Abstract:
Rapid and haphazard urbanization has disastrous environmental and socio-economic consequences. The
increase of unofficial habitation characterizes urbanization in Batticaloa town. Urban land use and cover
changes require research to plan and ensure long-term growth. This study employed geographic information
systems and Landsat imagery from 1979, 2000, and 2021 to look at regional and temporal variations in
Batticaloa's land use cover. A support vector machine and supervised classification constructed the land use
cover maps. The transition matrices produced from the classified map were further investigated to find the
essential change processes for prioritizing planning, and during the 42 years investigated, built-up, including
residential, commercial, and public facilities, increased in a similar vein (i.e., mangroves, paddyland,
vegetation-covered areas, and shrubs). Land use cover modifications happened more quickly between 2000
and 2021 than between 1979 and 2000. The analysis found that only one land-use category, net built-up
area changes, grew by 8.2%, and the average yearly change was 0.22%. By 21.9%, paddy land area
substantially increased. Bare lands rose 4.45%, and thick woods fell 21.37%. These data show built-up
areas frequently targeted bare terrain. This research laid the groundwork for long-term urban planning and
development in Batticaloa Town.
