Monitoring Urban Growth and Land Use Change Detection with Gis Techniques In Irbid City, Jordan

Abstract

Urban growth and land use change are just a few of the many perplexing factors affecting our cities in the future. The city of Irbid has been characterized by rapid growth as a result of political and social developments related to the events in the region, where the structure of Irbid city and its spatial organization have radically changed; it was transformed from a village to a city and later to the second-largest city in Jordan. This study, using GIS techniques, aimed to monitor the urban growth direction and land use change pattern over the past seven decades, specifically during the period from 1950 to 2019 by creating GIS maps related to the land use of Irbid city. It also discussed the influencing factors. The study proved the effectiveness of GIS and its techniques in producing accurate land use maps and detailed change statistics for Irbid city, which provide an important database assist in the formulation of policies related to land use and urban growth in the city or in making decisions and developing plans related to the providing of appropriate facilities. The study concludes with practical recommendations for urban development of Irbid city for a better understanding of the city growth pattern.

Introduction

Urbanization is defined as the process of shift from rural to urban areas, or "the progressive increase in the proportion of people living in urban areas of the total population of a country or territory" (Hussain & Imitiyaz, 2018), according to Roberts (2016) urbanization is the process by which a society changes from a rural to an urban lifestyle. Urban areas are regarded as the most dynamic regions on the earth. In the past, their size has been constantly increased, and this process will continue in the future (Moeller, 2005). A strong trend towards a concentration of people in urban areas can be observed, particularly in less developed countries. It is predicted that all regions of the world will continue to urbanize, with the most rural regions of Africa and Asia urbanizing at a quicker rate than the rest of the world's continents, with their urban populations reaching 56 and 64% of their total populations, respectively, by 2050 (United Nations, 2014).

Urbanization is one of the most important human activities that has a tremendous impact on the environment at all local, regional, and global scales (Uttara et al., 2012). It has been found that the extent of urbanization and its growth have caused a change in land use and land cover pattern (Dutta & Das, 2019; Patra et al., 2018; Rahman et al., 2011). The changes in the land use and land cover have both direct and indirect negative impacts on socio-economic and natural resource (Katyambo & Ngigi, 2017; Rahaman et al., 2020). Urban growth has four components (Jedwab et al., 2014): urban natural increase, rural-urban migration, international-urban migration, and urban reclassification. The urban growth come from what is known “rural push” and “urban pull” (Pacione, 2009), where people migrate from rural to urban area to get better opportunities and better life style. Rural poverty has prompted people to move to urban areas to improve their living conditions (Skeldon, 1997). Urban areas are attractive places for people due to the availability of many facilities, infrastructure and services; it is also a great source of income for urbanites, the center of business, economic, education, commercial, and industry (Skeldon, 1997).

At present, Geographic Information Systems & Remote Sensing (GIS& RS) have been recognized as important techniques for monitoring, analyzing, and mapping urban growth, especially by urban planners (Ramadan & Effat, 2021). As a result, they have been widely used to detect and monitor urban change that occurs dynamically and rapidly on land use (Temiz et al., 2018; Pirnazar et al., 2018). GIS technology has become an important instrument in determining urban development and its direction, as well as in observing its effects on the ecosystem (Aburas et al., 2017). Moreover, GIS technology is commonly used in comprehensive planning processes, agricultural land use inventory, zoning, socio-demographic analysis, and site suitability assessments (Burke et al., 2011; Thomas, 2002). For different reasons nowadays, GIS and RS techniques are being considered. First, as previously mentioned, GIS and RS techniques have spatio-temporal dimensions for observation, measuring, analyzing, controlling, and evaluating urban growth and land use changes (Temiz et al., 2018; Ramachandra et al., 2013). Second, GIS and RS techniques can use quantitative and qualitative methods to determine the causes, impacts, and current trends of urban growth as well as future trends (Gharaibeh et al., 2020; Al-shalabi et al., 2013; Yang, 2010). Third, spatial and socio-economic data can be integrated by using GIS and RS techniques to analyze land use changes (Nii & Codjoe, 2007). A database should be created to show changes in urban areas in a particular area at regular intervals as far back in time as possible. It is clear that GIS and RS are the most appropriate technologies to meet these needs in the most efficient way (Al-Bilbisi, 2019).

