LAND USE MONITORING IN SINGAPORE USING REMOTE SENSING AND GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS

Abstract

Proper land use management is particularly essential to a small country like Singapore. The Urban Renewal Authority (URA) of Singapore presently maintains an Integrated Land Use System (ILUS). Unfortunately, ILUS is found to be ill-suited for land use management, despite the high costs of its development. We, therefore propose a more flexible and more cost effective alternative to ILUS; that is, the amalgamation of satellite imagery with desktop computer-based geographic information systems. In part, we have used the powerful combination of SPOT HRV imagery and the ERDAS GIS package (Version 7 .4) to conduct a land use case study in the southwestern region of Singapore, covering an area of 10 km by 10 km. The case study not only achieves a USGS Level II classification, but also produces an overall classification accuracy of 85.7%. Furthermore, we show how land use changes can be very effectively detected using straightforward extensions of the techniques developed in the case study. Numerous critical advantages over ILUS are clearly indicated. This study embodies a concrete demonstration of the feasibility of using satellite imagery and GIS to form an operational system for land use management in Singapore. The main argument is that Singapore should exploit the appropriate technologies that are available and affordable for effective monitoring and planning. It is hoped that the relevant authorities will consider this alternative.