Land Use in GSP Over 18 Years
This project aimed to explore development in the Greenville-Spartanburg counties through changes in land use at benchmarks over 18 years.
Abstract
Greenville and Spartanburg both rank among the top 5 most populated counties in South Carolina, according to the 2020 U.S. census, with Greenville being number 1. Naturally with population growth there is necessary development, which is explored here by examining the types of land cover in three benchmark years over the span of 18 years.
Methods
Fig. 1: Methodology for creating maps and map layers
Results
Fig. 2-4: Comparison of agricultural lands as a percentage of total land
Fig. 5-7: Comparison of undeveloped lands as a percentage of total land
Fig. 8-10: Comparison of developed lands as a percentage of total land
Fig. 11: Graph showing changes in percent of each land use over time
Conclusions
Over the Past 15 years Greenville and Spartanburg counties have seen an overall increase by 3.48% developed land and a decrease by .64% in undeveloped land. This change in land use indicates the
growing urban setting in the counties. Developed land areas are concentrated in those which we would suspect, the downtown areas of Greenville and Spartanburg. However, even in other areas there is significant growth between 2001 development and 2019 development as development begins to sprawl out in the counties. Agricultural land, meanwhile, remains nearly unchanged, always representing a low percentage of the land. Undeveloped land slightly decreases, with the highest concentrations remaining in select tracts of the counties, with slow decrease in other tracts.
References
-Census Tracts- Census website www.census.gov -Land Cover Data- https://www.mrlc.gov/data/references/national-land- cover-database-2019-landcover-imperviousness-nlcd2019 -NHGIS Census Data- Steven Manson, Jonathan Schroeder, David Van Riper, Tracy Kugler, and Steven Ruggles. IPUMS National Historical Geographic Information System: Version 17.0 [dataset]. Minneapolis, MN: IPUMS. 2022. http:// doi.org/10.18128/D050.V17.0 -2020 Census Statistics- U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File; 2020 Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94- 171) Summary File; 2020 county and Core Based Statistical Area (CBSA) gazetteer files; Office of Management and Budget, March 2020, Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Area delineations.
