Using Landsat Imagery and Census Data for Urban Population Density Modeling in Port-au-Prince, Haiti

Abstract

This research uses the most recent (2003) census data and a Landsat ETM+ image to build a population estimation model for Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The purpose of the study is to establish the linkage of population density with remotely sensed surface reflectance signals of an urban area, and use that to estimate population when census data are not available in a timely fashion. The research begins with deriving subpixel vegetation-impervious surface-soil (VIS) fractions derived from the Landsat ETM+ multispectral bands, and then uses the geographically weighted regression (GWR) model to examine how the variation of population density can be explained by the VIS variables and their derivatives. With comparison to the ordinary least square (OLS) model, the GWR model accounts for spatial non-stationarity in the relationship between population patterns and land characteristics in the study area. The study reveals that three VIS variables are significant in explaining population density: the mean value of houses fraction image, the mean value of vegetation fraction image, and the standard deviation of vegetation fraction image.