High Resolution Population Distribution Estimates for Improved Decision Making, With a Case Study of Sea-Level Rise Vulnerability in Boca Raton, Florida

Author

• Hannes Moritz Ziegler

Author Type

Graduate Student

Date of Award

2016

Document Type

Thesis

Publication Status

Version of Record

Submission Date

October 2026

Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]

Xie, Zhixiao

Abstract

Planners and managers often rely on coarse population distribution data from the census for addressing various social, economic, and environmental problems. In the analysis of physical vulnerabilities to sea-level rise, census units such as blocks or block groups are coarse relative to the required decision-making application. This study explores the benefits offered from integrating image classification and dasymetric mapping at the household level to provide detailed small area population estimates at the scale of residential buildings. In a case study of Boca Raton, FL, a sea-level rise inundation grid based on mapping methods by NOAA is overlaid on the highly detailed population distribution data to identify vulnerable residences and estimate population displacement. The enhanced spatial detail offered through this method has the potential to better guide targeted strategies for future development, mitigation, and adaptation efforts.

Extent

90 p.

Comments

Includes bibliography.|Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2016.|FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection|Includes bibliography.

Recommended Citation

Ziegler, Hannes Moritz, "High Resolution Population Distribution Estimates for Improved Decision Making, With a Case Study of Sea-Level Rise Vulnerability in Boca Raton, Florida" (2016). Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019. 1481.
https://digitalcommons.fau.edu/etd_general_6/1481

Identifier

FA00004670

Format

pdf