Assessing the Environmental Impacts of Urban Growth Using Land Use/Land Cover, Water Quality and Health Indicators: A Case Study of Arequipa, Peru | Science Publications

American Journal of Environmental Sciences

B. D. Fath¹  O. V. Carpio¹ 

关键词: Population growth;    land use change;    water quality;    remote sensing;    geographic information systems;    urbanization;    urban growth;    environmental impacts;    hydrologic data;    demographic changes;   

DOI  :  10.3844/ajessp.2011.90.101

学科分类：环境科学（综合）

来源: Science Publications

【 摘 要 】

Problem statement: This research assesses the direct effects of urban expansion on landcover/use, river flow, water quality and the indirect effects of these variables in the rate ofgastrointestinal disease in people in Arequipa, Peru through the combined use of satellite remote sensingand geographic information systems. Approach: It also uses information about demographic changes,hydrologic data and land cover change in the Arequipa region for the last 17 years. The goal is tounderstand the relationship between urbanization, water quality in the Chili River and incidence ofgastrointestinal diseases. Results: Landsat imagery was used to determine this relationship and toextrapolate business as usual trends into the future ten years from now. Results indicate that there hasbeen notable urban growth and a loss in volcanic material land and cropland between 1990 and 2007, asnew urban developments have appeared in these areas. The population expansion over volcanically activearea is particularly troubling since it poses a potential human health risk. We also model a business asusual scenario out to the year 2020, which shows continued loss of these land use types and serves as awarning for land managers to consider alternate policies. Conclusion/Recommendations: The analysisalso shows a direct correlation between urbanization with the decrease of water quality and the increasein the incidence of gastrointestinal diseases.

【 授权许可】

Unknown