Using Satellite Imagery in ArcGIS to Measure Development, Urbanization, and Environmental Features

Open source data has become a useful tool for both those in the public and private sector. The private sector now more than ever, has the ability to use, adopt, and apply open source data to make decisions prior to large scale investment.

 

This presentation observes how satellite imaging, similar to that of Google maps, can be manipulated, and ultimately measured in ArcGIS to identify patterns of urbanization and environmental features. Whether attempting to understand the percentage of water, green space, and urbanized land in an un-developed plot while performing preliminary due diligence, or tracking the degree of ecological change over a 20 year time period for an environmental organization, the applied tool set within ArcGIS provides a wide range of uses.

 

Learning Objectives:

• the availability of open source satellite imaging

• how it can produce powerful land-use statistics

• understanding the simple breakdown of land-use characteristics on any site