Urban Expansion Study of Karbala City (1976-2022) Using Remote Sensing Data and GIS

This study aims to elucidate the urban expansion that occurred in Karbala City during the study period from 1976 to 2022. The city holds significance as the capital of religious tourism in the country. The study monitors the rate and trends of urban growth in the study area. This is achieved by employing spatial analysis methodology to monitor urban growth using (GIS) and (RS) techniques. Four Landsat satellite images for the years 1976, 1990, 2013 and 2022 are downloaded from the (USGS) website. The first and second satellite images are captured from the (Landsat 5 TM) sensor, while the third and fourth are captured from (Landsat7 ETM+) and (Landsat 8 OLI) sensors. Quantitative methods, such as the chi-square test, are used to determine degrees of freedom for the purpose of evaluating and analyzing patterns of urban expansion of the study area. The results show a noticeable increase in the urban growth area in Karbala City, it reached ten times its previous size, in the year (1976), the urban growth area was (9.75) , while in the year (2022) it increased to (122) . The results of the degrees of freedom test indicate rapid and unsustainable urban growth during that time period. Therefore, this study recommends the necessity of managing urban expansions through appropriate planning, taking into consideration the nature and needs of cities. These studies should serve as a basis for topics related to predicting future urban changes.