| Abstract: | This paper addresses the question of how far into the past previous land-use patterns provide significant information concerning present or future patterns. The provision of information is viewed as a reduction in uncertainty. An information-theoretic approach that permits both statistical and graphical analysis is suggested. Application of this method to the analysis of land-use change in three townships on the fringe of Akron, Ohio suggests that, to a varying degree, the processes of change are first-order Markov processes. |
