Influence of Urbanisation on Landforms/Landscape Changes in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria

The study examined the influence of urbanization on landforms/landscape Changes in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. The study made use of Landsat imagery of 1990, 2000, 2010 and 2020 to determine the rate of urbanization and digital elevation model of 2000 and 2020 to discover the geomorphological changes over time in the study area. Descriptive statistics were used for data analysis. Findings reveal that built up area increased from 194.24 km² in 1990 to 407.19 km² in 2020 of the total study area suggesting 109.62% increase in the spatial extent of the built area, The landforms evolution between 2000 and 2020 in Benin City observed that the valley covered a spatial extent of 487.16 sq km (19.21%), flat surfaces/middle slope covered 703.42 sq km (27.74%), upper slope covered 1016.66 sq km (40.09%) and peak/hill covered 328.49 sq km (12.95%). In the year 2020, the landform evolution revealed valley covering 384.62 sq km (15.10%), flat surfaces/middle slopes covering 1366.9 sq km (53.66%) and peak/hill covered 795.62 sq km (31.24%). The study concluded that the landuse and land cover change over time has affected the evolution of landforms pattern in Benin City; and in most areas, erosion has deeply taken place which has reduced the heights of some parts of the topography. It is recommended that the urban growth or sprawl evidently demonstrated in Benin City should be controlled under the supervision of the Town Planning Offices at the State level and Local Government Areas levels to ensure that the environment is prevented against unwanted environmental hazards.