Introduction: Cities with their physical development are the major causes of land use and land cover changes which lead to many problems such as loss of agricultural land, loss of green space, water pollution, soil erosion and declining of environment quality. The main reason for physical development of cities is population growth in urban areas which enables the physical expansion of the cities in geographical space. Tabriz, as the center of East Azerbaijan Province, has experienced considerable changes in recent decades due to increasing population in the surrounding lands and rural communities located in regions of influence sphere.