Modeling of land use land cover change : a case in Austin, Texas

Abstract

Land use land cover changes are the result of various interactions among social, economic, and environmental systems. The modeling of these changes will provide valuable information on land development mechanisms to help decision making process. This study analyzes the relationship between land use/land cover change and highway development in the Austin, TX area. First, historical data on highway constructions in the Austin area are collected and visualized in GIS. Next, land use/land cover maps are derived from classifying LandSat images. A binary logit model is then formulated, quantifying the impacts of transportation accessibility and neighborhoods on the likelihood of land use/land cover change. The analysis methods developed in this study can be extended to explore long term regional growth implications of such transportation initiatives as the Trans-Texas Corridor (TTC).