Online Εvaluation of Earth Observation Derived Indicators for Urban Planning and Management

Extensive urbanization and growth of population density have acquired a paramount interest towards a sustainable urban development. Earth Observation (EO) is an important source of information required for urban planning and management. The availability of EO data provides the immense opportunity for urban environmental indicators development easily derived by remote sensors. In this study, the state of the art methods were employed to develop urban planning and management relevant indicators that can be evaluated by using EO data. The importance of this approach lies on providing alternatives for improving urban planning and management, without consuming time and resources in collecting field or archived data. The evaluated urban indicators were integrated into a Web‐based Information System that was developed for online exploitation. The results for three case studies are therefore available online and can be used by urban planners and stakeholders in supporting their planning decisions

Impact of land use change on urban surface temperature and urban green space planning; case study of the island of Bali, Indonesia

Land use and surface temperature were monitored from 1995 to 2013 to examine green space development in Bali using Landsat and ASTER imageries. Urban areas were formed by conversion of vegetation and paddy fields. Heat islands with surface temperature of over 29 ºC were found and influenced by urban area types. High priority, low priority and not a priority zones for green space were resulted by weighted overlay of LST, NDVI and urban area types

Spatial Analysis of Post-Hurricane Katrina Thermal Pattern and Intensity in Greater New Orleans: Implications for Urban Heat Island Research

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina’s diverse impacts on the Greater New Orleans area included damaged and destroyed trees, and other despoiled vegetation, which also increased the exposure of artificial and bare surfaces, known factors that contribute to the climatic phenomenon known as the urban heat island (UHI). This is an investigation of UHI in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which entails the analysis of pre and post-hurricane Katrina thermal imagery of the study area, including changes to surface heat patterns and vegetative cover. Imagery from Landsat TM was used to show changes to the pattern and intensity of the UHI effect, caused by an extreme weather event. Using remote sensing visualization methods, field data, and local knowledge, the author found there was a measurable change in the pattern and intensity of the New Orleans UHI effect, as well as concomitant changes to vegetative land cover. This finding may be relevant for urban planners and citizens, especially in the context of recovery from a large-scale disaster of a coastal city, regarding future weather events, and other natural and human impacts

Monitoring the Coastal Environment Using Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques

The coastal zone has been of importance for economic development and ecological restoration due to their rich natural resources and vulnerable ecosystems. Remote sensing techniques have proven to be powerful tools for the monitoring of the Earth’s surface and atmosphere on a global, regional, and even local scale, by providing important coverage, mapping and classification of land cover features such as vegetation, soil, water and forests. This chapter introduced the methods for monitoring the coastal environment using remote sensing and GIS techniques. Case studies of port expansion monitoring in typical coastal regions, together with the coastal environment changes analysis were also presented