Tracing the impact of Bangalore's urbanisation on its wetlands with a case study of Sampangi lake.

Abstract

Urbanisation is an inevitable phenomenon introducing drastic transitions in the natural landscape. As the demography is altered, it directly and indirectly impairs the city’s natural resources inclusive of the water-bodies. The present research envisages the makeover of Bangalore and its wetlands due to inadvertent urbanisation. In 1537, when the city was founded, significant prominence was given to water-bodies during the planning process. However, the city currently strikes a sorry note, as its evolution into a metropolitan has triggered rampant new land-uses. This revolution, triggered by various government initiatives, privatisation and encroachments led to significant deterioration in the waterbodies, both quantitatively and qualitatively. The current study closely follows Bangalore’s urbanisation pattern from 1537AD and enlists the determinants that brought about the loss of its several wetlands. The research concludes with the analysis of the transformation pattern for Sampangi Lake with the aid of historical and current land-use maps, till its disappearance in the current scenario.