Applied Geography 95 (2018) 88–100 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Applied Geography journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/apgeog A district and sector land-use and landscape analysis of urban sprawl in Al T Ain municipality (United Arab Emirates): Just a quick conversion from sand to a built-up environment? ∗ Sayed Adnan Sharafa, Pere Serrab, , David Sauríb a Department of Municipal Affairs, Al Ain City Municipality, United Arab Emirates b Department of Geography, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain ABSTRACT Al Ain, located in the United Arab Emirates, is an example of medium-sized desert city with rapid urban growth guided by two master plans from the 1980s. The present study is an empirical contribution to analyse the spatial- temporal land-use and land-cover (LULC) dynamics from 1984 to 2014 applying three different tools: i) a Base Map of Al Ain Town Planning from 2014 combined with four Landsat images to extract the main LULC changes; ii) a landscape analysis using spatial metrics to determine processes of sprawl; iii) statistical analysis of census data at district scale to obtain a better understanding of changes. Results show an intensive urban sprawl mainly, between 1984 and 1990, with an increase in residential land and in services, very clear in the Western sector as proposed by the 1980s Master Plan. Urban compaction was observed in the Centre and Downtown sectors whereas in the Northern and Southern sectors the urban pattern was leapfrogging and associated to the main roads. Simultaneously, and as a particularity of Al Ain, an intensive process of agricultural sprawl occurred, mainly from 1990 to 2000. The increase was very isolated in the Eastern sector, quite associated to linear patterns in the Northern and Southern sectors, restricted to the north and south in the Centre sector, where vacant land was available, and sprawled throughout the Western. Finally, according to the statistical analysis, the residential increase was more associated to Emiratis, public and private houses, foreign women and religious facilities, whereas the increment of commercial services was more linked to foreign workers, privates houses and religious facilities. 1. Introduction developed and developing countries, causes and characteristics may differ considerably (Shahraki et al., 2011). Monitoring of land-use and land-cover (LULC) changes is critical to Due to their geostrategic situation, between the developed Western effective strategies of spatial management and environmental protec- nations and the rising Asian economies, and near world centers of oil tion. LULC changes can include negative outcomes such as soil de- production, cities in the Arabian Peninsula have rapidly gained sig- gradation, deforestation or biodiversity loss (Abd El-Kawy, Rad, Ismail, nificance in the global economy. Given the fast development of some & Suliman, 2011; Biro, Pradhan, Buchroithner, & Makeschin, 2013; Arab cities in recent decades, the term ‘instant city’ has been proposed Serra, Pons, & Saurí, 2008). As urban growth is a world-wide phe- to describe the way they seem to have suddenly appeared out of no- nomenon and the most irreversible land alteration, urban transforma- where. Another trend is the increasing role of branding the urban tions have been one of the most analysed changes (Aguilera, spaces to endow them with a global image (Helmy, 2008). Some ex- Valenzuela, & Botequilha-Leitão, 2011). Nevertheless, the specific tra- amples of large-scale urban megaprojects are the iconic design of palm- jectories and forms of urban growth remain relatively unknown shaped islands in Dubai (Nassar, Blackburn, & Whyatt, 2014)or‘The (Bhatta, Saraswati, & Bandyopadhyay, 2010). According to some au- Pearl’ in Qatar (Elsheshtawy, 2008). Besides these urban branding thors, urban growth in most of the world appears to have taken the projects, as examples of vertical growth, other processes are mostly form of disperse or sprawled low density spatial patterns beyond the manifested as urban sprawl. In general, studies on urban sprawl have edge of a city boundary (EEA, 2016; Gargiulo Morelli & Salvati, 2010). mainly focused on large cities and metropolitan areas (Moreira, Fontes, However, although urban sprawl is a process equally shared by Dias, Batista e Silva, & Loupa-Ramos, 2016; Paulsen, 2014), although ∗ Corresponding author. E-mail address: [email protected] (P. Serra). