Settlement morphology, inclusive densification, and Sol Plaatje's spatial justice: NDBI clustering pedagogy for equitable urban growth in South African arid geographies
Résumé
Assessing settlement morphology in environmentally constrained arid regions requires transcending conventional land-cover mapping by integrating remotely sensed built-up expansion with land tenure, infrastructure accessibility, and spatial justice metrics; accordingly, this study advances geospatial science by developing a replicable Composite Spatial Justice Index (CSJI) that transforms NDBI-based settlement analysis from a descriptive urban growth assessment into a quantitative framework for measuring and mapping tenure-based inequity, environmental vulnerability, and inclusive densification to support evidence-based planning in historically segregated landscapes. The settlement morphology and densification patterns is investigated in the Northern Cape Province from 2004 to 2024 of spatio-temporal analysis of built-up expansion, leveraging Normalized Difference Built-up Index (NDBI) spatial clustering as an analytical technique and pedagogical framework for inclusive urbanization. The research problem stems from the paradox of rapid urbanization and environmental degradation in arid landscapes, where uneven development trajectories perpetuate spatial injustice and ecological vulnerability. Employing a multi-scalar GIS methodology integrating Landsat-derived NDBI time-series, Global Moran's I Evaluation techniques, the results reveal that 78% of built-up growth occurs within 5 km of existing mining-transport corridors, while communal tenure areas experience degradation densities 4.8 times higher than freehold zones (66.9 km 2 /100 km 2 vs. 32.9 km 2 /100 km 2 ). Also, NDBI spatial clustering is a prolific pedagogical instrument for infrastructure network functioning in development and as vectors of exclusion. Operationalizing Solomon Plaatje's Spatial Justice Philosophy through GIS-based NDBI clustering, this study depicts infrastructure corridors as areas of unequal densification, as communal lands degraded 4.8 times more than freehold zones, thus transforming his critiques into a measurable framework for equitable urban growth in the study area. The study advocates evidence-based densification corridors, decolonized planning pedagogies, and strategic infrastructure redirection for democratizing urban growth in arid geographies.
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