Geoindicators for tropical urbanization

The urban population of the developing countries, which are almost entirely within the tropics and subtropics, increased from 286 to 1,515 million between 1950 and 1990. This figure is expected to reach 4 billion by 2025. Certain major cities (Mexico City, Bombay, São Paulo, etc.) are expected to grow to extremely large sizes. The major physical changes that occur with urbanization can be summarized as changes in hydrology, geomorphology, climate, vegetation, and air and water quality. The intensity and rapidity of such changes require a careful, but urgent assessment of the environmental modification. The tropical environment tends to magnify the environmental impact of urbanization. Geoindicators can be used for the measurement of a number of changes of this nature. This paper presents a selection of geoindicators that could be used to measure such impacts. The geoindicators have been selected according to (1) their effectiveness in measuring environmental impacts and (2) the type of data that is required for their use. Shortage of quantitative information is a common problem for tropical cities. In addition, certain types of geoindicators need to be highlighted for cities in specific types of location such as deltas or coastal plains, steep slopes, or in proximity to convergent or transverse plate margins. The projection, that in another 50 years about half of the population of tropical countries will be urban, adds urgency to this venture.