Urban Growth Report

SPATIOTEMPORAL EXPLORATION OF URBAN AREA EXPANSION AND DEFORESTATION IN NORTHEAST DISTRICT OF FLORIDA

The US population growth over the last centuries caused substantial LULC change, which drove fast urbanization by transforming vegetation, waterbodies, and barren ground into impervious surfaces like residential properties, roads, infrastructure, etc. Through the evaluation of LULC, it depicts the information of the change in land use, which is vital to ensuring a sustainable living environment. This study aims to explore the spatiotemporal change in urban area and vegetation coverage over the period between 2000 and 2022 using maximum likelihood classification of satellite imagery with moderate spatial resolution as it covers a larger area, the northeast district of Florida, comprised of 17 counties. The study demonstrated that vegetation was the most affected LULC class, dropping from 51.39%, 51.09%, and 45.82% of total areas in 2000, 2014, and 2022, respectively. Urban areas gradually increased over time, occupying 9.90%, 16.44%, and 22.04% of total areas in 2000, 2014, and 2022, respectively. The most LULC class transition was found between vegetation and vegetation, at 10839 sq. km. Nassau County was found at the bottom in urban growth rate and deforestation rate with -3.47 and -4.96, respectively, whereas Dubal County was at the top among 17 counties in terms of urban growth rate with 32.50, and Madison County was experiencing extreme vegetation loss with a deforestation rate of 24.74 over the last 22 years. There was a positive correlation between urban growth rate and deforestation rate, though it was weak as the “R” value was 0.30. So, it should be a matter of concern for policymakers to make a balance between urban expansion and vegetation loss, otherwise it can bring more natural disasters in near future i.e., increase in Land surface temperature, droughts etc.