatory planning and predictive geospatial modelling are recommended to support sustainability strategies in the study area.