QUANTIFYING URBAN LAND EXPANSION AND THE DRIVING FORCES OF URBAN SPRAWL IN VIETNAM’S CENTRAL HIGHLANDS FROM 2000 TO 2023

By Nguyen Ninh Hai, Nguyen Thi Thai Ha, Nguyen Thi Hong Thuong, Truong Quoc Minh
DOI: 10.37550/tdmu.EJS/2025.01.617

This study developed a dataset on land cover to analyze the continuous urban land extension in Buôn Ma Thuột City, located in the Central Highlands of Vietnam, from 2000 to 2023. The analysis employed object-based image analysis (OBIA) for backward classification and calculated expansion indices. The results reveal that the total urban land area increased by 22.75% over two decades, despite an average annual population growth rate of only 1.91%. The spatial growth exhibited relatively uniform growth in all directions, but it was most concentrated in the urban core and the northern and eastern parts of Hoa Thuan, Tan Loi, Tan An, Tan Hoa, and Tan Lap wards. This expansion included edge development (6.69%), leapfrog expansion (18.39%), and infill increase (5.44%). Driving factors, analyzed through Pearson correlation coefficients, indicate that urban land growth between 2000 and 2023 was positively influenced by GDP, urban population, and total population but was inversely correlated with the poverty rate. This study provides quantitative methodologies for better understanding urban land dynamics and offers practical strategies for sustainable urban development.