Assessing transformations in peri-urban areas using GIS: A case of Pune city, India

Abstract The unplanned expansion of cities has become a serious concern in India these days. They exert pressure on the city’s resources, resulting in uncontrolled expansion and unliveable circumstances. As a result, there is a need to design certain techniques to reduce this issue in order to have planned growth both within and outside the city. In this research, the demographic, physical and environmental transformations of the peri-urban areas of Pune City have been analysed using GIS and parameters have been suggested to develop a selection index to help identify the areas having urban traits and suggest separate urban local bodies for their governance and planning. Highlights for public administration, management and planning: • Peri-urban regions experience a lot of changes as they transition from rural to urban features, and assessing these changes using GIS is critical for better planning of such areas’ development. • This study provides parameters and creates a selection index to determine if periurban regions have high or low urban traits, and then determines whether those areas should be combined with current municipal boundaries or formed into new urban local bodies using the ArcGIS software.