Determining Exurbia: Is It Really Its Own Entity or Merely An Extension of Americas Growing Suburbia
Abstract
The purpose for studying exurbanization is to evaluate the spatial spread of metropolitan areas into their immediate hinterlands through remote sensing satellite imagery. This includes addressing scholar's inability to define exurbia, along with plausible reasons people move into exurbia. In addition, determination will include consideration on the possibility that exurbia has become an extension of America's growing and increasingly independent suburbia or; recognize that exurbia exists, but within various geographic locations. In return to the former, an analytical approach was taken to investigate scholar's inability to provide a definition to this phenomena; as well as inconsistent results on the push and pull factors behind people's desire to move further outward. Therefore, the need for remote sensing, GIS analysis that includes statistical implementation is necessary to determine the potential location of exurban developments. This includes three study areas, which are St. Louis, Twin Cities and Los Angeles. Each city were evaluated through 1990 and 2000 census data information and satellite imagery. The level of impervious verses non-impervious land area for selected census tracts were determined, as the main findings indicate a substantial increase of urban sprawl within St. Louis and Twin Cities. As for Los Angeles, this area maintained a level of compact urban development from 1990 and 2000 census tract data, satellite imagery and geospatial analysis. These findings indicate two different results: (1) Los Angeles has a high probability that exurbia is an extension to suburbia; (2) St. Louis and Twin Cities experienced substantial increase of urban sprawl that suggests the possibility of continued exurban existence.
Advisor
Fei Yuan
Committee Member
Jose Lopez
Committee Member
Brenda Kayzar
Date of Degree
2011
Language
english
Document Type
Thesis
Degree
Master of Science (MS)
College
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Recommended Citation
Green, T. A. (2011). Determining Exurbia: Is It Really Its Own Entity or Merely An Extension of Americas Growing Suburbia [Master’s thesis, Minnesota State University, Mankato]. Cornerstone: A Collection of Scholarly and Creative Works for Minnesota State University, Mankato. https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/etds/134/
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