Built Area Change in Rural-Urban Fringe of Semarang

Development of urban areas has penetrated the rural urban fringe of Semarang. The growth of new housing in rural urban fringe is inseparable from the increasing number of people accompanied by an increase demand for residential land. The development of residential areas or new housing in rural urban fringe could lead to various impacts on the environment. This study aims to examine changes in land use (built area) in the rural urban fringe of Semarang, namely in Gunungpati District. The methods used was digital image interpretation with multispectral classification method and pattern comparison analysis to get a frame of land use in 2005, 2010 and 2015. Interpretation results were tested for validity through field observation. The results showed that the dominant land use change occurred for settlement. The change from 2005 to 2010 was 122.33 ha. While from 2010 to 2017, there has been an increase in the area of settlements by 297.54 ha. The non-settlement-built area expansion was from 10.65 ha in 2005 to 51.87 ha in 2017. Environmental impacts that occur include the reduction of water absorption area and rising of surface temperatures in the area which may further affect the pattern or lifestyle of the community Keywords— built area; environmental impact; rural urban fringe; Semarang; settlement