Monitoring changes in land use and land cover (LULC) is an important exercise that is effective in tracking the growth of urban landscape, modifications to small towns in rural areas, can be used as a corroborative evidence in measuring economic growth and socioecological change, and has been proven to be effective in gauging a host of other attributes that are connected to land. Small towns located relatively close to major cities or other key features in the United States have witnessed significant changes in spatial structure and form over the past few decades. Spring Hill, TN is one such example of tremendous growth; having witnessed a small population of 7,000 people in the early 2000’s skyrocket to close to 60,000 people in 2024. This phenomenal population change has affected the way in which the surrounding land is utilized, bringing with it environmental and socioeconomic impacts to the region. The main goal of this study is to measure the extent of change to LULC within and around Spring Hill, TN between 2000 and 2025 and try to understand the factors behind such changes. Specific objectives include (i) to gauge changes in LULC between 2000 and 2025 at three timesteps (2000-2010, 2010-2020, 2020-2025), and (ii) to understand the role of drivers responsible for LULC changes in the study area. Results of this study can provide invaluable information to urban and regional planners in the region.
