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In luence o U banisa ion on Land o ms/Landscape Changes in Benin Ci y, Edo S a e,
Nige ia
Bisco P G *, Oba emi A. A. and Ogo o M
Depa men o Geog aphy and En i onmen al Managemen , Uni e si y o Po Ha cou , Po Ha cou , Nige ia.
Wo ld Jou nal o Ad anced Resea ch and Re iews, 2025, 27(03), 1692-1706
Publica ion his o y: Recei ed on 19 Augus 2025; e ised on 25 Sep embe 2025; accep ed on 27 Sep embe 2025
A icle DOI: h ps://doi.o g/10.30574/wja .2025.27.3.3330
Abs ac
The s udy examined he in luence o u baniza ion on land o ms/landscape Changes in Benin Ci y, Edo S a e, Nige ia.
The s udy made use o Landsa image y o 1990, 2000, 2010 and 2020 o de e mine he a e o u baniza ion and digi al
ele a ion model o 2000 and 2020 o disco e he geomo phological changes o e ime in he s udy a ea. Desc ip i e
s a is ics we e used o da a analysis. Findings e eal ha buil up a ea inc eased om 194.24 km2 in 1990 o 407.19
km2 in 2020 o he o al s udy a ea sugges ing 109.62% inc ease in he spa ial ex en o he buil a ea, The land o ms
e olu ion be ween 2000 and 2020 in Benin Ci y obse ed ha he alley co e ed a spa ial ex en o 487.16 sq km
(19.21%), la su aces/middle slope co e ed 703.42 sq km (27.74%), uppe slope co e ed 1016.66 sq km (40.09%)
and peak/hill co e ed 328.49 sq km (12.95%). In he yea 2020, he land o m e olu ion e ealed alley co e ing 384.62
sq km (15.10%), la su aces/middle slopes co e ing 1366.9 sq km (53.66%) and peak/hill co e ed 795.62 sq km
(31.24%). The s udy concluded ha he landuse and land co e change o e ime has a ec ed he e olu ion o land o ms
pa e n in Benin Ci y; and in mos a eas, e osion has deeply aken place which has educed he heigh s o some pa s o
he opog aphy. I is ecommended ha he u ban g ow h o sp awl e iden ly demons a ed in Benin Ci y should be
con olled unde he supe ision o he Town Planning O ices a he S a e le el and Local Go e nmen A eas le els o
ensu e ha he en i onmen is p e en ed agains unwan ed en i onmen al haza ds.
Keywo ds: U banisa ion; Land o ms; Landuse; E olu ion; Ele a ion; Haza d
1. In oduc ion
U baniza ion is one o he majo challenges ha he wo ld aces oday. A leas 0.5% o he e es ial a ea is now
u banized (Schneide e al. 2009). In 2015, 54% o he wo ld popula ion was li ing in u ban a eas and in some coun ies
his pe cen age is close o 100%. Humans ha e been using land and i s esou ces o cen u ies in a pu sui o hei
be e li es. The way humans ha e used land and exploi ed i s esou ces o e ime is a se ious p oblem (Cieslewicz,
2002; Ochola, 2024) as i has al e ed land co e and impac ed he unc ioning o he ecosys em. Wi h he ad en o
ag icul u e, mode n echnology, and he ise o capi alis mode o economy, he exploi a ion o land and i s esou ces
has inc eased d ama ically.
Mo e se iously, a leas 0.5% o he e es ial a ea is now u banized (Schneide e al. 2009).
In 2015, 54% o he wo ld popula ion was li ing in u ban a eas and in some coun ies his pe cen age is close o 100%).
In se e al pa s o he wo ld annual u baniza ion a es exceed 5% (e.g. Oman 8.54%; Rwanda 6.43%; Bu kina Faso
5.87%; Uganda 5.43%; Bu undi 5.66%; Tanzania 5.36%; Nige 5.14%; Da a: CIA), which means ha u ban sp awl is a
widesp ead phenomenon. U baniza ion and co ela ed in as uc u e building highly impac and some imes comple ely
des oy land o ms. Human ac i i ies ha e a subs an ial and cumula i e e ec on he landscape and i s land o ms.
