Land Use and Land Cover Change Detection in Abuja FCT Using GIS

Abuja, Nigeria's Federal Capital Territory, has experienced one of the fastest rates of planned urban expansion in sub-Saharan Africa since the early 2000s. This study detects land use and land cover changes in the FCT using Landsat 7 and Landsat 8 imagery for the periods 2010, 2016, and 2022. Supervised classification using the Support Vector Machine algorithm produces thematic maps identifying built-up areas, vegetation, bare soil, water, and agricultural land. Post-classification comparison quantifies transitions between land cover types across the three epochs. Results reveal a 68 percent increase in built-up area between 2010 and 2022, primarily at the expense of agricultural and shrubland areas in the satellite districts of Kuje, Bwari, and Kwali. Population growth and government housing scheme development are identified as primary drivers. Accuracy assessments yield Kappa coefficients above 0.82 for all classified maps. The study provides spatial intelligence to the Federal Capital Development Authority for monitoring compliance with the Abuja Master Plan. Keywords: land use change, Landsat, Abuja, supervised classification, urban growth