Characterizing Patterns And Drivers Of Land Use/Land Cover Change Along The Atlantic Coast Barrier Beaches: Examining The Roles Of Development Pressure Spatial Accessibility And Policy

ECU Author/Contributor (non-ECU co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)

Andrew Bennett (Creator)

Institution

East Carolina University (ECU )

Web Site: http://www.ecu.edu/lib/

Advisor

Thomas Crawford

Abstract: Within the context of land change science coastal areas are often overlooked. Coastal areas around the world and within the U.S. represent the largest concentrations of people development and wealth. Natural social spatial and policy processes operating on barrier beaches make them dynamic regions in which to observe land use and land cover change. The U.S. Atlantic Coast represents one of the world's largest continuous chains of barrier beaches. Understanding the makeup drivers and uses of these landscapes is important to understanding how humans have impacted these environments through processes of land conversion to developed use. Place-based classification of these environments and quantitative and qualitative analysis of drivers and trajectories of development can provide coastal managers insight into how these dynamic regions operate as examples of coupled natural human systems.. This has the potential to both change and create new policies tailored to this region. The study will accomplish the following (1) Perform a quantitative descriptive analysis creating a typology of barrier beach types for the Atlantic Coast; (2) Develop quantitative statistical models explaining rates of developed land use conversion for barrier beaches that incorporates theories tests hypothesis and applies methods from Land Change Science; (3) Develop a new theoretical model of coastal restructuring that is applied to a localized place-based analyses of selected barrier beach places. In accomplishing these tasks a new understanding of coastal barrier beach land use land cover change is created. This allows for better understanding of the processes and influences that act upon barrier beaches. 

Additional Information

Publication

Dissertation

Date: 2013

Keywords

Management, Geography, Land use planning, Atlantic Coast, Barrier Beach, Coastal Restructuring, Drivers, Land Use/Cover Change, Typology

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