The rapid growth of urban population in India is a cause of concern among country’s urban and town planners for efficient urban planning. The drastic growth of urban areas has resulted in sharp land use and land cover changes. In recent years, the significance of spatial data technologies, especially the application of remotely sensed data and geographical information systems (GIS) has been widely used. The present study investigates the urban growth of Tiruchirapalli city, Tamilnadu using IRS satellite data for the years 1989, 1992, 1995, 1998, 2001, 2004, 2007, and 2010.

The dissected volcanic terrains around Limbe, SW Cameroon are frequently affected by small scale but destructive landslides. In this study, a raster-based data driven method involving seed cells is used to build a landslide susceptibility model for the Limbe area. Factors considered to be potential controls of slope failure within this area include slope gradient, rock type, distance from roads, slope orientation, mean annual precipitation, soil type, land cover type, stream density and distance from stream.

This study estimates the effects of an urban growth boundary (UGB) on land development decisions in Knox County, TN, using a heteroscedastic probit model. With combined effects of increased land development within the city boundary and decreased development within the UGB and the neighboring town of Farragut after the implementation of UGB, the UGB of Knox County has been successful in urban revitalization within the city boundary and discouraging urban sprawl.

Traffic noise is becoming a more prominent fixture in urban environments as cities and highways expand to accommodate the growing human population. Birds, in particular, rely heavily on vocal communication and have recently been shown to change the structure of their signals in response to environmental noise. Our objective was to determine the impact of traffic noise on Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) song structure and song timing.

The objective of this study is to produce a subsidence map linked to underground mining influence in a mining region. Ground subsidence represents the most important characteristic of a subsidence basin. However, ground subsidence itself does not carry information on geohazards by means of the impacts on the built-up area. Based on long-term experience and studies carried out, three basic subsidence intervals of varying influence were proposed.

Understanding the growth and changes in urban environments are the most dynamic system on the earth’s surface is critical for urban planning and sustainable management. This study attempts to present a space-borne satellite-based approach to demonstrate the urban change and its relation with land surface temperature (LST) variation in urban areas of Klang valley, Malaysia. For this purpose an object-based nearest neighbour classifier (S-NN) approach was first applied on SPOT 5 data acquired on 2003 and 2010 and subsequently five land cover categories were extracted.

Impervious surfaces are important environmental indicators and are related to many environmental issues, such as water quality, stream health and the urban heat island effect. Therefore, detailed impervious surface information is crucial for urban planning and environment management. To extract impervious surfaces from remote sensing imagery, many algorithms and techniques have been developed. However, there are still debates over the strengths and limitations of linear versus nonlinear algorithms in handling mixed pixels in the urban landscapes.

In this study, three-phase satellite images were used to define rules for the allocation of time and space in construction land resources based on a complex adaptive system and game theory. The decision behavior and rules of government agent, enterprise agent and resident agent in construction land growth were explored. A distinctive and dynamic simulation model of construction land growth was built, which integrated multi-agent, GIS technology and RS data and described the interaction among influencing agents.

The change in the land use pattern due to rapid urbanization adversely affects the hydrological processes in a catchment, leading to a deteriorating water environment. The increase in impervious areas disrupts the natural water balance. Reduced infiltration increases runoff and leads to higher flood peaks and volumes even for short duration low intensity rainfall. Due to their destructive effects, floods can significantly increase the expenses on mitigation efforts. The present study focuses on the Thirusoolam sub watershed, an urban watershed in Chennai.

The status of urban forests and other green open spaces has always been ambiguous within the context of rural-urban peripheries. On one hand, most European countries have introduced protected green zones around cities to contain their sprawl and to provide urban dwellers recreational space and sanitation services since the early days of city planning policies. On the other hand, the ecosystems of green open areas remain under high pressure due to high demand for suburban land, causing issues ranging from illegal dumping to ecosystem fragmentation and forest loss.

BACKGROUND: Dramatic disparities in a range of health outcomes persist in Alameda County, California. Age-standardised mortality rates range from 300 to 1300 deaths per 100 000 across census tracts in this county, with life expectancies lagging by 10 years in the most disadvantaged census tracts. Finding factors at the community level that affect neighbourhood health levels is a key step towards addressing these inequalities. Walking to work may be one of these factors, and is something that local policy makers could effectively act upon through city planning and maintenance initiatives.