Date on Master's Thesis/Doctoral Dissertation

8-2025

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Degree Name

M.S.

Department

Geographic and Environmental Sciences

Degree Program

Geography (Applied), MS

Committee Chair

Gaughan, Andrea E.

Committee Member

Venkatasubramanian, Kalpana

Committee Member

Lathem, Jennifer L.

Author's Keywords

Land cover change; urban development; remote sensing; semi-structured interviews; rural-urban continuum; mixed methods

Abstract

This study is focused on the land cover change of non-built land cover being transformed into built land cover in two counties in Southern Indiana using mixed methods. Remote sensing was used to identify and quantify land cover change, and interviews were used to understand local perceptions of the physical land cover changes. The study area is situated along the rural-urban continuum with Louisville, Kentucky across the Ohio River. It is important to quantify the amount of land change conversion to built settlement as patterns and rate of urbanization help us to better manage transitions along the rural-urban continuum, but the human perspective is important as well. The quantitative and qualitative methods complement each other to allow for a deeper understanding of the physical land cover changes. The results showed an increase in built land cover with residents who have noticed increased traffic, pollution, and housing due to urban flight.

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