Modeling land development along highway 4 in Southern Thailand

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the change of developed land in three different locations along Highway 4 Road from Phattalung to HatYai. The method involves creating a digitized grid of geographical coordinates covering the study area. The land-use codes and plot identifiers were recorded in database tables indexed by grid coordinates. Logistic regression of land development adjusted for spatial correlation was used to model its change over a 9-year period using land-use at the previous survey combined with location as a determinant. The results show increasing average percentages of developed land (3% in 2000 and 5% in 2009). Land development occurred mostly in the northern location along the Pattalung to HatYai road.

Keywords

• land-use data
• grid-digitization
• urban growth
• land development
• logistic regression model