Final published version
Licence: CC BY: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Three-fold urban expansion in Saudi Arabia from 1992 to 2013 observed using calibrated DMSP-OLS night-time lights imagery
AU - Alahmadi, Mohammed
AU - Atkinson, Peter M.
PY - 2019/9/28
Y1 - 2019/9/28
N2 - Although Saudi Arabia has experienced very high rates of urbanization, little interest has been given to investigating national and provincial trends in urbanization in space and time. Night-time lights satellite sensor data are considered as a suitable source of imagery for mapping urban areas across large regions. This study uses night-time lights data to analyze the spatial and temporal patterns and dynamics of urban growth in Saudi Arabia between 1992 and 2013 at the national and provincial levels. A hybrid method was applied to ensure the continuity and consistency of the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) Operational Line-Scan System (OLS) of stable night-time (SNT) data through time. As a result of spatial variation in the character of urban areas across Saudi Arabia, different thresholds were used to derive urban areas from the imagery. The extracted urban morphology was assessed using socio-economic data and finer resolution imagery, and accuracy assessment revealed excellent agreement. Based on the rigorous stepwise calibration analysis undertaken here, urban areas in Saudi Arabia were found to have increased three-fold between 1992 and 2013, with most of the increase concentrated in three provinces (Makkah, Riyadh and Eastern). In addition, significant variation was observed in urbanization at the provincial level. The observed high rates of urban growth are aligned with the prosperity and socio-economic development of Saudi Arabia over the last 40 years. The research shows that DMSP-OLS SNT data can provide a valuable source of information for mapping the space'time dynamics of urban growth across very large areas. Such data are required by urban and regional planners, as well as policy makers, for characterizing urban growth patterns, interpreting the drivers of such dynamics and for forecasting future growth, as well as achieving sustainable development management. © 2019 by the authors.
AB - Although Saudi Arabia has experienced very high rates of urbanization, little interest has been given to investigating national and provincial trends in urbanization in space and time. Night-time lights satellite sensor data are considered as a suitable source of imagery for mapping urban areas across large regions. This study uses night-time lights data to analyze the spatial and temporal patterns and dynamics of urban growth in Saudi Arabia between 1992 and 2013 at the national and provincial levels. A hybrid method was applied to ensure the continuity and consistency of the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) Operational Line-Scan System (OLS) of stable night-time (SNT) data through time. As a result of spatial variation in the character of urban areas across Saudi Arabia, different thresholds were used to derive urban areas from the imagery. The extracted urban morphology was assessed using socio-economic data and finer resolution imagery, and accuracy assessment revealed excellent agreement. Based on the rigorous stepwise calibration analysis undertaken here, urban areas in Saudi Arabia were found to have increased three-fold between 1992 and 2013, with most of the increase concentrated in three provinces (Makkah, Riyadh and Eastern). In addition, significant variation was observed in urbanization at the provincial level. The observed high rates of urban growth are aligned with the prosperity and socio-economic development of Saudi Arabia over the last 40 years. The research shows that DMSP-OLS SNT data can provide a valuable source of information for mapping the space'time dynamics of urban growth across very large areas. Such data are required by urban and regional planners, as well as policy makers, for characterizing urban growth patterns, interpreting the drivers of such dynamics and for forecasting future growth, as well as achieving sustainable development management. © 2019 by the authors.
KW - DMSP-OLS SNT
KW - Night-time
KW - Saudi Arabia
KW - Urban expansion
KW - Dynamics
KW - Economic and social effects
KW - Mapping
KW - Planning
KW - Satellite imagery
KW - Defense Meteorological Satellite Programs
KW - Dmsp-ols
KW - Night time
KW - Socio-economic development
KW - Spatial and temporal patterns
KW - Urban growth patterns
KW - Urban growth
U2 - 10.3390/rs11192266
DO - 10.3390/rs11192266
M3 - Journal article
VL - 11
JO - Remote Sensing
JF - Remote Sensing
SN - 2072-4292
IS - 19
M1 - 2266
ER -