Examining urban expansion and spatial morphological evolution in Shillong city using geospatial techniques

The rapidly expanding physical footprint of the cities have fundamentally reshaped peri-urban land use and land cover patterns, embodying the complex nature of neoliberal urbanisation in the Global South. While studies in India have largely focused on major metropolitan cities such as Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi, etc., the contemporary urban growth trajectories of small and medium sized cities remain unexplored. Addressing the gap, this study investigates the spatio-temporal nature of Shillong city’s urban expansion from 2004 to 2024 using geospatial technique. Drawing upon the insights gained from field observation of two peri-urban villages, we have also identified several key factors contributing to urban sprawl. Results indicate that the built-up area amplified from 11.6 sq. km (6.48% of study area) in 2004 to 47.03 sq. km (26.27% of study area) in 2024. The north-eastern quadrant emerges as the primary hotspot for urban expansion. Moreover, the swiftly increasing Shannon entropy and Landscape Expansion Index values reveal city’s evolution towards a more polycentric urban form with edge-expansion as the dominant sprawl typology. This transformation aligns with elements of both classical sector and multiple nuclei theory, signifying the role of highways, market forces, local planning choices and favourable terrain factor as potential growth stimuli. By illuminating these patterns, our study may assist on ground implementation of Shillong Master Plan with spatially differentiated planning approach, focusing on regulating sprawl and promoting sustainable land-use practices.