As a result of the so-called urbanization or urban transformation, the structure of the Irbid city and its spatial organization has radically changed. It was transformed from a village to a city and later to the second-largest city in Jordan (Tarawneh & Naamneh, 2011). The population of Irbid has increased rapidly over the past seven decades, increasing from 23157 to 569068 during the years 1952 and 2020, respectively (DOS, 1952, 2020). A very high rate of urbanization resulting from natural increase, internal and external migration in Irbid city is responsible for the city's growth and change in land use patterns. Urban land use is the main category of land use that is first influenced by human activities (Chen et al., 2021). The conventional surveying and mapping methods have not delivered the necessary information in a timely and cost-effective manner. Therefore, this paper shows the increasing need to study the GIS maps which identify the development boundaries from 1950 to 2019 since there has been a lack of sufficient documentation for Irbid plan over the last 70 years. This approach will address the urban planning practices facing city development. Using GIS techniques, the objective of this study is to monitor the urban growth direction and land use change pattern over the past seven decades, specifically during the period from 1950 to 2019 by creating GIS maps related to the land use of Irbid city. It also concludes with a discussion of the factors influencing urban growth and land use.

Methodology

Study area

The study area of Irbid extends at a longitude of 35 d 51 m 0 s and latitude of 32 d 33 m 20 s (Shatnawi & Abu-Qdais, 2021) spread over an area of 35.74 km² (Figure 1). Irbid has an average elevation of 620 m above sea level and has moderate weather with an average annual temperature of 23°C and an average annual rainfall of 450 mm (Abdulla, 2020). Irbid is the second largest city in Jordan after the capital, Amman. The city is the main urban center of the Irbid Governorate. The urban population of Irbid has grown considerably, according to the Estimated Population of the Kingdom by Governorate, with a population of 569068 inhabitants (DOS, 2020). The population density of Irbid is 14,291 people per km², which is the highest in Jordan, and the average household size is 4.98 (Alwedyan, 2021).

Around the end of the nineteenth century, the process of urbanization began in Irbid (Tarawneh& Naamneh, 2011). As a result, radical changes occurred in geographical structure in the city and it was transformed from a village to a city and later to the second-largest city in Jordan.

As Irbid city was affected by the migration waves that moved into Jordan, this led to the return of more than 350,000 people to Jordan after the first Gulf War in 1991 and about 450,000 Iraqis entered Jordan after the second Gulf War in 2003 (Al-Bilbisi, 2003). Consequently, the population has increased in Irbid making it the second largest metropolitan population in Jordan after Amman.

Figure 1. Study area

Data and method

The study used the applied approach, which use GIS programs. As its known, current technologies such as GIS provide a cost effective and accurate alternative to understanding landscape dynamics. Also, GIS are well-established information technologies, which are valuable in understanding landscape dynamics-detect, identify, map, and monitor differences in land use and land cover patterns over time.

In this study the GIS programs were used to determine the urban growth direction and land use patterns in the city of Irbid for the years 1950, 1970, 1990, 2010, and 2019. A set of results were reached, such as the composite maps of land uses for the previous years, as well as different tables and graphs were created to clarify the patterns of land uses in the city.

Many data was used in this study, such as Irbid land use maps for the following years 1950, 1970, 1990, 2010, and 2019 obtained from the Great Irbid Municipality (GIM), Topographic map of Irbid city, tourist map of the city of Irbid scale of (1:10,000) for the year 2004, and black-and-white aerial photographs with nominal scale of (1:25,000) for the years 1953, 1984, and 2004 were obtained from the aerial photo archives at the Jordanian Royal Geographical Jordanian Centre (JRGC). GIM provided all of the maps in hard copy format. As a result, they were scanned at equal intervals over the whole image, and the scanned data was compressed and saved in TIFF format before being uploaded to a computer for future use. The following phase was geometric correction for the scanned images, in which all maps were geometrically corrected using control points obtained from a topographical map provided by JRGC and utilized as the current study's reference map. The final phase, converting raster images into vector features by using on-screen digitizing as a manual method digitizing using Arc GIS 10.3 software was done to extract patio-temporal urban land use boundaries along the period of 1950–2019.

