Objective: The purpose of this study is to measure urbanization and consequent suppression of native vegetation on the banks of artificial reservoir of Miranda Hydroelectric Power Plant (HPP) in Uberlândia, Minas Gerais (MG), Brazil, resulting from the spread of clandestine and irregular subdivisions. Method/Approach: Quantitative research, with the application of Digital Image Processing (DIP) techniques, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Normalized Difference Built-Up Index (NDBI) on the banks of Miranda HPP. Results and Conclusion: The results confirmed the urbanization of land division (regular or irregular) for housing purposes and recorded the evolution in the loss of areas with vegetative vigor (natural, agricultural or pasture). NDVI established the accuracy as a methodology for environmental analysis, while NDBI demonstrated failures to differentiate the spectral responses of anthropization. Research implications: The urbanization of rural areas through the regularization of consolidated occupations promotes urban sprawl, real estate speculation and high cost for urban management. Originality/value: On the banks of HPPs, urbanization gradually transforms land use in rural areas with land division, which contributes to an increase in environmental impacts. The application of DIP techniques and NDVI and NDBI indexes confirmed their effectiveness as low-cost tools in public management and monitoring of environmental impacts.
Souza et al. (Mon,) studied this question.