Urban Change Detection Mapping Using Landsat Digital Data

Abstract Land use change is inevitable and is particularly characteristic of the urban fringe. The accurate inventory and mapping of change may be accomplished in various ways including computer-assisted analysis of remotely sensed imagery, such as Landsat, as well as visual photointerpretation. Digital change detection is of particular interest for systematic collection of data over large areas. Various change detection algorithms include image differencing, image ratioing, comparison of separately derived classifications for the successive dates, comparison of preprocessed imagery, and change vector analysis. These methods are discussed and several are applied to the detection of suburban land use change at the urban fringe, although there are other types of change of equal importance to which the change detection algorithms can be applied.