Monitoring the urbanization of the Nile Delta, Egypt

Comparisons of processed and coregistered digital mosaics of LANDSAT MSS an d TM scenes, acquired over the Nile Delta in 1972, 1984, and 1990, indicate that urban growth is endangering Egypt's agricultural productivity. Urban areas occupied a minimum of 3.6%, 4.7%, and 5.7% of the Nile Delta in 1972, 1984, and 1990, respectively, an increase of 58% in 18 years. Approximatel y half of this increase occurred between 1984 and 1990. If this trend conti nues, Egypt could lose 12% of its total agricultural area to urbanization b y 2010. Despite the fact that growth is pronounced around the cities, it is the growth around the thousands of small villages that poses the largest t hreat to the agricultural productivity of the Nile Delta. The cumulative gr owth rate for the cities and large villages between 1972 acid 1990 is 37%, and that for the small villages is 77% for the same time period.