The aerial photograph negative was scanned and later compressed in a TIFF format. The next stage related to the aerial photograph was rectifying the photo by using the commercial photogrammetric software SOCET SET which is used for independent production of orthophoto. The final phase of the rectified aerial photograph was converting raster images into vector features by using on-screen digitizing as a manual method of digitizing using Arc GIS 10.3 software to extract patio-temporal urban land use boundaries along the periods of 1953, 1984, and 2004. The above-mentioned results were analyzed for each of the maps, graphs, and tables. At this stage, the patterns of land use in the city of Irbid for the years 1950, 1970, 1990, 2010, and 2019 were studied. In order to verify these results, the obtained land use maps were compared with aerial photographs for the years 1953, 1984, and 2004. Also, the results related to the 2019 stage were verified through a field survey of the study area.

Results and Discussion

Dynamics of urban growth and analysis of land use changes

The 1950s stage

According to Table 1 and Figure 2 of land use, the total area of the city during this phase was approximately 3.85 km². During this phase, the city expanded in all directions regularly, with the extension of the Irbid Road-Albariha, and the urban growth contacted the Albariha town (Figure 3). As shown in Table 1, residential use occupied the largest proportion of the city area at 45.89% where this use type was distributed in the center towards the outside. Commercial activities also concentrated around residential buildings in the center and along the streets, especially from the south and east sides of the city center. Land use for road purposes occupied 25.58% of the area allocated for urban use, which is equivalent to a quarter of the city’s area. Concerning land uses for services purposes, it turns out that it occupied a small proportion of the total uses within the city at 1.55%.

Table 1. Land use of Irbid city in 1950

Land use type	Area/km²	%
Residential	1.77	45.89
Commercial	0.60	15.68
Services	0.06	1.55
Parks	0.43	11.37
Streets	0.98	25.58
Total	3.85	100

Figure 2. Land use of Irbid city in 1950

Figure 3. Land use map of Irbid city in 1950

The 1970s stage

At this stage, a change occurred in the general shape of the city, as axial growth began to appear along a set of main streets. Two foci also emerged that formed a strong incentive to attract the population, namely: Yarmouk University in the south, and the Industrial City neighborhood in the northeast of the city. The following are the main axes (streets) and shown in Figure 13:

• 1-   Irbid Street-Hakama (Fadel Aldalgamouni): This street starts from the city center towards the northeast, that is, towards the Industrial City neighborhood and administrative neighborhood of Hanina, and it also links the city with Hakama town. Its length is about 3.300 kilometers. It is one of the main axial streets of the city. This expansion of the city was the largest in this direction.
• 2-   Irbid Street-Albariha: This street starts from the city center (at the Greater Irbid Municipality (GIM) building) towards the northwest. It links the city with Albariha town. Its length is about 1.500 kilometers. Urban growth on this street during this phase is an extension of the urban growth in the previous stage.
• 3-   Palestine Street: This street starts from the city center (at Wasfi Altal Square) towards the west. It was considered the most important main street in the city, as it was the only main road connecting the villages of western Irbid, Alkourah and Alaghwar Alshamaliyah with the city.
• 4-   King Abdullah II Street (Alhosn): This street starts from the city center towards the south, and it borders Yarmouk University and Alhassan Youth City on the western side. It is considered one of the most important street in the city, as it connects Irbid with the capital, Amman. Its length within the regulatory boundaries of the city is about 3,700 kilometers. The reason for the urban expansion on this street may be due to the establishment of Yarmouk University in 1976.
• 5-   Shafiq Irshidat Street (Aydoun): This street starts from Wasfi Altal Square in the city center, towards the south. It forms, with King Abdullah II Street, the second axis of urban expansion towards the south, and it borders Yarmouk University on the eastern side.

Many stores have sprung up on both sides of this street, which has been attracted by Yarmouk University. Figure 5 shows the urban expansion of Irbid during this stage. Also, during this stage, a residential focus was established, located in the southeastern side of the city of Irbid, namely the Officers' Housing, and is linked to the city by the main road, called King Hussein Street (Baghdad), which connects the city of Irbid with the city of Mafraq. In addition to continued urban growth in the northern and eastern directions. It is worth mentioning that the city had included, at this stage, a number of residential areas that were outside the boundaries of its administrative organization.

