Tbilisi Through Time

Abstract

Ancient cities have witnessed many changes throughout their long history. These changes have different underlying causes in different regions of the world. This paper discusses the urban sprawl of Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, mainly from the beginning of the 19th century to 2020. Through analysis of historical materials, city plans, and old maps, layers of Tbilisi urban sprawl were created using ArcMap 10.8. Images of Landsat 5 TM and Landsat 8 OLI have been used to assess changes over the last 30 years. We compared the obtained data with the census data conducted during the study period, reconstructed the current social, political, and economic situation using historical sources, and finally determined in which period the urban expansion took place, the reasons for it, and how this expansion affected the natural and social environments of the city.