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Urbanization in Rural Towns: A Case Study of West Columbia, Texas

Student(s):Kashton McCracken
Grade Level:Secondary School (grades 9-12, ages 14-18)
GLOBE Educator(s):Cassie Soeffing
Contributors:Dr. Russanne Low, SME, IGES. Peder Nelson, SME, OSU. Andrew Clark, SME, IGES. Dr. Erika Podest, SME, NASA JPL
Report Type(s):International Virtual Science Symposium Report, Mission Mosquito Report
Protocols:Land Cover Classification, Earth As a System, Mosquitoes
Presentation Video: View Video
Presentation Poster: View Document
Language(s):English
Date Submitted:01/18/2024
Many rural towns across the country, including my hometown of West Columbia, Texas, are slowly facing the oncoming threat of urbanization. Thousands of acres, once used to ranch cattle, are being sold to housing developments to build multi-hundred-million-dollar neighborhoods. My study moved to investigate the capabilities of land cover tools in monitoring urbanization in rural communities. The area of interest to be monitored was a ranch home built in 1952 that is adjacent to a river and a highway. Satellite imagery was used to monitor changes in physical geography, urbanization, and the amount of fauna around the area of interest. Satellite imagery for this location was not available before 1984, so interviews with one of the original residents of the home were conducted. The data was organized ascending chronologically, and showed that as time progressed, satellite imagery showed the changes in the landscape and the effects that urbanization had on the area, such as the building of a four-lane highway instead of the previous two lane. Satellite images were not completely up to date, however, personal testimony revealed that the home that was still seen in the satellite imagery was recently bulldozed. The conclusion of the study revealed that satellite imagery is a great tool when recognizing urbanization in rural communities, but it is not completely accurate.



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