Index Mapping of Land Capability for Residential Land Use at Abakaliki Area, South East Nigeria
Augustine Akunne Onunkwo
Department of Geology, Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria.
Uche Felix Ikechukwu *
Department of Building, Imo State University, Owerri, Nigeria.
Eucharia Chika Enebe
Department of Building, Enugu State University of Science and Technology, Nigeria.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The Search for residential land use option at Abakaliki area in Ebonyi state, Nigeria was carried out using Geographic Information System (GIS). Some laboratory experiments were incorporated to delineate some complementary information for the study. Ten determinants as capability factors were selected to develop thematic maps for over-lay analysis using software incorporated in Geographic Information System (GIS). The percentage influences of these determinants were also considered to facilitate the interpretation of the results. An Arch view model builder was employed in the over-lay analysis. The result produced the composite map where the residential land use zones were isolated, towards sustainable land use for residential purposes in the area. The residential land use option occurred at the NE-Eastern zone in the North west, South west and South east locations of the study area respectively.
Keywords: Geographic information system, residential option, thematic map, composite map and overlay