Metropolitan expansion and population density patterns in third world supercities as indicated by integration of space and ground data

Monitoring of the urbanization process in the less developed countries of the world is limited by the inadequacy of ground data such as censuses and by their explosive rates of population growth and spatial expansion. By integrating Landsat satellite imagery and available population data, more accurate analyses are possible than by using either medium alone. Using this technique, built-up area, population and patterns of population density for the year 1978 are quantified for six Third World supercities with population in excess of six million: Calcutta, Shanghai, Cairo, Mexico City, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Significant differences in density patterns between these cities appear to be related to economic level and culture.