Urban Dynamics with Population Changes in Thanjavur City, Tamil Nadu, India - A Geospatial Approach

Globally, over 50% of the population lives in urban areas today. By 2045, the world's urban population will increase by 1.5 times to 6 billion. The urban planners must plan for providing the basic amenities and infrastructure for the expanding population’s need. Urban sprawl is unavoidable in accommodating the rising urban population, the influence of which can be limited through innovative land use planning techniques and community cooperation. Sustainable cities have been the leading global paradigm of urbanism. The present study analyses the urban dynamics in terms of decadal growth of population and the aerial expansion of built-up features in Thanjavur city from 2001 to 2021.The population increase was at lower rate during the period 2001 to 2011 and aerial expansion of built-up land was at higher rate. In the period 2011 – 2021, the population increase rate is high with slow rate of increase in built-up area inferring a stress in demand of land for future developments. The demand for land is assessed using the urban growth indicators of Land Consumption Rate (LCR) and Land Absorption Coefficient (LAC). The < 2 % of LCR values in the study area reveals a controlled and sustained urban growth. The LAC value of < 1 ha/ population shows an efficient land absorption with high density of urban development.