Spatio-temporal analysis of urban expansion and land use dynamics using google earth engine and predictive models

Urban expansion and changes in land use/land cover (LULC) have intensified in recent decades due to human activity, influencing ecological and developmental landscapes. This study investigated historical and projected LULC changes and urban growth patterns in the districts of Multan and Sargodha, Pakistan, using Landsat satellite imagery, cloud computing, and predictive modelling from 1990 to 2030. The analysis of satellite images was grouped into four time periods (1990–2000, 2000–2010, 2010–2020, and 2020–2030). The Google Earth Engine cloud-based platform facilitated the classification of Landsat 5 ETM (1990, 2000, and 2010) and Landsat 8 OLI (2020) images using the Random Forest model. A simulation model…