An evaluation of post-classification comparison for historical land information systems

The population of southeast Florida has grown considerably since the 1940's. Managing this population growth has challenged urban planners and growth managers. Prior to 1970, geographers and cartographers struggled with mapping this area as the landscape underwent rapid transformation to accommodate millions of new residents. With the launch of the Landsat satellite series in 1972, digital satellite images of southeast Florida have been acquired every 18 days to provide geographers and cartographers with a new tool for monitoring land use change. This thesis examines the utility of using this new tool combined with historical aerial photographs to document land use change through time.