A.A.D.A.S. Vimukthi . I.A.J.K Dissanayake

Department of Plant Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka, Email: aruni.vimu99@gmail.com, Department of Plant Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka, Email: jkdissanayake@pts.cmb.ac.lk

Received in final form on March 28, 2022

Abstract
Urbanization has led to many changes in natural landscapes and resulted in the conversion of many green spaces into built-up areas. This study was conducted to investigate the spatial and temporal variations of land use patterns and their influences on urban green spaces at the University of Colombo with the aim of contributing to the improvement of sustainable urban landscaping. Land use patterns were studied in selected years when quite rapid infrastructure developments were recorded. The Google Earth mosaic highresolution satellite images and aerial photographs were analyzed to prepare the Land Use Land Cover (LULC) maps by on-screen digitizing of land use land cover classes using Google Earth Pro (version 7.3.2.5776) and ArcGIS (version 10.3) software. The per capita green space was calculated, and the functional connectivity of green spaces was determined for a 10 m wide range divided by 1 m buffer zones in the ArcGIS platform. The results revealed that per capita green space gradually decreased from 11.35 m^2 to 4.88 m^2 from 2000 to 2019 and that it is currently less than the WHO standard (9 m^2). Functional connectivity of green spaces has decreased, and the disjunct areas have increased. The nearest neighbour distances of the disjunct green areas are very low (1-3 m). Therefore, this study strongly recommends the requirement of a policy decision to control further reduction of the per capita green space during any construction. We recommend establishing an area of 0.408 m2 of green space to compromise any new 1 m2 of built-up areas. The functional connectivity can be easily improved using green infrastructures such as vertical gardening, green roofing, and green pavers.

Keywords
Land Use Land Cover, Total Green Area, Total Built-up Area, Per capita green space, Nearest neighbour distances, Disjunct green areas, Functional connectivity

Cite This Article
A.A.D.A.S. Vimukthi . I.A.J.K Dissanayake, Spatial and Temporal Variation in Land Use Patterns and Their Influence on Urban Green Spaces in a Metropolitan University: An Assessment using GIS and Remote Sensing Techniques, J. Innovation Sciences and Sustainable Technologies, 2(3)(2022), 165-173. https://doie.org/10.0725/JISST.2022955554

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