Dynamics of Built-Up Areas and Challenges of Planning and Development of Urban Zone of Greater Lomé in Togo, West Africa

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors       The aim of this study is to understand the spatio-temporal changes in the dynamics of built-up areas in Greater Lomé. The methodology used is based on the analysis of Landsat images from the years 2007, 2012, 2016 and 2020 coupled with direct field observations and literature review. This is an important subject.       Some comments and suggestions are as follows:

 

1. The image quality of Figures 2, 3 is low.
2. Photo 3 is cited in the text, but this image is not seen. Furthermore, for consistency, the last two images should be titled starting with "Figure 5" and "Figure 6".
3. Reference 52 is incomplete (Line 516).
4. For uniformity, grid labels of Figure 1 should also be in latitude and longitude format.
5. In the discussion section, the statements about that direct field observations should be put in the results section. 
6. Most importantly, The methods and analytical processes used in this paper are relatively common, please explain the main novelty.  Please introduce the relevant research progress and main shortcomings in the introduction, and point out the need for the study.  In the discussion section, Please mainly talk about the main points/findings compared with the similar literature, the limitations in data or methods, and implications for future research and application.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

Minor editing of English language required.

Author Response

Please see attached file

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Dear authors and editors. 

I got acquainted with the manuscript of the scientific article "Dynamics of built-up areas and challenges of planning and development of urban zone of Greater Lome in Togo, West Africa". The article is devoted to an actual topic. The article corresponds to the subject of the scientific journal. 

There are a number of comments. 

1. Fig.1. Show the location of the study area on the map of Africa. 

2. Use geographic (degree) coordinate systems.

3. Improve the quality of all illustrations. With the quality of the images, which is impossible to review them. 

4. Why are the legends on the geographical maps (Figure 2, 3) and Tables 2, 5 not the same? How legends were obtained on geographical maps. Explain this in the methodology section. 

5. Specify the limitations of the study.

6. Indicate the prospects for further research. 

7. In the Discussion section, compare the data you received with other regions of the world/Africa. 

8. Make References according to the rules of the scientific journal.

Author Response

Please see attached file

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The authors have attempted to understand the spatio-temporal changes in the dynamics of built-up areas in Greater Lomé. The methodology used is based on the analysis of Landsat images from the years 2007, 2012, 2016 and 2020 coupled with direct field observations and literature review. Although the authors have focus on a case area where is seldom investigated, the overall manuscript is of limited innovation both in the methodology and the analysis.

Here are some comments:

1.     The Introduction section should be re-organized, the related background and significance of this research are challenging to understand. The previous studies about the built-up dynamics analysis and the detection method are absent in the literature review.

2.     The specific aims need to be added in the Introduction.

3.     What are the main contribution of this manuscript? As the method used is common which have been applied in many other studies.

4.     The discussion is too general. It should be further discussed based on the results and comparison should be made with other familiar studies.

5.     Scientific and targeted suggestion should be better provided in the discussion.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

Moderate editing of English language required.

Author Response

Please see attached file

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The text has an abundance of redundant punctuation and spaces, such as line 80, and line 124. In addition, citation labeling must remain uniform throughout. The citation annotation on line 99 is not in line with the others.

 

It is important to examine the whole article in detail and make the required adjustments gradually.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

None

Author Response

The Authors would like to thank the Reviewer for his/her comments which help in improving this paper. The redundant punctation and spaces have been removed

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

NO

Comments on the Quality of English Language

NO

Author Response

The authors would like to thank the Reviewer 3 for the time spent in improving this paper