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A reproducible notebook to acquire, process and analyse satellite imagery: Exploring long-term urban changes

Author

Listed:
  • Dominik Fahrner
  • Meixu Chen
  • Daniel Arribas-Bel
  • Francisco Rowe

Abstract

Satellite imagery is often used to study and monitor Earth surface changes. The open availability and extensive temporal coverage of Landsat imagery has enabled changes in temperature, wind, vegetation and ice melting speed for a period of up to 46 years. Yet, the use of satellite imagery to study cities has remained underutilised, partly due to the lack of a methodological approach to capture features and changes in the urban environment. This notebook offers a framework based on Python tools to demonstrate how to batch-download high-resolution satellite imagery; and enable the extraction, analysis and visualisation of features of the built environment to capture long-term urban changes.

Suggested Citation

  • Dominik Fahrner & Meixu Chen & Daniel Arribas-Bel & Francisco Rowe, 2020. "A reproducible notebook to acquire, process and analyse satellite imagery: Exploring long-term urban changes," REGION, European Regional Science Association, vol. 7, pages 15-46.
    • Handle: RePEc:wiw:wiwreg:region_7_2_295
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    File URL: https://openjournals.wu.ac.at/ojs/index.php/region/article/view/295/version/226
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Glaeser, Edward & Henderson, J. Vernon, 2017. "Urban economics for the developing World: An introduction," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 1-5.
    2. Marcy Burchfield & Henry G. Overman & Diego Puga & Matthew A. Turner, 2006. "Causes of Sprawl: A Portrait from Space," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 121(2), pages 587-633.
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    Cited by:

    1. Francisco Rowe & Gunther Maier & Daniel Arribas-Bel & Sergio Rey, 2020. "The Potential of Notebooks for Scientific Publication, Reproducibility and Dissemination," REGION, European Regional Science Association, vol. 7, pages 1-5.

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