APPLICATION OF REMOTE SENSING AND GIS IN THE POPULATION STUDY OF ACHARA LAYOUT ENUGU, ENUGU STATE, NIGERIA
This project is an attempt to study population distribution in Achara Layout Enugu, in Enugu State through integration of Remote sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS). The Remote sensing data used in this study included high spatial resolution Quick Bird imagery. Questionnaires were given out for use in generating the desired product in an interactive GIS environment. Field site capturing was based on basic survey principle, technique and instruction. Field work was done to determine the type of building appearing in the satellite imagery and the no of rooms estimated, thus a standard family size gotten. After estimating the population size of Achara Layout, the result was compared to the population data gotten from National Population Commission for Achara Layout Enugu state which was divided into two as it comprised of data for Achara Layout and Idaw River Layout Enugu as directed by National Population Commission Enugu. The methodology involved carrying out a user needs assessment, collection of map from Enugu State Town Planning Department of Ministry of Land, collection of Population census data from National Population Commission, rigorous field work, data processing, comparison of results and presentation of results. The average difference between the population recorded in the 2006 then projected to 2015, and that estimated from Quick Bird images for Achara Layout Enugu, is found to be equal to 1.61%. Results from Arc GIS were presented in form of map while results from Microsoft Excel environment were presented in form of table.