This research focuses on the application of remote sensing, geographic information
systems, statistical modeling, and spatial analysis to examine the dynamics of urban land
cover, urban structure, and population-environment interactions in Bangkok, Thailand, with
an emphasis on rural-to-urban migration from rural Nang Rong District, Northeast Thailand
to the primate city of Bangkok. The dissertation consists of four main sections: (1)
development of remote sensing image classification and change-detection methods for
characterizing imperviousness for Bangkok, Thailand from 1993-2002; (2) development of
3-D urban mapping methods, using high spatial resolution IKONOS satellite images, to
assess high-rises and other urban structures; (3) assessment of urban spatial structure from 2-
D and 3-D perspectives; and (4) an analysis of the spatial clustering of migrants from Nang
Rong District in Bangkok and the neighborhood environments of migrants' locations.