Trapped between antiquity and urbanism – a multi-criteria assessment model of the greater Cairo Metropolitan area

• Published in: Journal of land use science Vol. 6; no. 4; pp. 283 - 299
• Main Authors: de Noronha Vaz, Eric, Caetano, Mário, Nijkamp, Peter
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Taylor & Francis 01.12.2011; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: cultural heritage endangerment; Giza pyramids; image analysis; issues and policy; land classification; land cover; Land use; land use change; Landsat; Landsat imagery; Landsat satellites; planning; prediction; Remote sensing; urban growth; urbanization; vegetation
• ISSN: 1747-4248; 1747-423X; 1747-4248
• DOI: 10.1080/1747423X.2010.519059

You can tell whether a man is clever by his answers.You can tell whether a man is wise by his questions.Naguib MahfouzThis article attempts to provide systematic policy information regarding land use/land cover change in the vicinity of the Giza Pyramids in Egypt. As a result of the rapid urban growth Cairo has experienced in the past couple of decades, a surrounding enclave of urban development seems to be forming around the Pyramids and the highly valued historical legacy of the area, designated in 1979 as a World Heritage site.Hence, assessing land use changes and future urban sprawl prediction is of major importance for strategic planning and avoiding further endangerment. The data used in this study are derived from remote sensing imagery, taken by Landsat MSS satellite on 31 August 1972 and on 20 September 1984 by Landsat TM as well as Landsat ETM + imagery from 11 November 2000. The use of the different bands of that imagery allowed the classification of the land cover classes: urban, vegetation, desert and water.A temporal comparison of the different types of land cover indicates which land use changes that have occurred over the years considered are associated with the potential for endangering the Giza complex in the study area.