Urban land use mapping

• Mapping land-use types within an urban development, the completed map will show the types of intensities of land use in an area.
• R esidential

  I ndustrial

  C ommercial

  E ntertainment

  P ublic buildings

  O pen space

  T ransport

  S ervices
• Equipment:

  • Base map of the area (ex OS 1:25,000 map or Goad plan)
  • Land-use classification key/code sheet
  • A digital/mobile phone camera
  • Coloured pencils
  • Satellite images of the study area.
• Methodology:

  • An appropriate sampling strategy must be adopted, depending on the area size, for example using a transect or whole area
  • Using a large scale map (ex 1:10.000 OS map) as a base map, with a land use classification key (ex RICEPOTS) to make data collection easier
  • Take digital images of the recorded land use for future reference and support.
  • The students should then follow the transect route recording information on the base map by adding colours/codes from the classification key.
• Considerations and limitations:

  • Mapping the areas being researched will be time consuming and very labour intensive if working alone or in smaller groups.
  • A degree of subjectivity is inevitable when determining land use
  • This technique only covers the ground floor meaning more specific data about upper floors is missed out reducing the reliability of the data
  • The selection of data gathering locations along a transect could create unintentional bias
  • Some maps may be too expensive to obtain, try local libraries where photocopies can be sourced.
• Processing techniques:

  Nearest neighbour can be used to show if clustering of certain services exists.