As shown in land use Table 2 and Figure 4, residential use also occupied the largest proportion of the city area, at 62.54%, and this use type was distributed around the center. Commercial activities were also concentrated in the center, which spread across the main streets to the surrounding residential areas. Land use for road purposes occupied 20.90% of the area allocated for urban uses. The industrial city neighborhood focus located at the northeast of the city accounted for 0.8%, which is the lowest proportion of the area allocated for urban uses.

Table 2. Land use of Irbid city in 1970

Land use type	Area/km²	%
Residential	11.64	62.55
Commercial	0.63	3.39
Services	0.64	3.44
Parks	1.49	8.00
Industrial	0.15	0.80
Camp	0.17	0.91
Streets	3.89	20.90
Total	18.61	100

Figure 4. Land use of Irbid city in 1970

Figure 5. Land use map of Irbid city in 1970

The 1990s stage

The urban expansion of the city continued during this stage along the same previous axes on which the city of Irbid grew in the third stage. But the most important characteristics of this stage are:

• 1-   The space breadth of the industrial city focus, as about 370 dunums were added, and this increases the opportunity to attract residents to it, and this is what actually happened where growth continued around it, and residential use merged with industrial use.
• 2-   Irbid city expanded in the east with the extension of the influence of Alhashemi Street.
• 3-   Extension of urban growth in the southeast until the end of King Hussein Street (Baghdad), in what is known as the Southern Qorouq Basin.
• 4-   The emergence of new industrial focus at the end of the Irbid-Fo'ara Street was dedicated to craftsmen, and the street divided it into eastern and western halves. During this stage, a water purification plant for Irbid (Fo'ara station) was also established in the same area on the western side of the street.
• 5-   Irbid city expanded in the north with the extension of the influence of Irbid-Fo'ara street until it swallowed the craftsmen focus called Al-Hearfyen Industrial Area and turned around it.
• 6-   The existence of an urban extension (with the extension of Shafiq Rashidat Street) parallel to Yarmouk University from the west towards the Zabdat Farkouh area, and which continued to the west until Wadi Zabdeh intercepted it. This extension certainly results first from the impact of the university’s presence in that area and secondly from the effect of the presence of a residential suburb located at the southwestern edge of the city called (Dahiyat Alhussein), which constituted a new urban growth focus.
• 7-   Alghafar Valley acted as a natural barrier that stopped the city's westward expansion, especially along Palestine Street. It is noted that the urban growth on Palestine Street and Albariha has deviated to the north due to the impact of Alghafar Valley on Palestine Street.

Table 3. Land use of Irbid city in 1990

Land use type	Area/km²	%
Residential	19.51	63.65
Commercial	0.81	2.64
Services	1.05	3.43
Parks	1.83	5.97
Industrial	0.35	1.14
Camp	0.22	0.72
Streets	6.88	22.45
Total	30.65	100

Figure 6. Land use of Irbid city in 1990

Figure 7. Land use map of Irbid city in 1990

The 2010 stage

The three most important characteristics of this stage are:

1. 1-   Continuing the urban expansion in the Albariha area towards the far northwest of the city.
2. 2-   The city of Irbid expanded in the south with the extension of the influence of Yarmouk University's focus until it swallowed it.
3. 3-   Extension of urban growth in the southeast until the end of King Abdullah II Street (Alhosn), accordingly, the area of the Alnuzhah area increased, and the number of licenses issued by the Greater Irbid Municipality (GIM) also increased.

Table 4. Land use of Irbid city in 2010

Land use type	Area/km²	%
Residential	20.75	58.06
Commercial	3.01	8.42
Services	2.15	6.02
Parks	0.44	1.23
Industrial	0.59	1.65
Camp	0.22	0.62
Streets	8.58	24.00
Total	35.74	100

Figure 8. Land use of Irbid city in 2010

Figure 9. Land use map of Irbid city in 2010

The 2019 stage

Concerning this stage, which represents the current stage of the city plan, the city’s regulatory area remains the same as in the previous stage (35.74) km², as the city continues to grow and expand within the available regulatory space without the need to include new areas in the city’s organizational plan (Figure 10).

