The availability of remote sensing satellite data at various spatial, temporal and spectral resolutions provides enormous opportunity to map the urban sprawl. When coupled with Geographic Information System (GIS) it is possible to evaluate, analyse and integrate large data. We need to understand and quantify the urban sprawl on spatial and temporal scales which forms a basis for better planning and sustainable management of cities and towns. The city of Ranchi has witnessed unprecedented urban growth after assuming the status of a capital of Jharkhand state, India in 2000. The increasing population has put pressure on the natural resources of the city. The urban growth has been in a haphazard manner at the cost of agricultural lands, forest land and open green spaces such as park, garden and recreational forestry. The present study analysed the urban sprawl in Ranchi city, using Landsat data from 1976, 2002 and 2015. The study revealed that the annual urban growth rate was 1.76 ha/yr over the period from 1976 to 2002 whereas the annual growth rate was 2 ha/yr over the period from 2002 to 2015. The northern side of the city has witnessed more expansion in 2002 when compared with the growth in 1976. Increase in urban density was seen at the distances of 3, 4,5,6,7 and 8km between 1976 and 2015 and the rate was higher than 25%.The driving factors of the development were infrastructure, educational and business expansion. Thus, spatial analyses of urban sprawl are a prerequisite for curbing the unplanned urban growth and ensure sustainable living.

Urban population growth and urbanization with its impact on urban planning require continuous research in order to address the challenges posed by transportation requirements. Identifying transportation capacity (road and railways) is an important task that can identify whether the network is capable of sustaining the present volume of traffic and whether it can handle the future intended traffic flow. A new city, XiongAn, will be built in the coming years in order to relieve the pressure of population on Beijing and disperse the economic growth, business activity, and opportunities across the country. The focus of this research is to generate a transportation model between Beijing and XiongAn, in order to increase connection and connectivity, reduce travel time, and increase transfer capacity between the two hubs (Beijing-XiongAn). The existing transportation network between two cities is analyzed and a network which can handle future demand has been proposed. The first stage has been the investigation of a variety of options using geographic information system (GIS). Planning and implementing a mass transit system requires choosing among options such as an existing intercity railway line, a new high-speed railway line, and/or motorway options. In the second phase of our analysis, we assess these options relative to multiple criteria, using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). The options were evaluated using various criteria responsible for selection of alternative; it is found that travel time, cost of travel, safety, reliability, accessibility, and environment are key criteria for selecting the best alternative. The GIS and multicriteria analysis suggested that the best option is to build a new high speed railway line.