Land Use Dynamics of Urban Change in the Lagos-Ogun Urban Fringe, Southwest Nigeria

Abstract

In recent decades, the conversion of various land use types to urban land has occurred at a rapid rate globally, 
resulting in urban expansion. Lagos can be described as one of the cities most affected by extensive urban expansion 
in Nigeria. In Lagos State, urban sprawl is most visible in the towns near the Lagos-Ogun boundary. Interestingly, 
previous studies of urban land use change in the region concentrated on Lagos State or Ogun State with no particular 
attention to the development at the Lagos-Ogun urban fringe. A study of land use change along the Lagos-Ogun 
boundary will reveal the dynamics of urban land use, which can assist in identifying urban planning solutions for 
resilient and sustainable urban development. This study, therefore, investigates land use dynamics of urban change 
in the local government areas along the Lagos-Ogun boundary at five epochs (1984, 2001, 2013, 2018 and 2020). 
The maximum likelihood algorithm was adopted in processing acquired lands at images of the study area to six classes 
of dense urban, moderate urban, vegetation mangrove, waterbody and wetland. Image processing was done using 
ENVI software, while processed images were imported to ArcGIS for analysis. Total and annual changes in land use 
types were determined. The six land use classes were later regrouped into three, from where further analyses of land 
use change were carried out. Results showed that the annual rate of urban change between 1984 and 2020 and 2018 
and 2020 was 63.28 km2 and 317.99 km2, respectively, much higher than the rate of change in Lagos. Results also 
showed that urban land use increased by 2278.02 km2 between 1984 and 2020. A uniform urban planning policy and 
decentralised planning authorities are recommended to ensure the area's resilient and sustainable urban development.