Table 5. Land use of Irbid city in 2019

Land use type	Area/km²	%
Residential	20.79	58.17
Commercial	4.27	11.95
Services	2.56	7.17
Parks	0.44	1.23
Industrial	0.60	1.68
Camp	0.22	0.62
Streets	6.85	19.17
Total	35.74	100

Figure 10. Land use of Irbid city in 2019

Figure 11. Land use map of Irbid city in 2019

Analysis of land use changes

After analyzing the maps for the specific stages, it is concluded that the irregular pattern model is the most applicable model for Irbid city. By comparing the characteristics of the irregular pattern model of Robinson (2002), with Irbid land use maps, it is clear that Irbid city has no specific direction of expansion, it has a clear urban sprawl that is not controlled by the city's shape, and the areas within the city center feature very narrow and dead-end street networks. Moreover, there is a complex overlap of activities and uses making it difficult to separate them out.

Moreover, Irbid city in is suitable for this model since there is a lack of legal planning, construction or a specific order, where it includes blocks with no fixed order, or permanent and temporary structures. In addition, Irbid city has the second largest metropolitan population after Amman where, during the last 20 years, urban expansion was very noticeably driven by a high natural growth rate leading to rapid population growth which in turn resulted in the lack of services and poverty; this topic will be discussed in the next section of the research.

By making a comparison urban land use change in the city, it is found that the pattern of residential use was the highest in 2019, almost the same as in 2010 at 20.7 km² and the lowest in the 1950s with 1.8 km². As a proportion, this pattern recorded the highest proportions in the 1990s at 63.65% and recorded the lowest proportion in the 1950s at 45.89% (Table 6 and Figure 12). This makes sense, since we are calculating the proportion relative to the total city area, and as the city boundary expands over time, the percentage decreases. Regarding commercial use, we noted that it was the highest in 2019 at 4.27 km² and the lowest in the 1950s at 60 km². And also, as a proportion of the city boundary, this pattern recorded the highest proportion in the 1950s at 15.68%, and the lowest proportion in the 1990s at 2.64% (Table 6). For the pattern of services, the highest was in 2019 at 2.56 km² with a proportion of 7.1%, and the lowest was in the 1950s at 0.06 km² with a proportion of 1.55%. Also, the services use in the 1950s stage recorded the lowest proportion of the city boundary at 1.55%. For open areas (parks), the highest was 1.83 km² in the 1990s at 5.97%, whilst 1950 represented the lowest at 0.43 km², almost the same in 2010 and 2019 at 0.44 km² at 1.23%. This use pattern recorded in the 1950s stage the highest proportion of the city boundary with 11.37%. For the industrial use pattern, the highest was 0.60 km² in 2019, while the lowest was 0.15 km² in the 1970s. As mentioned above, the industrial focus was established in the 1970s, so it did not occupy any proportion of the 1950s stage. As for camp use pattern, we noted that it was almost consistent over the 1990s, 2010s, and 2019s at 0.22 km². Although it was the lowest in the 1970s at 0.17 km², it recorded at the same stage the highest proportion of the city boundary at 0.91%. Irbid camp was established after the 1948 war, and at the end of the 1950s the camp residents began replacing tents with houses, so it did not occupy any percentage of the 1950s stage. Finally, for the streets, the highest was 8.58 km² in the 2010s with a proportion of 24.00%, while the 1950s represented the lowest at 0.98 km². Figure 13 shows the main streets within the Irbid city.

Table 6. Irbid city: Land use change, from 1950 to 2019 (Area unit: km²)

Year		Residential	Commercial		Services		Parks		Industrial		Camp	Streets	Total Area
1950s	Area	1.77	0.60		0.06		0.43		-		-	0.98	3.85
	%	45.89	15.68		1.55		11.37		-		-	25.58	100
1970s	Area	11.64	0.63		0.64		1.49		0.15		0.17	3.89	18.61
	%	62.55	3.39		3.44		8.00		0.80		0.91	20.90	100
1990s	Area	19.51	0.81		1.05		1.83		0.35		0.22	6.88	30.65
	%	63.65	2.64		3.43		5.97		1.14		0.72	22.45	100
2010	Area	20.75	3.01		2.15		0.44		0.59		0.22	8.58	35.74
	%	58.06	8.42		6.02		1.23		1.65		0.62	24.00	100
2019	Area	20.79	4.27		26		0.44		0.60		0.22	6.85	35.74
	%	58.17	11.94		7.17		1.23		1.68		0.62	19.17	100

