Geospatial Assessment of Land Cover Change and Development Transformation in a Semi-Urban Context: Evidence from Kuruwita Divisional Secretariat, Sri Lanka

This study investigates spatial and temporal land use and land cover changes in the Kuruwita Divisional Secretariat Division, Sri Lanka, over a ten-year period from 2013 to 2022 using Geographic Information System (GIS) and remote sensing techniques. Multi-temporal satellite images obtained from the United States Geological Survey were analyzed through supervised classification to identify five major land use categories: agriculture, forest, urban, water, and bare land. The classified data were processed in ArcGIS to generate land-use maps and calculate areal changes for each category. The results reveal a rapid expansion of urban land from 22 km² (8%) to 78 km² (30%), indicating accelerated semi-urban transformation, while agricultural land also showed notable growth. In contrast, forest cover declined sharply from 30% to 10% of the total land area, and water bodies were reduced by nearly half, reflecting increasing pressure on natural resources. Bare land exhibited a significant decrease, suggesting intensified land utilization driven by development activities. Overall, the findings demonstrate a clear shift from natural and semi-natural land uses toward urban and agricultural dominance in Kuruwita, highlighting the need for sustainable land use planning and environmental management to ensure balanced development in emerging semi-urban regions.