Assessment of Land Use and Land Cover Changes in Enugu Urban Fringe Using Multi-Temporal Satellite Imagery

Rapid urban expansion in Nigerian cities has dramatically altered land use and land cover patterns, posing significant challenges for sustainable urban planning. This study assesses land use and land cover changes in the Enugu urban fringe between 2015 and 2024 using multi-temporal Landsat 8 and Sentinel-2 satellite imagery. Geographic Information Systems and supervised maximum likelihood classification techniques are employed to delineate five primary land cover classes: built-up areas, agricultural land, bare soil, vegetation, and water bodies. Post-classification change detection analysis is conducted to quantify the extent and direction of transitions between classes over the study period. Field verification using GPS waypoints is carried out to assess classification accuracy, yielding an overall kappa coefficient above 0.80. Results indicate a substantial increase in built-up areas at the expense of agricultural and vegetated land, consistent with patterns documented across sub-Saharan African cities. Population pressure, rural-urban migration, and inadequate land use policy enforcement are identified as primary drivers of the observed changes. The findings provide a spatial evidence base for the Enugu State Urban Development Authority and contribute to understanding urbanisation dynamics in the South East geopolitical zone. The study recommends the integration of remote sensing data into routine land administration processes to enable early detection of encroachment on ecologically sensitive zones. Keywords: land use change, remote sensing, urban fringe, Enugu, GIS classification.