Figure 12. Trends of different patterns of land use from 1950 to 2019 for Irbid city

Figure 13. Main axes (streets) in Irbid city

The urban growth of the Irbid city was observed during the periods indicated in Figure 14. In the 1950s Irbid grew over nearly 3.85 km², increased to 18.61 km² in the 1970s and then grew to 30.65 km² in the 1990s. These equate to a relative increase of 79.31% between the 1950s and 1970s, and about 39.28% between the 1970s and 1990s. In 2010 the city grew by 1.24% to an area of 35.74 km² and the proportion remained the same until 2019 due to the stability of the boundaries of the city which became part of the Greater Irbid Municipality (GIM) at the beginning of 2001.

By summarizing the shape of the city's growth, it appeared that the city in 1950s expanded in all directions regularly, from the 1970s, the city expanded to the east direction, northeast, and southwest along a set of main streets. From the 1990s it expanded to the east, the northwest and southwest direction. Finally, from 2010 through 2019 the Irbid city expanded to the south and northwest forming the current shape.

Figure 14. The urban growth stages of the Irbid city from 1950 to 2019

Factors influencing urban growth and land use

The land use changes in Irbid city occurred as a result of the interaction of many environmental, demographic and socio-economic factors. The urbanization process in Irbid city has been quite rapid as compared to other Jordanian cities. Some of the major factors that have caused the urban growth and land use of the city are as follows.

Geographic factor

Irbid city is characterized by its plain, flat and fertile lands. But in westward, it descends suddenly at Alghafar valley (Figure 15). This feature enabled the city to grow in all directions and to the extent permitted by natural conditions until it reached the outskirts of Alghafar valley, which worked to stop the urban sprawl of the city towards villages and rural areas located to the west. Also, Som valley in the northwest worked to split the north-western growth axis of the city into two axes; the first in a west of northwest direction, influenced by Palestine Street and other streets connected to it in that area, and the second axis towards the north of northwest, influenced by Albariha Street and its affiliated streets.

While the city grew in the rest of the directions without the natural geographical factor negatively affecting the trends of urban growth in it, rather, this factor helped to increase and intensify urban growth to the extent that the city was connected with the surrounding villages from those sides. The city was completely connected to the village of Hanina, located in the north of the city, and the villages of Bushra and Hawara to the east, and Idoun to the south. This flat nature of the Irbid city also facilitated the process of building the main and secondary roads, so a complex network of roads was formed in the city, which greatly affected the identification of urban growth trends and increased its density. It is worth noting that the city has now crossed the barrier of the Zabdah valley, and its growth has extended beyond it.

Figure 15. Alghafar valley

Population growth

The population of Irbid city has increased significantly during the past decades. The population census reports state that it has increased from 23157 to 569068 during the years 1952 and 2020, respectively. The population density of Irbid is 16.075 people/km² in 2020, while in 1950; it was 6014 people/km². The average household size of Irbid city is about 4.98 (Alwedyan, 2021), which is relatively high compared to the other cities of the same size.

Although the annual growth rate of the population of Irbid city reflects a declining trend. As appeared in Figure 16, the growth rate of Irbid decreased from 22% between 1952 and 1961 to 2.4% between 2015 and 2020. A decreasing growth rate of the population indicates that it is not the only major cause of urban growth but migration, especially rural-urban migration is the main cause of urban population growth (Hope, 1983; Lyu et al., 2019; Menashe-Oren & Bocquier, 2021). Irbid's growth has not been attributed to internal migration, which already exists, from rural areas into the city, but it has been attributed to external migration as a result of external political events (Aldeek, 2017). There are three important years in the history of Irbid city are 1948, 1967, and 2011. The year 1948 marked the construction of large refugee camps in Jordan, the year 1967 marked increases in the size of these camps, and the year 2011 marked what is known as the “Syrian crisis”. These three years and the resulting waves of immigration have left lasting effects on the whole city.

