Changes In Quality of Living Environment Due to Landuse Transformation in Rural Areas of Ahmedabad City, India

Institute of Architecture and Planning, Nirma University, SG Highway. Ahmedabad, India

^* Corresponding author: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Abstract

The idea of a living environment may sound abstract, but it becomes visible in the way people live day to day—the quality of their housing, the work they do, their openness to modern practices, and the steady efforts they make to improve their standard of living. In this study, these aspects were examined through field research carried out in 23 villages situated in the peri-urban belt of Ahmedabad, India. Variables included dwelling type and density, fuels for domestic use, electricity, access to water, sanitation, transport, and household hygiene. To interpret the findings, the Driver–Pressure–State–Impact–Response (DPSIR) framework was applied, which has been increasingly used in environmental and urban studies since 2020 (Benevolo & Romano, 2021; Rosado, 2024). The results show that urban growth and in-migration are major drivers, creating pressures on land, services, and infrastructure, which alter the state of settlements into congested, poorly serviced neighbourhoods. This produces impacts including waste build- up, ecological stress, and declining health, while responses from governance remain partial. These findings resonate with emerging work on peri-urban transformation and sustainable infrastructure in India (Kundu, 2021; UN-Habitat, 2022; World Bank, 2023; Singh & Sharma, 2024).