Urban expansion

This paper exامینes the inter-relationship of three major phenomena- population growth, uncontrolled urban expansion and urban development in Ado Ekiti, Nigeria. Uncontrolled urban expansion has a resultant effect on the urban development of a city whereas uncontrolled urban development is caused by uncontrolled population increase is caused by Migration. This work encapsulates how population growth has affected the urban expansion and resultant land use and urban development in the city. The methodology adopted the use of both primary and secondary data: the population data from the Demography Division of the Governor’s Office and the urban growth Maps (1956 and 2006. Data were analysed and the resulting graphs extrapolated to show the relationship of population growth on urban expansion and urban land use/urban development. Results show a direct correlation between population growth and both urban expansion and land use/urban development: between 1966 and 1976 the population dropped; as reflected in the drop in urban growth in terms spatial expansion of the city and urban development as there was a decrease in urban land use for education, industrial, and other land uses. Between 1996 and 2006, the population increased; also reflected on the increase in urban growth and urban land uses. Result is useful for Physical, Economic and Strategic Planners in formulating policies for urban renewal schemes and Development Control. The result is also applicable to medium-sized and small cities, in the Developing Countries.

The expansion and growth of cities is a remarkable phenomenon in urban planning literature, so that unpredictable developments have become more evident in recent decades, especially in cities that have undergone changes in their physical structure following the promotion of their political role. The present paper seeks to identify the factors driving growth in the developed areas of Ardebil city and extract basic factors and variables by investigating development of Ardebil. In this study, 27 variables have been tested in 920 expansion blocks during the years 1996 to 2011 using GIS and factor analysis. Four main groups including congestion factor, external factor, access factor and facilities are identified as driving forces of growth. The final combination of four factors in the Arc GIS environment show that the north, east and south east blocks of Ardebil had a higher score than the other blocks; in other words, these factors have the most effect on the growth of these areas. In addition, the Southwest blocks with the lowest score of between 0 and 2 have had the least impact from among the factors mentioned.