Urban expansion in the coastal areas of Latin America and Caribbean

Coastal areas in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) are increasingly affected by human settlements. Urban expansion involves a significant change in land use, especially in the coastal area. This research analyses this process from a qualitative and quantitative perspective. Population evolution is studied in all LAC cities with greater than 100,000 inhabitants, differentiating the coastal cities and the interior ones, from 1945 to 2014. The method relates different information sources; from United Nations databases and images from remote sensing. This allows obtaining different urban and coastal process in Latin America and the Caribbean. The results show a coastal area with small cities located close to fragile ecosystems, such as bays, estuaries and mangrove forests. Results obtained highlight management priorities for coastal areas in the LAC region.