Rural Sprawl and Land use Transformation The Case of Periurban Settlements in Hamadan (Iran)

The most important impacts of rural sprawl can be pursued in land use changes. Such a phenomenon has led to degradation and loss of agricultural lands and Scattered and detached growth of non-agricultural constructions; So that over time the land available for agricultural and horticultural activities in rural areas has reduced immensely. This article tries to identify and analyze the consequences of rural sprawl and intensity of land use changes in periurban area of Hamadan during 1995-2015.The Area includes 24 rural settlements within 10km. radius of the City, each with an average population of 2800. The research results show due to sprawl, a total of 70% of transformation in rural land uses were related to irrigated and garden lands.