1978 MIRIS vs. 1993 Landsat

Urban Areas

Agricultural

Forest Regions

Water

Wetlands

Herbaceous/Shrub

Our purpose was to complete a land cover change analysis that concentrated on the loss of agricultural lands to urban development. First we ran an unsupervised classification of a 1993 Landsat scene of the project area (in this case Kent County). The computer groups pixels together in classes based on their spectral reflectance, their brightness values. By studying those classes we were able to discern what land cover they represent. We then compared our classified image to a past land map. In this case we used the MIRIS Land Use/Cover map completed by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. By using the past land cover, not only can we visually assess where the development is occuring, but we can calculate statistics that also show the change.

Percentage of each Land Cover in Kent County

   1978

     1993

The analysis can be done from various scales ranging from a county to a township. The data can also be used in conjunction with economic and population statisitics to show why and where development is occurring and to predict where it might lead to in future development trends.