Urbanization has significantly impacted the environment and urban life, with urban green spaces playing a crucial role in enhancing sustainability and publ

Urbanization in developing countries is rapidly increasing, with populations projected to reach 5.5 billion by 2050. This growth presents challenges, such as land resource pressure, environmental degradation, unsustainable transportation, and disorderly urban land development. Transit-oriented development (TOD) and sustainable urban transit systems such as the Delhi Metro are crucial for addressing urban design, economic competitiveness, and quality of life by improving accessibility and reducing private vehicle reliance. This study investigated changes in land use and land cover (LULC) in buffer zones around the Delhi Metro lines using satellite imagery from 1997, 2006, 2011, and 2019. The findings revealed significant shifts from open land and vegetation to built-up areas, driven by increased real estate activity and property values near metro stations. This study highlights the importance of integrating transportation infrastructure with urban planning for sustainable development, utilizing green infrastructure to mitigate environmental impacts, and implementing water-sensitive urban designs and TOD strategies to improve resilience.

Rapid urbanisation and increasing heat extremes pose significant challenges for megacities in the Global South. This study develops a configuration-sensitive assessment of blue-green space (BGS) cooling in Delhi, a Global South megacity facing intensified heat. Using satellite imagery and statistical modelling, we quantify how land cover and patch structure regulate land surface temperature (LST). Satellite imagery was used to derive LST, and six land-cover classes were mapped using supervised classification. Spectral indices and proximity metrics were calculated, land-cover patches were delineated, and their thermal behaviour was analysed using patch-level LST statistics. Delhi exhibits a heterogeneous urban heat island (UHI) surface, with LST spanning 19.8–38.6 °C and built-up land dominating (743.50 km²), while BGS remains limited and fragmented. Warming scaled almost linearly with built-up patch size (R² = 0.98), with mean LST rising from 22.6 °C (500,000 m²). Cooling strengthened with BGS spatial dominance as dense vegetation declined from 23.8 to 22.1 °C (R² = 0.98), sparse vegetation from 24.3 to 22.2 °C, and water bodies from 21.4 to 18.8 °C (R² = 0.89) across increasing size classes. Correlations identified impervious surfaces as primary warming controls, while moisture and vegetation were cooling indicators. Random Forest-SHAP confirmed modified bare soil index (MBSI) and normalised difference built-up index (NDBI) as dominant predictors, with cooling from modified normalised difference water index (MNDWI) and comparatively conditional effects of normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI). Impervious and exposed surfaces govern Delhi’s thermal baseline, while BGS acts as a modifier whose benefits emerge when patches are large, connected, and integrated. These findings support shifting from area-based greening targets to morphology-based planning that protects connected blue-green corridors.