Wo ld Jou nal o Ad anced Resea ch and Re iews, 2025, 27(03), 1692-1706
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Geomo phologic changes esul om a ange o an h opogenic ac i i ies including o es clea ing, ag icul u e, land
d aining and illing, mining and qua ying, channeliza ion, i iga ion, and cons uc ion o dams o o he enginee ing
ea u es (Ni , 1983). These ac i i ies in ol e he in en ional emo al and deposi ion o ma e ial as well as he
unin en ional e ec s o hyd ological changes and esul ing e osion and sedimen a ion (Hooke, 2000). An h opogenic
land o ms a e c ea ed a a a ie y o spa ial scales. Local scale land o ms esul om exca a ion, cu ing, and g ading o
modi y slopes and d ainage pa e ns o c ea e le el g ound o de elopmen and anspo a ion in as uc u e (Ni ,
1983). B oade scale land o ms a e c ea ed by mining and qua ying, as well as subsidence due o wa e o mine al
esou ce ex ac ion. Deposi ional land o ms, o ‘man-made g ound’ ypically en ail he use o ill ma e ial, as well as
was e dumps, and may occu a a ange o scales (Douglas e al., 2010). The cumula i e geomo phologic e ec s o
an h opogenic ac i i y a e mos p onounced in a eas o dense human occupa ion (e.g. in u ban spaces) and p ima ily
occu in he ea ly-u ban o he mid-u ban s ages o de elopmen (Ni , 1983).
An h opogenic ac i i ies esul in p ocesses ha conside ably change he landscape (Macha , 2012) and e en su pass
he ac i eness o na u al exogenic p ocesses (Hooke & Ma ín-Duque 2012; Ni & Man 1985). These ac i i ies o en ha e
g ea impo ance om he economic poin o iew (qua ying, mining ossil uels, u ban de elopmen , adjus ing
landscape o ag icul u e, cons uc ion o la ge dams which p o ide wa e ese es o indus ies and ci ies e c.), bu
om he conse a ion poin o iew, hey lead o deg ada ion o he landscape (Goudie 2006) and p o ec ed a eas
(Op sal e al., 2018). In some cases he landscape is comple ely emodeled and he e is no e idence o pas land o ms
(Szabó e al., 2010; Kiliano a, e al., 2017). An an h opogenic land o m is c ea ed by human ac i i y, pa icula ly by
cons uc ion, exca a ion, hyd ological in e e ence and a ming (Kiliano a e al, 2017). An h opogenic land o ms can
be classi ied by he cha ac e o hei impac : di ec o indi ec (Li e al., 2017), and espec i ely in en ional o
unin en ional (p ima y an h opogenic land o ms and seconda y an h opogenic land o ms). A ew o he p e ious
s udies epo ed he impac o u baniza ion on land o m changes o e ime and as a esul he p esen s udy is ocusing
a examining he in luence o u banisa ion on land o ms/landscape changes in Benin Ci y, Edo S a e, Nige ia.
2. Ma e ials and Me hods
The s udy was ca ied ou in Benin Ci y, Edo S a e, Nige ia (Figu e 1). Benin is he s a e capi al o Edo S a e; i is loca ed
in he Sou he n pa o Nige ia. Si ua ed app oxima ely 40 kilome e s No h o he Benin Ri e s and 320 Kilome e s by
oad eas o lagos. Benin Ci y is one o he oldes ci ies in Nige ia. The popula ion o Benin a as 2006 is 1,147,188 and a
land mass o 56,807 hec a es (NPC 2006). The me opolis o he ci y cu s ac oss ou local go e nmen a eas, Ego ,
O edo, O ia No h-Eas and Ikpoba-Okha. The ci y has emained a majo comme cial has linking he wes e n, eas e n,
no he n, and sou he n pa o Nige ia. Ag icul u al p oduc ion is a majo occupa ion o he people. The ci y lies wi hin
he opical ain o es bel o Nige ia and i is a home o se e al o es p oduc ion including imbe , oil no ion and
ubbe . The people o Benin Ci y a e known as Edo o Bini. They ha e one o he iches d ess cul u es on he A ican
con inen and a e known o hei beads, body ma ks, bangles, ankle s and a ia wo k. Benin Ci y is a home o Nige ia’s
ins i u ions o highe lea ning. These educa ional ins i u ions, indus ial ac i i ies coupled wi h socio-economic
encou age he mo emen o popula ion g ow h.
The sou ces o da a o his s udy we e bo h p ima y and seconda y da a sou ces. The p ima y da a included he
eco ding o he coo dina es o some o he landma ks ha can guide in he classi ica ion o he landuse/land co e and
o he geomo phic ea u es p esen in each o he s udy loca ions. This was achie ed by using he global posi ioning
sys em (GPS). The seconda y da a included mul i- empo al landsa sa elli e da ase s o 1990, 2000, 2010 and 2020. The
1990 landsa image y was ob ained om Landsa 4 o 5 Thema ic Mappe (TM), while ha o 2000 and 2010 we e
ob ained om Landsa 7 Enhanced Thema ic Mappe -plus and 2020 was Landsa 8 Ope a ional Land Image /The mal
In a ed Senso (OLI/TIRS). All hese image ies ha e 30 m esolu ion using nonlinea classi ica ion and a i icial isual
in e p e a ion me hods. The Digi al Ele a ion Map o Shu le Rada Topog aphic Mission (STRM) o 1 A c-Second Global
esolu ion om he websi e o Ea h Resou ces Obse a ion and Science (EROS) Cen e . This was collec ed o he yea s
2000 and 2020 o examine he a ia ion in he opog aphy o he s udy a ea. The STRM o 2000 and 2020 we e used
because hey we e he a ailable DEM ha a e om eliable sou ces while hose o 1990 and 2010 we e no a ailable.
