GSW

Tutorial 2

Urban monitoring and analysis with remote sensing and spatial information technology

Prof. Maria Antonia Brovelli, Politecnico di Milano, Italy Prof. Jiang Jie, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, China

Objectives and Learning Outcomes :The tutorial will focus on urban monitoring and analysis with remote sensing and spatial information technology, providing participants with a comprehensive understanding of the subject matter, including recent advancements, methodologies, tools, and practical applications. Attendees will learn about the urban heat island effect and the local climate zone classification system. They will learn how to conduct a local climate zone classification for urban environments.

Target audience and prerequisites: Good GIS skills, and a basic understanding of remote sensing, image processing, and classification techniques. Basic programming skills (Python, JavaScript). Activated Google Earth Engine account.

Detailed outline of the topics to be covered: The tutorial will last 3 hours. A 10-minute brief introduction will be given at the beginning. Then four lectures will be arranged, each lasting about 30 minutes, and 10 minutes will be left for Q&A.

  • Urban information extraction from images (30 minutes + Q&A):
    Introduction to necessity and problem of urban information extraction, especially for urban infrastructure. The basic principles, technical methods, and application practices of urban information extraction are introduced using optical remote sensing and microwave remote sensing. Moreover, a High-speed videogramemtry is also introduced to obtain the 3D spatial information of infrastructure model for shaking table experiment.

  • Urban heat island and LCZ mapping (30 minutes + Q&A): Introduction to the urban heat island phenomenon and its impact on cities; overview of the local climate zone (LCZ) classification system and its real-world applications; presentation of data and methods used in LCZ mapping. A hands-on exercise is foreseen using data from Milan, Italy: participants will work with a Landsat 8 multispectral image and additional urban morphology data; they will learn to digitize training and testing samples, apply a classification algorithm, and assess the accuracy of the LCZ map; the result will be compared to air temperature data from local monitoring stations.

  • Air pollution (30 minutes + Q&A)：A general introduction to the problem of urban air quality and its analysis using remotely sensed data. We will introduce thematic satellite missions and explore data repositories for accessing and distributing their data through web platforms and APIs. An introduction to Copernicus services will also be provided, along with an overview of Sentinel-5P products. Hands-on examples of geospatial processing pipelines will be presented, focusing on tasks such as data collection, preprocessing and validation for air quality assessments, with a case study centered on Milan, Italy.

  • Analysis of urban spatial pattern (30 minutes + Q&A)：Introduction to urban spatial structure and methods for identifying urban spatial forms. A case study on the spatial evolution of a major metropolitan area. A hands-on exercise will engage participants in spatial pattern analysis using QGIS or Python, where they will apply spatial indices to assess the compactness, density, and connectivity of urban areas. The session will also include the use of urban sensing data and point-of-interest (POI) data to enhance understanding of urban function zones.

Brief introduction of instructors:

  • Prof. Maria Antonia Brovelli, Politecnico di Milano (POLIMI), Italy, Moderator

    Maria Antonia Brovelli holds a Ph.D. in Geodesy and Cartography and serves as a Professor of GIS and The Copernicus Green Revolution for Sustainable Development at Politecnico di Milano (PoliMI). With a career spanning from researcher to Full Professor and Vice-Rector for the Como Campus at PoliMI, she also lectures at ETH Zurich and holds prominent roles in international organizations. As Vice President of the ISPRS Technical Commission on Spatial Information Science, co-chair of the United Nations Open GIS Initiative, chair of the UN-GGIM Academic Network, and curator of the GEO series at AI For Good Summit, she influences global spatial information science. Brovelli’s extensive publication record and involvement in national and European projects have earned her prestigious awards and editorial roles, highlighting her significant contributions and leadership in the field.

  • Prof. JIANG Jie, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture (BUCEA), China, Moderator

    Prof. Dr. JIANG Jie received her BSc. and MSc. degrees in Applied Geophysics from the Changchun University of Geology, China, and PhD in Surveying Engineering from China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing). She worked as a remote sensing and GIS specialist in National Geomatics Center of China. Since October 2018, she serves as full professor in School of Geomatics and Urban Spatial Informatics, BUCEA. Her recent research focuses on spatial-temporal modelling for smart city. She is now ISPRS Fellow, and the Secretary General of ISPRS (for term 2022-2026).

  • Alberto Vavassori (POLIMI), Instructor of Urban heat island and LCZ mapping
    Alberto Vavassori obtained his MSc degree with honours in Environmental and Land Planning Engineering in 2019 at Politecnico di Milano. From 2020 to 2021 he was a temporary research fellow at the GEOlab (the Geomatics and Earth Observation lab) of Politecnico di Milano. From 2021, he has been a PhD student in Environmental and Infrastructure Engineering at Politecnico di Milano. His research mainly focuses on urban climatology, crisis mapping, and environmental monitoring using free and open-source software. His research interests include data science, GIS, remote sensing and Earth Observation.
  • Vasil Yordanov (POLIMI), Instructor of Air pollution
    Following his MSc in Civil Engineering for Risk Mitigation he joined Politecnico di Milano’s GEOlab in 2019 as a research fellow in the domain of geospatial applications for environmental studies. In 2022 he obtained his PhD in National Security. His work has centered on applying GIS, remote sensing, and machine learning for environmental research. His areas of expertise include hazard assessment, environmental monitoring, and capacity-building initiatives for climate change resilience.
  • LIU Xianglei (BUCEA), Instructor of Urban information extraction from images
    He received his B.S. and M.S. degree in Geographic Information System from Shandong University of Science and Technology in 2005 and 2008, respectively. He received the Ph.D. degree in Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing from Tongji University in 2012. He is now the dean/professor of the school of Geomatics and Urban Spatial Informatics in Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture. His research interests are deformation monitoring based on GBSAR, high-speed videogrammetric measurement and multi-modal data fusing for disaster monitoring.
  • GUO Xian (BUCEA) , Instructor of Analysis of urban spatial patterns
    Received his B.S. degree in Surveying and Mapping from Central South University, China, in 2010, and Ph.D. in Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing from Wuhan University, China, in 2015. He is a Lecturer at the School of Geomatics and Urban Spatial Informatics, BUCEA. His research interests focus on urban remote sensing, high-resolution image processing, and digital twin modeling. He serves as the Co-Chair of ISPRS Working Group V/2 for the 2022-2026 term.

Technical requirements (software, hardware, etc.): Projector, computer, microphone, laser pointer, and other essentials to have QGIS (long term release) installed to carry out the practical part.