Urban land expansion in India 1992-2012

- Effects of urban area expansion in India are examined using night lights.
- Trend expansion rate of 1992-2012 is 2.4% per annum.
- The rate of urban expansion appears to be slowing down.
- Only one-quarter of land converted to urban use was formerly cropland.

The conversion of land to urban uses is one of the most visible changes accompanying economic development. Debate about urban expansion and its impact on food security in countries such as India often relies on dated and incomplete evidence. This paper uses satellite-detected luminosity from 1992 to 2012 to examine urban expansion in India, for 47 agglomerations that each had at least one million people at the time of the 2011 census. The trend annual expansion rate is 2.4% and was significantly faster in the decade to 2001 than in the most recent decade. Most of the land converted to urban use had been woodland, shrub, or grassland and just one-quarter was formerly cropland. Expansion rates vary across agglomerations and are fastest in the south of India and for areas with shorter growing periods.