Land Use Dynamics of Chester County, Pennsylvania, from a Satellite Remote Sensing Perspective

Abstract

The potential for using satellite data in regional planning is suggested by analyses of land cover change for a rapidly urbanizing county in Pennsylvania. Land classification maps can be generated from satellite imagery with relative ease on an annual basis, enabling communities to track the loss of their forested and agricultural lands, and the growth of residential areas and urban centers in a timely manner. Additionally, the satellite enables planners to compare spatially and temporally such environmental indicators of urbanization as surface temperature, vegetation fraction and impervious coverage. Estimates of changes in a region's evaporative energy losses, which can be related to stormwater runoff, are also possible if the satellite data is combined with a surface climate model. Urban planners and environmental agencies can use the demonstrated techniques to monitor their region's microclimate ‐ bearing in mind its implications for human comfort and the creation of sustainable living conditions.