Land use

Land forms are always changing because of human activities and natural phenomena. In urban environment, these changes happen with more diversity and speed. As a result, understanding land use changes is essential for optimal urban management. Thus, accessing information regarding land use and its changes over time are among important issues in urban management. Population growth and overusing the earth potential have increased the pressure on environment. Therefore, controlling the trend of urban development is necessary.
Using the new and precise tool of GIS and RS sciences and techniques, satellite images and aerial photos, scholars, researchers and planners can investigate and study environmental and physical changes of the city in different time periods, exploit and analyze data, control and predict urban development trend.
In order to determine level of land use changes in Naqade during 1964-1999, the present article investigate and analyze aerial photos and satellite images in different land uses and land covers in five different classes like residential classes, roads, vegetation, jungles, and surface water. Results were determined and digitalized in different layers for the sake of comparing and analyzing the changes.