A Century of Monitoring Urban Growth in Menofya Governorate, Egypt, Using Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Analysis

Urban growth is a global phenomenon mainly driven by the overpopulation growth particularly in developing countries like Egypt. Pattern and extent of urban growth could be monitored and modelled on a spatial and temporal dimension. GIS and remote sensing data along with other thematic maps were used to analyze the urban growth, pattern and extent in the last century in one of the biggest governorates at the heart of the Nile Delta of Egypt. Both spatial and temporal analyses enabled to identify the pattern of urban growth and subsequently project the nature of future growth. However, the overall urban growth in the last century was 12 times the original built up areas in 1910; the third stage from 1950 to 1972 was the highest stage of urban growth with 124% increase of the built-up area. The dominant pattern of urban growth was linear along highways and railways with majority to the North, North East and North West directions. The study developed a spatial model to project urban growth by 2027, indicating that urban growth in the Menofya Governorate would be continued at the same directions with the same pattern with an estimated increase of 33%. The study provided an understanding of the controlling factors which drove the urban growth along this long time.