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LandScan USA
High-Resolution Population Distribution Model
ORNL is
developing very high resolution (90m) population
distribution data (see LandScan USA)
for the United States as part of the ORNL LandScan
global population project. A pilot study has been
completed in a 29 county area in southeast Texas
(around Houston and Port Neches) in order to develop
the necessary algorithms and identify and resolve
issues surrounding development of LandScan USA.
LandScan USA is more spatially refined than the
resolution of block-level census data and includes
demographic attributes (age, sex, race). The model
includes development of an “ambient
population” (average over 24 hours) for global
LandScan and development of spatial distributions for
“residential or nighttime population” as
well as for “daytime population” as part
of LandScan USA. Locating daytime populations
requires not only census data, but data on places of
work, journey to work, and other mobility factors.
The combination of both residential and daytime
populations will provide the best estimate of who is
potentially exposed to ambient pollutants.
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LandScan USA
is developed in standard (commercial) geographical
information system and ASCII data formats. LandScan
USA has great potential for applicability in various
socioenvironmental studies, including exposure/health
risk assessment, urban sprawl estimation, and
estimating populations at risk from natural and
anthropogenic disasters. The LandScan model has
significant potential to be modified for other
applications and is currently being considered as the
primary tool to estimate spatial distribution of
pesticide usage in urban watersheds.
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LandScan USA:
High-Resolution Population
Distribution Model
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