Understanding the pattern of land use change along the national highway corridor: a case of Karnal city

Abstract

Land is the basis of the existence of human life. Humans, over time learnt the process of using land in different ways for the survival and to benefit human life from it. In spatial planning, land is considered as a resource, as it gives us the opportunity to expand our boundaries which is needed for the growth and development. We study the Land Use and Land Cover (LULC), to know the different land use that exist naturally as well as by the human interventions. Land Cover classifies vegetation, different types of land, water body, built up, etc. while Land Use focuses on the land utilized by the human to support the growth and development like, residential, institutional, commercial, industrial, mixed, etc. As land degradation is becoming a major hurdle in this growth of human settlements, it is our responsibility to put an effort to utilize the land resource efficiently and promote more social and environmental outcome, as land is limited. Rise in population, urban sprawl, encroachment on agriculture land, etc. pose serious threat against which we must take right steps in this direction. The Karnal City of Haryana state is selected as the case for this study due to its diverse history, importance, strategic location, background and its economic profile, which has grown over time and shows a promising growth potential for future. In this Thesis, Land Use of the Karnal City is studied and analysed to understand the land use change pattern and the direction of its growth. Further, the study takes an account of the current and proposed land use and examines, how it is shaping the image of the city. To fulfil the need of the study, land use along the transport corridor is studied with defined scope and limitations. It is also tried to bring out the multi-dimensional growth of the town with a simultaneous analysis of the factors behind such dynamic spatial growth.