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2018.04.008 Received 24 October 2017; Received in revised form 24 April 2018; Accepted 25 April 2018 0143-6228/ © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. S.A. Sharaf et al. Applied Geography 95 (2018) 88–100 mid-sized urban areas may be experiencing the highest rates of urban UAE. The Emirate is divided into three main municipalities: Abu Dhabi, growth as in Coimbra (Portugal) (Tavares, Pato, & Magalhães, 2012). the Western region and Islands, and Al Ain (Fig. 1). Extensive research has been done to analyse LULC and urban Al Ain has a strategic location on the border between UAE and growth, applying various tools and techniques, such as field work, Oman. It is characterized by a vast arid desert, dominated by sand and aerial photographs and/or satellite imagery (Chakraborty, Sachdeva, & gravel, with intermittent dry riverbeds known as wadis, a rugged Joshi, 2016; Patino & Duque, 2013; Yagoub, 2004). After significant mountainous region (Jabel Hafeet) and an area of fertile soils and oases, advances in sensor technologies during the last 30 years, two issues for with large reserves of groundwater. The climate is hyperarid (Böer, using very-high spatial resolution can be the high financial costs and 1997) with a mean annual rainfall of 96.4 mm. The city's development the insufficient number of archived imagery years. Therefore, from a shows rapid growth during the last 40 years, with a population increase longer temporal perspective, the best option to detect urban growth from 51,000 inhabitants in 1975 to 560,214 in 2010. In that year, 31.2 using remote sensing imagery is Landsat data, as in the case of Issa and percent of the population was local and the rest foreigners. Shuwaihi (2012). Nevertheless, as the authors recognized, accurately Agriculture is one of the key productive sectors, being additionally mapping urban areas is not an easy task at 30-m pixel resolution be- the main supplier of food commodities and raw materials to the Emirate cause the heterogeneous nature of urban environment produces con- food industry. According to the Statistical Year Book of 2013, 11,985 fusions from mixed pixels. agricultural holdings were located in Al Ain, with a mean size per farm Given the need to improve the knowledge about urban trajectories of about four hectares. The cultivated area includes field crops, vege- and forms, this paper has three objectives. The first was to investigate tables and fruit trees. The total number of sheep and goats in the LULC changes from 1984 to 2014 in the city of Al Ain, located in the Emirate totalizes 2.9 million head, with the majority (62%) located in United Arab Emirates (UAE), combining GIS and remote sensing data. Al Ain area, whereas the total number of camels was 330,220 head, This medium-sized town has very rapidly developed from land held by mostly in Al Ain (56%). The Emirate derives its water from three major the State and surrounded by desert, with a horizontal urban growth. In sources: groundwater (about 70% of water withdrawals), reused treated consequence, this city offers a specific example of urban sprawl, clearly wastewater (6%) and desalinated water from the Arabian Gulf (24%) differing from other urban development forms. (Columbia University, 2010). The second aim was to understand the consequences of LULC The Emirate of Abu Dhabi is one of the world's major producers of changes from a landscape point of view, based on the calculation of oil, which was first discovered in 1958. Al Ain, in particular, created a some landscape metrics to verify the initial hypothesis about the spe- designated industrial area that houses many industries including man- cificity of Al Ain urban sprawl. They were applied to distinguish which ufacturing, and services that provide employment to many locals and spatial characteristics reflected LUC changes (mainly urban, including foreigners. The Municipality of Al Ain was established by a royal decree residential and services, agricultural and industrial land) according to in 1967, after which it began providing public services in the city and the configurations of four urban patterns: aggregated, linear, leap- neighbouring districts. After another royal decree in 1974, the muni- frogging or nodal pattern (Aguilera et al., 2011). The spatial scales of cipal government began to take a more active role in regulating the study were the district, defined as a group of communities or neigh- city's affairs. As shown in Fig. 2, Al Ain was divided into six sectors, bourhoods, and the sector, a group of districts. The final objective was with a total area of 8370 km2, and 63 administrative districts (two of to apply a statistical analysis using the most recent census data (2010), which were not included in this study due to their south remote loca- at the district scale, to improve the understanding of LULC processes, tion: Al Qua'a and Um El Zumol). mainly those related to population, sex and origin. During the study period (1984–2014), two master plans for urban planning were developed, covering 1986–2000 and 2003–2014, re- spectively, and coordinated by the Al Ain Municipality and the Town 2. Study area Planning Department. The main objectives of the 1986–2000 Master Plan were the maintenance of the traditional role of the city as a centre Al Ain, known as the “garden city” due to its greenery, is the second for educational, cultural and recreational activities of national largest town in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the fourth largest in the Fig.