The u ban g ow h pa e n o he s udy loca ions was de e mined using he landsa image ies o 1990, 2000, 2010 and
2020. The ele a ion, slope ise pe cen , slope deg ee, elie con ou s d ainage ne wo k and land o ms we e ob ained
om he DEM image y o 2000 and 2020. The landsa image ies o he s udy loca ions we e classi ied in o di e en
majo landuse/land co e using he maximum likelihood supe ised classi ica ion me hod in he A cGIS en i onmen .
Wo ld Jou nal o Ad anced Resea ch and Re iews, 2025, 27(03), 1692-1706
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Sou ce: Edo S a e Minis y o Land and Su eying, 2024
Figu e 1 Benin Ci y Me opolis
The wo k low cha o he e olu ion o landscape change pa e ns in his s udy was ob ained by using opog aphical
posi ion index (TPI). The Topog aphic Posi ion Index (TPI) is a geospa ial analysis ool used o classi y e ain by
compa ing he ele a ion o a cell o he a e age ele a ion o i s su ounding cells wi hin a de ined adius (De Reu e al.,
2013). This compa ison helps in iden i ying land o ms and slope posi ions, such as idges, alleys, and slopes.
Essen ially, TPI highligh s whe he a cell is highe o lowe han i s neighbou s. Topog aphic Posi ion Index (TPI) is a
opog aphic posi ion classi ica ion iden i ying uppe , middle and lowe pa s o he landscape.
“TPI measu es he di e ence be ween ele a ion a he cen al poin (z0) and he a e age ele a ion (ẑ) a ound i wi hin
a p ede e mined adius (R), whe e (n) he o al numbe o su ounding poin s employed in he e alua ion”[Wilson and
Gallan , 2000; Jenness, 2006; Al-Sababhah, 2023]:
Ẑ = 1/𝑛R 1 nR ∑i ∈ R Zi …………………………………………………. Equ 1.
Wo ld Jou nal o Ad anced Resea ch and Re iews, 2025, 27(03), 1692-1706
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The ou pu o he TPI alue is posi i e when he cen al poin is si ua ed highe han i s neighbo hood and nega i e
when i is si ua ed lowe . The ou pu alues mos ly ange be ween +1 and −1, and alues ou side his ange may indica e
anomalies wi hin he DEM. Mo eo e , “DEV measu es he opog aphic posi ion o he cen al poin (z0) using TPI, and
he s anda d de ia ion o he ele a ion (SD)”
[22]. This can be ep esen ed as ollows:
DEV = z0−Ẑ/SD …………………………………………………………………… Equ. 2
TPI is compu ed wi h he ocal unc ion by A c GIS ools, as ollows:
TPI < − ocal(x, w = , un = unc ion(x, . . . ) x[5] −mean(x[−5]))……………….. Equ 3
Whe e posi i e TPI alues poin o high a eas as idges, nega i e alues ep esen lowe a eas as alleys, and ze o alue
indica es la a eas (Wilson, 2000)
Figu e 2(a) Land o m ypes acco ding o TPI alues, (b) Posi i e and nega i e TPI alues
Desc ip i e s a is ics we e employed o he da a analysis.
Figu e 3 Ele a ion alues change acco ding o TPI, a h ee scales: a TPI is ze o, b TPI highe han ze o, c TPI lowe
han ze o (Wilson, 2000; Al-Sababhah, 2023)
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3. Resul s and Discussions
3.1. Landuse and Land co e Analysis o Benin Ci y om 1990 o 2020
Table 1 shows he landuse/land co e pa e n in Benin Ci y o Edo S a e be ween 1990 and 2020. In 1990, i is e ealed
ha wa e bodies co e ed 426.58km2 (16.56%) o o al s udy a ea, hick ege a ion had 1547.75 km2 (60.09%),
a mlands had 407.01 km2 (15.80%), and buil up a ea had 194.24 km2 (7.54%) (Figu e 4). In 2000, i is shown ha
wa e bodies co e ed 411.58km2 (15.98%) o o al s udy a ea, hick ege a ion had 1510.11 km2 (58.63%), a mlands
had 338.21 km2 (13.13%), and buil up a ea had 315.69 km2 (12.26%) (Figu e 5). In 2010, i is shown ha wa e bodies
co e ed 358.87km2 (13.93%) o o al s udy a ea, hick ege a ion had 1418.25 km2 (55.07%), a mlands had 428.2 km2
(16.43%), and buil up a ea had 375.27 km2 (14.27%) (Figu e 6). In 2010, i is shown ha wa e bodies co e ed
397.45km2 (15.43%) o o al s udy a ea, hick ege a ion had 1358.66 km2 (52.75%), a mlands had 412.29 km2
(16.01%), and buil up a ea had 407.19 km2 (15.81%) (Figu e 7).
