Assessing urban growth in Ghana using machine learning and intensity analysis: A case study of the New Juaben Municipality

•The ML algorithm produced a consistent and coherent map from the Landsat images considering the extreme land cover present in the data.•The Built-up class expanded significantly around the Central Business District (CBD) and increased through the study period•The confusion between Agriculture and Forest during classification process was due to the high intra-class variability.•The annual land use change intensity for 1985–1991 and 2002–2015 were all greater than the Uniform Intensity (UI). Population growth coupled with economic, housing and environmental factors have significantly contributed into accelerated land use change in the New Juaben Municipality of Ghana. These factors have caused destruction of natural habitat and increased natural hazards such as flooding in the Municipality. Monitoring land use/land cover change is essential in respect to the dynamics of both human and natural factors that affect the biophysical and biochemical properties of the land surface. This research investigates the transitions among the major land use/land cover categories in the Municipality as a highly populated urban region that is facing some environmental challenges such as deforestation and degradation of the environment. Random Forest was adopted for the classification of 1985, 1991, 2002 and 2015 land cover maps while the analysis of the dynamics was conducted using intensity analysis. The unique contribution of this article is the combine usage of machine learning algorithm and intensity analysis to assess the changes in land use/land cover. The results showed that 1985–1991 and 2002–2015 periods experience fast change and the land use transformation has been accelerating over the whole period. The major changes were caused by the Built-up and Agricultural activities constituting 21.24 % and 13.19 % respectively in the category level. It is recommended that, authorities should consider several structural transformation measures within Ghana, including inter-sectoral land use harmonization policies (e.g. the Land Use and Spatial Planning Act 2016), land use planning and legal reforms to help address the underlying drivers of urban led deforestation.