ANALYSIS OF FUTURE URBAN GROWTH OF THE COLUMBUS-DOTHAN-PANAMA CITY URBAN CLIMATE ARCHIPELAGO

Natural surfaces transformed to concrete traps heat and creates an urban heat island over the cities. With climate change it is expected that urban heat within these cities will amplify as well. Increasing population and urban sprawl will contribute to expanding urban heat magnitudes over individual and contiguous cities. These growing interconnected cities will have a different local climate impact, seeking much attention to its preparedness and resiliency to extreme weather events. These “chains of cities” are coined Urban Climate Archipelagos or UCAs. This study seeks to analyze the development of the UCA connecting Columbus, GA, Dothan, AL and Panama City, FL. Specifically, it intends to analyze how the urban-scape of Columbus-Dothan-Panama City will look in the years 2035 & 2050. To conduct this analysis initial land-use classification of each city was preformed, which was fed into the TerrsSet Modeling Software, provided by Clark Labs, to generate the predictive 2035 and 2050 expansion of Columbus – Panama City UCA. These future growth projections will inform local governments and community leaders what their cities may look like in the future, helping them design their cities sustainably. It will also inform them which newly developed areas may be vulnerable to climate related physical hazards like flash droughts, urban flooding, urban heat and other local weather extremes.