In other words, population growth and migration, especially external immigration waves, are responsible for the city's growth and change of land use patterns. These two factors increased residential and commercial areas and caused an increase in the development of the city and land use change. It also had a dramatic effect on the quality of life with poor-quality buildings and a detrimental effect on the city's transformation (Obeidat & Al-Hashimi, 2015).

Figure 16. (a) Annual growth rate and (b) Population growth from 1952 to 2020

Source: Population censuses data for the years 1979, 1994, 2004, 2015, Department of Statistics, and Estimated Population of the Kingdom by Governorate, Locality, Sex and Household, 2020, Department of Statistics. To calculate the growth rates, the following exponential equation was used: R=[(p_²/p_ˡ)ˡ^/n - 1]100

Socio-economic characteristics of the city

The first is expansion, as some patterns of urban land use are exposed to the phenomenon of invasion, such as the expansion of commercial areas at the expense of residential uses, which pushes them to transfer their functions to other areas due to their inability to compete with other uses, especially commercial use (Northam, 1979). It is noted that land uses for residential purposes with certain characteristics tend to be concentrated in special areas. For example, it is noted that villas and tall buildings are spread in the southern and eastern areas of Irbid city in particular. Also, the change factor in the prevailing and neighboring land use pattern may have an effect on the transfer of functions towards other areas, and the particular use may become unable to continue at a later time, which leads to its migration or its decay. This is what was observed in some areas of the city and across the various stages.

The second is the economic and social level of the population, as it is noted that the high-income population tends to live in areas characterized by attractiveness, services, and a modern architectural character that is distinguished from the rest of the regions. The third one is the foci of population attraction, such as housing projects, service centers, social, educational, and health institutions, as well as public services, as we find the high intensity of uses in such areas in the city, and the functions performed by the city often overlap with each other in these areas, especially in some southern and eastern neighborhoods of the city.

The effects of urban growth and land use on the city of Irbid

The urbanization process in Irbid city has been quite rapid as compared to other Jordanian cities. Some of the major impacts that have resulted from urban growth and land use of the city are as follows.

Impeding sustainable development

According to (Aldeek, 2017), the major problem that all future interventions must resolve is the impact of past planning on the city surrounding land. Due to the lack of connectivity of different areas, the city is facing with the anomaly that there is no center around to expand. The land fragmentation propriety, caused from a proprietary model, where privates own small areas which are not enough to permit building adequate houses or trading activities, presents a serious obstacle to the realization of the grand projects that require large amounts of space. Furthermore, the change from residential zoning in the center of the city to other types of uses had created a non-night life zone with relative urban degradation. Thus, economic investment in this zone faces a real unsuccessful risk.

Degradation of built environment

Rapid urbanization has affected the built environment in the city, particularly in the historical center or in developed areas in the city. These buildings have contributed to increase visual pollution. Today, the city is characterized mainly by the diffusion of trading areas, with a total disregard for the management of internal spaces. There are many examples of internal urban spaces and historic buildings in a very bad state of repairing. The reason is the absence of any architectural and urban vision in Irbid's planning (Al-kheder et al., 2009). This phenomenon can be observed in the surrounding area of Yarmouk university campus.

This area, around Yarmouk University, was once the most developed and supported by many services. However, the absence of an integrated policy aimed to maintain good urban spaces quality has transformed the area into two distinct zones: a commercial zone made up of side streets and a residential zone made up of poor-quality student housing/accommodation. Over time, the value of this zone has fallen because the main element underlying the predicted value was its proximity to the campus, but important elements, such as urban quality of life and personal security, have been overlooked. Today, this residential zone made of poor-quality student housing/accommodation is considered a high-risk zone, where no families are willing to live, (Aldeek, 2017).

Degradation of basic infrastructure

Infrastructures in Irbid city are witness evident state of degradation, with the minimal level of services guaranteed only by continuous repairs. This problem is most apparent in the city’s drainage system (Aldeek& Mistarihi, 2020). Since the inception of the city, there was no sewerage network. Then, when the system was put in place, the network did not adhere to the required technical standards. In addition to being used for drainage of rainwater, it is used to drain water produced from human activities also, and the system is unable to support the volumes produced by the increasing population. As a result, health conditions are very poor in many zones in the city.

