| dc.description.abstract | North Kaputei is a rapidly changing area in Kitengela location of Kajiado district.
Located about 30kms southeast of Nairobi city, the area has experienced a lot of physical
growth, which can be attributed to its close proximity to the capital city of Nairobi. Its
land use development is characterized by the extensive residential and commercial
activities in contrast to the rural characteristic which it had exhibited. The land use
activities have taken place in a comparatively high rate over the last twenty years thus
overshadowing the administrative and planning efforts of the area.
This study was set out to examine the nature and trend of land use changes in North
Kaputei focusing on the socio-economic factors influencing land use changes such as ..
rampant subdivision, cheap housing, low land values and other factors with their
subsequent impacts were also examined.
The study's objectives were therefore to: examine the nature and trend of land use
changes in North Kaputei over the past twenty years; Examine the range of data needed
to monitor land use changes; examine the current methods and technologies for geo-data
gathering, analysis and information management and assess their deficiencies in the study
area; and finally to investigate the potential role of applying GIS and RS techniques in
geo-data acquisition, processing, analysis and information management for effective land
use management as compared to the existing conventional methods in the area.
The study hypothesized that lack of up-to-date, reliable and readily available land related
data and information management contribute to haphazard land use development with the
current methods of gathering and analyzing land use changes being inefficient and
inadequate for monitoring and managing land use changes in North Kaputei.
The methodology adopted involved the visual digital interpretation of land use according
to the land use classification from satellite images for the year 1987, 1995 and 2000.
Subsequently land use maps were crossed with each other to identify and quantify the
pattern of land use changes using GIS tool. T4~ study also employed primary and
secondary methods of data collection for qualitative and quantitative data. | en |
