Land change in Kigali, Rwanda, is examined using Intensity Analysis,
which measures the temporal stationarity of changes among
categories. Maps for 1981, 2002 and 2014 were produced that show
the land categories Built, Vegetated and Other, which is composed
mainly of croplands and bare surfaces. Land change accelerated
from the first time interval (1981–2002) to the second time interval
(2002–2014), as increased human and economic activities drove land
transformation. During the first interval, Vegetated showed net loss
whereas Built showed net gain, in spite of a small transition directly
from Vegetated to Built. During the second interval, Vegetated showed
net gain whereas Built showed nearly equal amounts of gross loss and
gross gain. The gain of Built targeted Other during both time intervals.
A substantial portion of overall change during both time intervals
consisted of simultaneous transitions from Vegetated to Other in
some locations and from Other to Vegetated in other locations.