Where will the city of San Luis Potosí grow after 2009?

Abstract

The metropolitan zone of San Luis Potosí (zmslp) is strategically located between the most crowded cities of Mexico: the nationÍ€™s capital (Mexico City), Guadalajara and Monterrey. Furthermore, it is part of the migration route of people coming from Central American countries to the United States. This situation has caused a vertiginous industrial/services infrastructure development during the last twenty years. In order to know the susceptibility to urban growth, a logistic regression analysis was carried out. Urban growth was determined using multidate-Landsat 5 tm imagery by integrating geospatial data layers. From the variables reviewed, the distance of the industrial zone, the elevation and the land cost have an important statistical behavior. Susceptibility zones to urban growth are presented as a tool for territorial planning at regional level. The statistical model was successfully validated using a cross-validation 10-fold algorithm.