The current study aimed to identify the effect of urban expansion on the agricultural lands in the District of Madaba Center during the period of 1984-2022 as well as the effect of the natural (topographical) and human (population growth) factors on defining the directions of urban growth and predicting the future of the agricultural and urban areas under population growth by using the Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing tools (ENVI). The study relied on the images obtained from Landsat Satellites (5,8 and 9) through the USGS website for the years 1984, 1994, 2005, 2014, and 2022; this was in addition the aerial photographs that were obtained from Google Earth Pro application, the maps, and the descriptive data that benefit the study subject.
The study findings of urban expansion on the agricultural lands indicated an increase in the built-up areas with a percentage of 214.2% during the study period as well as a decrease in agricultural lands with a percentage of 31.17%. Moreover, the study revealed a variation in the percentages of spatial distribution concerning the types of land use among the district’s zones during the same period as a result of the natural and human conditions within each zone. Furthermore, the findings indicated that urban growth in the District of Madaba Center is moving from the southwest towards the northeast, influenced by the natural and human factors.