ABSTRACT

Urbanization, the physical growth of urban areas, and associated land use and land cover change (LUCC) is normally driven by a combination of socioeconomic development and political considerations. In turn, urbanization and LUCC may have numerous direct and indirect impacts on micro-and macro-level climatology, hydrology, and environmental ecology, some of which can be quite destructive, such as pollution and deforestation. The ultimate impact of urbanization will affect urban dwellers through climate change and constraints of the varying hydrological cycle. Understanding the compelling and encompassing causes and consequences of urbanization-related LUCC policies requires using new remote sensing satellite technologies.