Micropolitan areas: Exploring the linkages between demography and land-cover change in the United States cities

• Depiction of geographic patterns of land conversion using the NLCD.
• Discovery that micropolitan areas are unique compared to other statistical areas.
• Finding that population is not an adequate predictor of land cover change.
• The critical role that micropolitan areas play in urbanization.

Micropolitan statistical areas in the United States are important transitionary regions that may provide insights into the economic, demographic, and social forces driving urbanization. Land cover change may provide significant insights into the dynamics of these important transitionary units. Our work investigates three questions: (1) How is the national landscape changing within micropolitan statistical areas with regards to land cover? (2) Are land-cover conditions in micropolitan areas closer to rural or metropolitan areas or are they unique? (3) How closely are demographic patterns linked to land conversion for development within micropolitan areas?When compared to metropolitan and rural areas within the US, our results demonstrate that micropolitan areas are unique with regards to the total amount of developed land, as well as land conversion to development. Within the micropolitan areas, we show that demographic categories such as population, population density, or population growth are not adequate predictors of land-cover change and that the geographic patterns of land conversion for development may provide valuable insights into the impact of micropolitan areas on the US national landscape.