Modelling Urban Green Spaces Depletion in Akure, Nigeria

Abstract

The fast progress of urbanization and the accompanying dominance of concrete spaces over natural spaces are fundamental to current debates on urban planning and sustainable development in Nigeria and the world at large. It is worth noting that natural landscapes and greenery are critical to man's quality of life; yet, the majority of the population are going to reside in urban areas, to the detriment of urban green spaces, known as the "lungs of the city." A detailed account urban green spaces in Akure. Using Geographic Information System (GIS) and remote sensing techniques needs to be done. This study examines the status of urban green spaces in Akure, Nigeria to determine the rate of depletion and encroachment green spaces. The spatio-temporal analysis of green spaces in Akure was carried out between 1984 and 2022 using Supervised maximum likelihood classification procedure on Landsat 8 OLI/TIRS, Landsat 7 EMT+ and Landsat 4-5 TM Imageries. It took cognizance of attributes of vegetative cover at varying degrees such as Grasses and Shrubs, Light Vegetation, Secondary Vegetation, and Dense Vegetation. The rate of depletion of green areas, change statistic, socio-economic implication as well as planning implications were addressed. It is believed that assessing and analyzing its social, economic, and environmental impacts on urban inhabitants and their livelihoods would serve as a tool to educate and enlighten urban citizens about the need of including green space scheme into urban designs and planning in Akure.