Socioeconomic correlates and environmental impacts of urban development in a central Indiana landscape

Potential driving forces and environmental impacts of urban and suburban development of rural lands were investigated in a 44-county study region located in the central portion of the state of Indiana. Land-cover dynamics were quantified through classification and change detection analysis of Landsat satellite imagery acquired in the early 1990s and in 1999-2000. Satellite-based measurements of land-cover change were found to be significantly related to socioeconomic processes, including population change, financial investment in the built environment, and the extent of preexisting developed land cover. The results indicate that efficiency in per capita use of developed land decreased over the temporal scope of the study. Changes in per capita developed land cover were found to be significantly related to the total amount of growth that occurred, suggesting that areas that experienced more growth were less efficient consumers of rural land. The results also show that changing spatial structures of land-cover configuration resulted in varying degrees of loss of different rural land-cover types, increased fragmentation of agricultural lands, and increased sensible heat exchange between surface and atmosphere.