Ph ton 290 The Journal of Geography and Geology. Photon 119 (2015) 202-302 https://sites.google.com/site/photonfoundationorganization/home/the-journal-of-geography-and-geology Original Research Article. ISJN: 4396-3839: Impact Index: 5.56 The Journal of Geography and Geology Ph ton Measuring Urban Growth of Pune City Using Shannon Entropy Approach Mundhe N.N. a* , Jaybhaye R.G. b a Department of Geography, S. P. College, Pune, Maharashtra, India b Department of Geography, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Maharashtra, India Mundhe N.N. and Jaybhaye R.G. are conferred with Claude Elwood Shannon Research Award-2015 in Geography and Geology Article history: Received: 29 January, 2015 Accepted: 05 February, 2015 Available online: 06 May, 2015 Keywords: Built-up, density, shannon entropy, urban growth, urbanization Abbreviations: GIS: Geographical Information System, RS: Remote Sensing, GPS: Global Poisoning System, CDP: City Development Plan, PMC: Pune Municipal Corporation, SOI: Survey of India, MSS: Multi Spectral Scanner, TM: Thematic Mapper, ETM+: Enhancement Thematic Mapper Plus, OLI/TIRS: Operational Land Imager and Thermal Infrared Sensor, GLCF: Global Land Cover Facility, KM: Kilometer, SQ.KM: Square Kilometer, NW: Northwest, NE: Northeast, SE: Southeast, SW: Southwest Corresponding Author: Mundhe N.N.* Assistant Professor Email: mundhenitin8 ( at ) gmail ( dot ) com Jaybhaye R.G. Professor Abstract Rapid urbanization raises many issues like loss of agricultural land, encroachment of forest and river area, unauthorized urban sprawl and high land values etc. The monitoring of urban growth is vital role of planner, management, governmental and non-governmental organizations for implementing policies to optimize the use of natural resources and accommodate development at the same time minimizing the impact on the environment. Present research work emphasizes on measuring urban growth over a last four decades (1973-2014) by employing geo-spatial techniques in conjunction with Shannon’s entropy. Shannon entropy is a measure to determine the compactness or dispersion of built-up land growth in the urban areas. The growth patterns of urban built-up land have been studied initially by dividing the study area into four zones based on four main directions. The observations have been made with respect to each zone. Then, the study area has been divided into multiple ring buffers of 1 km interval from city centre and the growth patterns have been studied based on urban built-up density with respect to each circular buffer in all four zones. The research findings will have proper understanding of urban growth pattern, direction and dispersion is required for effective planning and strategies. Citation: Mundhe N.N., Jaybhaye R.G., 2015. Measuring Urban Growth of Pune City Using Shannon Entropy Approach. The Journal of Geography and Geology. Photon 119, 202-302. All Rights Reserved with Photon. Photon Ignitor: ISJN43963839D774506052015 1. Introduction Urbanization is the social process referring to physical growth of urban areas, which result in population growth, increase of built-up area, high density of population and it is also a psychological stage of urban way of life (Mundhe et al., 2014). India is the second largest country after China in population and is projected to cross China’s population with 1.5 billion people by 2040. The urban population in India has increased from 62.4 millions in the year 1951 to 377.1 millions in 2011. It is estimated to grow to around 540 million by the year 2021. The number of million plus cities increased from 5 in 1951 and continued to increase after this to become 35 in 2001 and currently, it is 53 as per 2011 census and actual area under these cities are also increasing. To sustain this rapid urban development should be planned in a sustainable manner to fulfill all the utility services like infrastructure, transportation, water supply, sanitation and drainage etc. urban developers, planners and administrators should have knowledge of the present trend of urban growth. Therefore to understand the pattern and measure urban growth over period of last 40 years using advanced techniques like remote sensing and geographical