The objective of this study was to develop a digital procedure to measure the amount of urban change that has occurred in an area since the publication of its corresponding 1:24,000-scale topographic map. Traditional change detection techniques are dependent upon the visual comparison of high-altitude aerial photographs or, more recently, satellite image data to a corresponding map. Analytical change detection techniques typically involve the digital comparison of satellite images to one another. As a result of this investigation, a new technique has been developed that analytically compares the most recently published map to a corresponding digital satellite image. Scanned cartographic and satellite image data are combined in a single file with a structural component derived from the satellite image. This investigation determined that with this combination of data the spectral characteristics of urban change are predictable. A supervised classification was used to detect and delimit urban change. Although it was not intended to identify the specific nature of any change, this procedure does provide a means of differentiating between areas that have or have not experienced urbanization to determine appropriate map revision strategies.
Additional publication details
Automated urban change detection using scanned cartographic and satellite image data