Figu e 4 Landuse/Land co e o Benin Ci y in 1990
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Figu e 5 Landuse/Land co e o Benin Ci y in 2010
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Figu e 6 Landuse/Land co e o Benin Ci y in 2010
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Figu e 7 Landuse/Land co e o Benin Ci y in 2020
Table 1 Landuse change om 1990 o 2020 in Benin and En i ons
Landuse
1990
2000
2010
2020
A eal
co e age
(km2)
Pe cen age
(%)
A eal
co e age
(km2)
Pe cen age
(%)
A eal
co e age
(km2)
Pe cen age
(%)
A eal
co e age
(km2)
Pe cen age
(%)
Wa e bodies
426.58
16.56
411.58
15.98
358.87
13.93
397.45
15.43
Thick
Vege a ion
1547.75
60.09
1510.11
58.63
1418.25
55.07
1358.66
52.75
Fa mlands
407.01
15.80
338.21
13.13
423.2
16.43
412.29
16.01
Buil Up
A ea
194.25
7.54
315.69
12.26
375.27
14.57
407.19
15.81
To al
2575.59
100.00
2575.59
100.00
2575.59
100.00
2575.59
100.00
Wo ld Jou nal o Ad anced Resea ch and Re iews, 2025, 27(03), 1692-1706
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The landuse change and pe cen age change o Benin Ci y is p esen ed in Table 2. F om 1990 o 2000, he analysis
showed ha hick ege a ion educed by 37.64 km2 (23.61%), and wa e bodies educed by 15.0 km2 (3.52%) while he
spa ial ex en o a mlands inc eased by 68.80 sq km (16.90%), and buil up a ea inc eased by 121.44 sq km (62.52%).
F om 2000 o 2010, he analysis showed ha hick ege a ion educed by 91.86 km2 (6.08%), and wa e bodies educed
by 52.71 km2 (12.81%) while he spa ial ex en o a mlands inc eased by 84.99 sq km (25.13%), and buil up a ea
inc eased by 59.58 sq km (18.87%).
F om 2010 o 2020, he analysis showed ha hick ege a ion educed by 59.59 km2 (4.20%), and a mlands educed
by 10.91 km2 (2.58%) while he spa ial ex en o wa e bodies inc eased by 38.58 sq km (10.75%), and buil up a ea
inc eased by 31.92 sq km (8.51%).
In a nu shell, om 1990 o 2020 , i was disco e ed ha hick ege a ion educed by 189.09 km2 (12.22%) and
wa e bodies educed by 29.13 km2 (6.83%) while he spa ial ex en o a mlands inc eased by 5.28 sq km (1.30%), and
buil up a ea inc eased by 212.94 sq km (109.62%).
Table 2 Landuse change and pe cen age change be ween 1990 and 2020 in Benin Ci y and En i ons
Landuse
1990
2000
Ra e o Change
Pe cen age o Change (%)
Wa e bodies
426.58
411.58
-15
-3.52
Thick Vege a ion
1547.75
1510.11
-37.64
-2.43
Fa mlands
407.01
338.21
-68.8
-16.90
Buil Up A ea
194.25
315.69
121.44
62.52
To al
2575.59
2575.59
Landuse
2000
2010
Wa e bodies
411.58
358.87
-52.71
-12.81
Thick Vege a ion
1510.11
1418.25
-91.86
-6.08
Fa mlands
338.21
423.2
84.99
25.13
Buil Up A ea
315.69
375.27
59.58
18.87
To al
2575.59
2575.59
Landuse
2010
2020
Wa e bodies
358.87
397.45
38.58
10.75
Thick Vege a ion
1418.25
1358.66
-59.59
-4.20
Fa mlands
423.2
412.29
-10.91
-2.58
Buil Up A ea
375.27
407.19
31.92
8.51
To al
2575.59
2575.59
Landuse
1990
2020
Wa e bodies
426.58
397.45
-29.13
-6.83
Thick Vege a ion
1547.75
1358.66
-189.09
-12.22
Fa mlands
407.01
412.29
5.28
1.30
Buil Up A ea
194.25
407.19
212.94
109.62
To al
2575.59
2575.59
