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Development and modifications of land

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Michael Adikibe
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Development and modifications of land

Uploaded by

Michael Adikibe
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Development and Modifications of Land, Landform and Structure

The Concept of Land and Land-use Change


Land is a very broad concept as it means different things to different profession.
However, it is generally seen as the physical environment in which virtually all
human activities takes place. In law land is understood to include all houses and
other building structures standing, built or erected on it. It is described as an
immovable and indestructible three dimensional areas consisting of a portion of
the earth’s surface the space above and below the surface and everything
growing on or permanently affixed to the land. Legally it is understood that land
includes whatever is attached or fixed to the land. The concept of land is also
used to include not only the physical surface but also everything growing on,
under and above it and anything permanently affixed to it. It is further
contended that the term ‘land’ embraces all that nature has created on the earth,
above the earth, and below the earth’s surface. Thus land is seen to include the
relief, soils, hydrology and vegetation on it.
The significance of land to the physical and socio-economic growth and
development of cities cannot be overemphasized, hence the intrinsic value of
land is perceived through the various uses that land is committed to. Generally,
land is broadly categorized into two namely rural and urban lands. Rural land is
identified as remnants of land after urban land has been designated; they are
predominantly lands committed to agriculture and extensively governed by
local public authority (local government). On the other hand, urban land is any
land which falls within the geographical areas of an urbanized environment.
Land in urban areas is limited in supply, relatively scarce and command high
value. Verburg et al. (2004) and Wubie et al. (2016) among other authors
contend that the nature and pattern of land use dynamics in an urban
environment is complex and interdependence. Therefore, one of the most
important characteristics of land whether in the rural or urban areas is its
dynamic nature. It is agreed that as settlements grow and develop their land-use
pattern also change.
Land-use and Urban Land-use Change
Land is a very dynamic resource and its usage is almost unlimited. Man in the
course of his development has learnt to put land to various uses. Almost all
man’s productive activities takes place on land. Land-use is the characterization
of land based on what can be built on it and what the land can be used for. Thus,
land-use is the function of the land, i.e. what the land can used for. While the
land-use in the rural areas is limited and is majorly for cultivation or agricultural
purposes, in the urban areas land is used for several diverse purposes. In fact,
several land-use models have been developed to explain the dimension of urban
land-uses and include Burgess's Concentric Zone Model (1925), Hoyt's Sector
Model (1939) and Harris and Ullman's Multiple Nuclei Model (1945).
However, the uses of land has been categorized into the following amongst
others:
1. Residential
2. Commercial
3. Industrial
4. Circulation (network of roads)
5. Public and semi-public
6. Agricultural
7. Open spaces
8. Recreational
Urban land-use Change
Land-use change denotes the continuous change in the uses to which land is put.
It is worth emphasizing that due to its dynamic nature, land, particularly in the
urban areas is continuously been put to different uses. Thus land-use change
means a continuous change in the characteristics of land. It is seen as a
continuous alteration in the way certain area of land is being used or managed
by humans (Patel et al., 2019). It is also the transformation in the natural
landscape due to urban growth. Land-use change is mainly driven by
urbanization and the dynamic nature of human activities.
As a result of the high rates of land-use changes cities have changed from small,
isolated population centers to large, interconnected economic, physical, and
environmental features.
Rapid urban growth, high population growth rates and the concentration of
people in urban areas are increasingly creating societal problems world-wide.
One hundred years ago, approximately 15% of the world's population was living
in urban areas. Today, 50% of global population is said to be resident in the
urban places. Within the last 200 years, the world population has increased six
times, stressing both ecological and social systems. Over that same time period,
the urban population has increased 100 times, concentrating more people on less
land even as the total land devoted to urbanization expands. The visible
outcome of land use change in the wake of urbanization is the spatial expansion
of built-up areas (which implies a significant alteration of land cover features),
accompanied by changes in the urban spatial structure and the urban form.

Factors Responsible for Urban Land-use Change


1. Urbanization
2. Industrialization
3. High population growth rates
4. Government policies
5. Trade and commerce
6. Improvement in transportation

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