Spatial-temporal Analysis of the Urbanization of Las Vegas from 1992 to 2019 by Multi-source Data at Google Earth Engine Platform

Abstract:

Based on a combination of environmental transformations, economic growth, and policy makings, the development of urban areas is the process of balancing positive and negative effects on human activities and surroundings. In this study, we focused on utilizing the time series of diverse geographical, environmental, and economical data, as well as public policies to analyze the urban changes of Las Vegas from 1992 to 2019. Using Google Earth Engine platform with the nighttime lights time-series from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program(DMSP) and Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite(VIIRS), we found a 19.7% increase in the average visible band of nighttime lights from 1992 to 2011 and a lower increasing rate after 2012 at approximately 0.117 average Day/Night Band(DNB) radiance values per year. From Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer(MODIS) Land Cover dataset, we noticed that urban and build-up lands increased from 731,063,411.6㎡ in 2001 to 822,221,617.333㎡ by 2018. Then, by the trend of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index(NDVI) of Las Vegas, we found a dramatic decrease between 2005 and 2009 and studied local policies that contributed to this. Moreover, we found decreasing trends of CO, NO₂, O³, PM10, and a slight increase of PM2.5 at 0.058 µg/㎥ per year. Economically, except the period between 2006 and 2009, approximately during the Great Recession, we found overall positive trends of Gross domestic product(GDP) and House Price Index. In addition, the Consumer Price Index(CPI) increased from $21,778 in 1992 to $47,090 by 2018. Furthermore, since Las Vegas relies on tourism and casinos, we studied the local supportive policies on casinos and the time series of annual visitor numbers and casinos’ incomes, suggesting strong positive correlations between such factors and local economy and developments.