The Landcover Mosaic map (LCM) can be used to answer the question: What is the mixture of agricultural/urban/natural landcover types surrounding a given land parcel?
Researchers at the U.S. Forest Service Southern Research Station have utilized the National Land Cover Database (NLCD) to calculate a suite of land cover and forest fragmentation metrics at landscape scales. These datasets yield rich spatial information about urbanization, its effects on forests, and how urban areas interface and mix with rural, agricultural, and forest landscapes.
The Landcover Mosaic Map (Landscape Mosaic Pattern) illustrates the mixture of agricultural, developed, and semi-natural land cover types within 15-hectare neighborhoods (about 37 acres).
For more information: http://www.forestthreats.org/research/tools/landcover-maps/lcm