CWE/1794/2026 Current World Environment 0973-4929 2320-8031 4 CWE--100-00 <p>Modelling Land Use Dynamics and Urban Growth Analysis using Random Forest Model and Shannon Entropy-Based Approach in Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation, West Bengal, India</p> 1 , Department of Geography and Disaster Management, Tripura University (A Central University), Suryamaninagar, India 10.12944/CWE.21.1.19 Volume 21 Volume 21 266-286 Abstract

In India, urbanisationhas been a significant phenomenon, driving population growth and city expansion. It plays a crucial role in shaping the Earth's surface. Hence, this paper aims to analyseland-use patterns and change detection, and to determine urban growth in the Bidhannagar area. Bidhannagar has developed as a planned satellite town to address the growing population of Kolkata for the housing demand. This study uses satellite images to analyse the spatial and temporal dynamics of LULC changes. Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper for 2001 and 2011, and Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager for 2021 and 2024have been used for LULC classification. Further, the Random Forest Model was applied in Google Earth Engine to analyse LULC patterns for selected years, and also worked outurban growth using the Urban Expansion Area Intensity Index (UAEII), Shannon Entropy model, and the Landscape Expansion Index (LEI). The results showed a significant decline in wetlands from 25.88% to 20.70%, green spaces from 21.25% to 16.89%, fallow land from 13.66% to 9.45%, and water bodies from 5.48% to 2.79%from 2001 to 2024, while the built-up area grew substantiallyfrom 33.72% to 50.17%. The Kappa Coefficient was applied to assess accuracy of image classification that are 0.81, 0.84, 0.86, and 0.89 for the years 2001, 2011, 2021,and 2024, respectively. UAEII from 2001 to 2024indicates that the built-up area is increasing at a moderately and Shannon Entropy reflects urban growth in a compact manner in the NE, SE, and SW zones, whileLEI emphasises the pattern of the built-up area's expansion. This paper offers valuable insights for developing more comprehensive and strategic land-use policies and management approaches in this study area.

Keywords Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation Land use dynamics Random Forest(RF) Shannon Entropy Urban Growth Urban Expansion Area Intensity Index (UAEII)