Assessment of Land Use/Land Cover Dynamics and Urban Growth Patterns Using Geospatial Technology: A Study of Sylhet Sadar Upazila, Bangladesh

Urban growth in developing nations, such as Bangladesh, is frequently rapid and unplanned due to inadequate Land Use Land Cover (LULC) management. This study examines the spatiotemporal dynamics of LULC changes and urban growth patterns in Sylhet Sadar Upazila, a rapidly urbanizing area in northeastern Bangladesh, from 1989 to 2019. Using Landsat satellite imagery and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) with remote sensing technologies, LULC classifications were performed via the supervised maximum likelihood algorithm. Shannon entropy analysis was applied to assess urban sprawl patterns. The results reveal significant transformations in the study area: built-up areas increased by 8.44%, while water bodies and vegetation declined by 7.8% and 18.7%, respectively. Arable land grew by 17.10%, reflecting agricultural expansion, and barren land saw a 0.99% rise. The most intense urbanization occurred between 2009 and 2019, where vegetation decreased by 10% and built-up areas surged by 4.46%. Urban growth expanded tenfold from Sylhet City Corporation (SCC)'s Central Business District (CBD) and demonstrated a scattered pattern across the first two buffer zones. The entropy values, consistently above 0.5, indicate increasingly dispersed urban expansion, with the highest entropy (0.81) observed in the Khadimnagar union. These trends pose challenges for sustainable urban management, including inefficient infrastructure use and environmental degradation. The study emphasizes the need for integrated land management strategies and compact urban growth to balance development with environmental sustainability. The findings provide crucial insights for urban planners and policymakers in rapidly developing regions facing similar urbanization pressures.