The city streets are characterized by long regional roads that cross the city center. The master plans of Irbid which developed in the past never predicted the future development, rapid urbanization process, and expansion of the city. These roads, since the inception of the city, served as connections between villages and the town of Irbid. Today, these radial roads crossing the city make a difficult navigation. In a modern city, ring roads are needed to connect radial and urban streets to remove traffic congestion, and make it easier for users to reach their destinations.

Conclusion

Jordan's cities have witnessed since the beginning of the fifties of the last century a large-scale urban transformation, and the city of Irbid had a large share of this movement until it became the second largest city in Jordan in terms of population. The area of the city increased from 3.85 km² in 1950 to 35.74 km² in 2019. Irbid city's population has multiplied by twenty-four, increasing from 23157 in 1952 to 569068 in 2020.

And since the city does not arise out of a vacuum, and its growth is not random, but rather the result of a varied and overlapping set of factors (one of which becomes stronger at one time and weakens at another) the current study has used GIS techniques to integrate attribute data and spatial data with demographic and socio-economic data to reveal the spatio-temporal dynamics of urban growth or expansion and changes in land use. Specifically, this paper explored the city of Irbid in terms of the main land uses over the last seventy years at different stages (1950s, 1970s, 1990s, and beyond 2000s). Then, the study identifies the factors Influencing urban growth, and land use, and their effects on Irbid city. It was found by summarizing the shape of the city's growth, that the city in the 1950s expanded in all directions regularly, from the 1970s, the city expanded to the east direction, northeast, and southwest along a set of main streets. From the 1990s it expanded to the east, northwest, and southwest direction. Finally, from 2010 through 2019 the Irbid city expanded to the south and northwest forming the current shape. It was found that the irregular pattern model is the most applicable model for Irbid city. A set of natural barriers have played a significant role in shaping the city and its surroundings such as Alghafar Valley to the west. The result is consistent with some of the findings in literature such as (Al-kheder et al, 2009) study which pointed out the existence of unplanned urban growth associated with problems of mixed-use, and the absence of a comprehensive master plan organizing land use in Irbid city.

The study proved the effectiveness of GIS and its techniques in producing accurate land use maps and detailed change statistics for Irbid city, which provide an important database may assist in the formulation of policies related to land use and urban growth in the city or in making decisions and developing plans related to the providing the appropriate facilities and infrastructure for sustainable urban planning.

This study recommends an increase in green space in the city as it is an important basic part of public open spaces and common services provided by a city, and ensures that these spaces are easily accessible for all members of the population and distributed equitably within the city. Also, there is a recommendation to move industrial activities, stores, warehouses, and car maintenance outside the urban area to industrial sites designated for these uses, equipped with infrastructure and conforming to the necessary requirements. With the importance of finding maintenance centers for quick service in places close to the beneficiaries. In addition to the need to limit the movement and migration of the population to the city of Irbid, whether this migration is internal or external, by regulating this process. It is illogical to let the increase in the population happen randomly due to the economic and social problems that result from it, so it is necessary to work to achieve a balance between urban growth and the population growth of the city. Moreover, the study recommends studying the possibility of reducing traffic in the city's center via the creation of ring roads to connect radial roads. This would make it possible to reach major destinations without crossing the city.

The study also recommends the need for integration of the use of remote sensing technology and geographic information systems in urban and population studies to build geographical databases for the concerned parties, which include all land uses and the production of urban maps. This is of great importance in terms of accuracy in following up on population growth and urban expansion and its availability on successive dates and for long periods of time, in order to be able to detect and monitor changes in urban areas. Therefore, it significantly contributes to supporting decision-making and taking appropriate and correct planning and organizational measures. This result is consistent with previous research such as Al Kassawneh (2015) study that presented an exploratory study to explain the links between GIS techniques and urban planning, analysis, and organization of the state of public transport and other aspects of infrastructure, which also used the city of Irbid as a case study.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, A. S.; methodology, A. S.; software, A. S.; investigation, A. S.; resources, A. S.; data curation, A. S.; writing—original draft preparation, A.S.; writing—review and editing, A.S. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Ethics Declaration

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of the paper.

Acknowledgments

Deep gratitude is expressed by the author to the Directorate of Studies and Planning staff of the Greater Irbid Municipality for they valuable guidance and also for providing information and facilities to carry out the study.

Funding Statement

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

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