Spatial Patterns of Land Use Transformation and Livelihood Shifts in Urbanizing Peripheries: A Geographical Perspective

Abstract

The socioeconomic dynamics and spatial organisation of metropolitan fringe regions have undergone significant changes as a result of the fast and often unchecked urbanisation that has occurred in emerging nations.  Peripheral areas that were once mostly rural and agricultural are changing as cities spread outward due to processes of land commercialisation, infrastructure development, and population inflow.  The combined phenomena of land use transformation and occupational shifts in urban periphery zones are the main focus of this paper's thorough geographical study of these developments.

 Through an interdisciplinary approach that combines demographic information from national censuses, field-based surveys, and geospatial technologies (like satellite imagery and GIS mapping), the study examines the growing conversion of land that was once used for agriculture and traditional livelihoods into residential colonies, commercial complexes, and transportation corridors.  As the local population shifts from primary-sector jobs (such as farming and livestock) to tertiary-sector jobs like construction, retail, and informal services, this spatial transformation is intimately related to the restructuring of local economies.