Utilizing open source GIS for Sustainable Urban Development

India is emerging as a major influence of socioeconomic change connecting diverse cultures, people with improved mobility across geographic boundaries. Rapid urbanizations owing to rural to urban migration have made the existing infrastructure and resources inadequate. A case study on Varanasi city has been conducted to demonstrate the urban growth pattern for the years 2000, 2013 and 2014. Satellite imagery of Cartosat-1 (2.5m) and LISS-IV (5m) is used to create the high-resolution multi-spectral data through image processing techniques. In the year 2000, the urban built-up covered an area of 42.75 sq km to 109.03 sq km and the cultivated land area has decreased by 16%. Every year cultivated land decreases for mounting urban sprawl with another 2% decrease in the year 2014 and a 9% increase in built-up. This paper demonstrates the utilization of open source GIS to generate results.