The main objective of this study is to examine the development of rural areas to more urbanized ones within Kentucky. Landsat images were used to show the urban land cover change over a 10 year span, from 2001 to 2011. The study shows specifically how the city of Louisville has expanded because it was one of the most changed cities in Kentucky during the period of the study. Maps were created from these Landsat images. Studying these developments can help to predict the amount of change that might happen in certain areas in the future. Using geographic information systems (GIS) technology the change of areas in the past can be studied to better plan for future changes. Better planning for the future means better infrastructure and an overall better layout for populations in Kentucky. It will also help us to protect important crop lands from the expansion of urbanization. As a whole, Western Kentucky has developed much more over the past ten years than Eastern Kentucky or Central Kentucky have. Looking at individual cities, the most growth over ten years was seen in Louisville
