Monitoring and Evaluating Nature-Based Solutions Implementation in Urban Areas by Means of Earth Observation
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
- The methodology developed by the BRIDGE project [24] uses a multi-criteria evaluation method for assessing urban planning alternatives, including NBS, using environmental, social, and economic indicators. EO methods were used to support the environmental modeling component with high-resolution visible infrared (VIS/IR) and thermal infrared (TIR) imagery and (very) high-resolution stereo imagery, retrieving information related to the surface physical properties (e.g., albedo, emissivity) and the urban morphology. This information is critical for assessing the NBS’ impact on the UEB, and thus on the local climatic conditions.
- The method developed by the DECUMANUS project [34] is able to detect green roofs by computing the slope of the building roofs using very high-resolution DSM and building outlines; and to assess the portion of the roofs covered with vegetation, using very high-resolution VIS/IR imagery. Moreover, this method, combined with a very high-resolution digital terrain model (DTM), is able to detect street trees. Hence, this approach is rather useful for specifying the location and the extent of key urban NBS interventions and providing input to spatial indicators (e.g., vegetation density).
- The methodology developed by URBANFLUXES project [35] combines (very) high-resolution satellite imagery, aerial derived DSM, and standard meteorological measurements. These EO datasets are deployed with modeling and other methods to assess urban energy fluxes and balance, which can be modified by the utilization of NBS. Therefore, this approach can be used to map any changes in UEB caused by NBS implementation (more details in Section 3.2).
- The techniques developed by GEOURBAN [36,37] and SEN4RUS projects [38,39] employ high-resolution VIS/IR and TIR, as well as very high-resolution radar and stereo imagery, to provide EO products (e.g., impervious areas fraction, aerosol optical depth, etc.). These products were incorporated into urban environmental indicators quantifying the density of green, blue, and (non) built-up areas, which are related to diverse urban NBS types and constitute their practice field.
- The UrbanNBS application, funded by the EOValue project [40], is a cloud-based tool, entailing methods that estimate the likelihood of green roofs and normalized difference vegetation index, capable of automatically detecting and monitoring green roofs by using time series of Sentinel-2 multispectral imagery and building footprints from open data sources (e.g., OpenStreetMap). Green roofs are a type of NBS widely adopted in many urban areas, and their identification and monitoring are required processes serving their adaptive management.
3. Results
3.1. EO-Based Tools Capable of NBS Monitoring and Evaluation
- BRIDGE (Sustainable Urban Planning Decision Support Accounting for Urban Metabolism)—The aim of this project was to link biophysical sciences with urban planning by demonstrating how planning alternatives impact on the urban metabolism (consuming and processing material and energy, as well as producing waste). A decision support system (DSS) was created for assessing the urban metabolism processes related to energy, water, carbon, and pollutant fluxes on the local scale in five European cities [24]. This DSS can aid urban planners in assessing the modification of urban metabolism caused by NBS application.
- DECUMANUS (Development and Consolidation of Geo-Spatial Sustainability Services for Adaptation and Environmental and Climate Change Urban Impacts)—The main objective of this project was to provide tools and services combining urban environmental and socio-economic data for addressing the societal challenges related to urban climate change adaptation and mitigation. Among others, the project developed and showcased EO-based applications related to NBS monitoring (i.e., green roof and tree detection services) [34].
- URBANFLUXES (Urban Anthropogenic Heat Flux from Earth Observation Satellites)—This project focused on the potential of EO to independently estimate the main components of the UEB on the local scale (100 m × 100 m) based on satellite, airborne, and in situ data. It aimed at better understanding urban climate processes, such as the urban heat island (UHI), and ultimately supporting sustainable urban planning strategies relevant to climate change mitigation and adaptation in cities, such as NBS [35].
- GEOURBAN (Earth Observation in Sustainable Urban Planning & Management)/SEN4RUS (Exploiting Sentinels for Supporting Urban Planning Applications at City and Regional Levels in Russia)—The aim of the GEOURBAN project was to establish a list of EO-based indicators for inclusion in planning practices [36,37]. The adaptation of the GEOURBAN methodology to the Copernicus Sentinels [38] was the main aim of the SEN4RUS project [39]. This project developed urban indicators estimating (among others) built-up, vegetation, and water density for many Russian cities (e.g., in Figure 2), which can also be used for NBS monitoring and evaluation.
- EOValue (Socio-Economic Value of EO Research)—This project funded (among others) the UrbanNBS application, which aims at monitoring the development of green roofs. Specifically, this web-based and cloud-supported application provides time series of indicators about green roofs from 2017 to date, in order to support decision-makers and urban planners in detecting and monitoring green roofs at the city level (Figure 3) [40].
- CURE (Copernicus for Urban Resilience in Europe)—This is an ongoing project aiming to synergistically exploit Copernicus Core Services to develop cross-cutting applications for urban resilience in several European cities. CURE will be able to provide urban planners and decision-makers with spatially disaggregated environmental information on local scale [55], including NBS performance related to key resilience challenges (i.e., heat stress, flooding, ground movements, air pollution, etc.).
3.2. Monitoring UEB Changes Caused by NBS Implementation
4. Discussion
4.1. Expected Impact
4.2. Future Perspectives
- Engaging international initiatives, hubs, and networks of EO community (e.g., Committee on Earth Observation Satellites—CEOS, Group on Earth Observations—GEO, etc.) in this context, and including the NBS field in their research activities.
- Defining advanced and replicable methodologies, guidelines, mechanisms, techniques, services, models, indicators, standards, etc.; forming an integrated and coherent EO-based framework.
- Applying the developed EO-based framework in selected areas to monitor and evaluate NBS implementation, proving the added value of NBS on important issues as to the quality of life, climate change adaptation and mitigation, and risk management and resilience.
- Evaluating EO-based results using in situ evidence of energy, water, and carbon fluxes changes (data resulted from flux towers, weather stations, etc.).
- Documenting the various aspects of NBS impacts, leading to an enhanced knowledge base [7], including continuous spatiotemporal information for urban areas.
- Disseminating knowledge to all local, national, and international targeted groups, including the public administration and market, and using monitoring and evaluation of NBS and their components in actual UPD practices.
- Planning additional satellite missions for supporting the protection of coastal NBS shoreline, measuring variables related to urban climate, or for other objectives [35].
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Theme | Case | Scope | Methodology | Output | Scale |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Estimating NBS’ impacts | BRIDGE project | Urban metabolism | Environmental modeling to retrieve information related to the surface physical properties and morphology | Assessing the modification of urban metabolism | Local |
URBANFLUXES project | Urban energy balance (UEB) | Combining satellite observations with in situ meteorological measurements to estimate urban energy fluxes | Mapping changes of the main UEB components | ||
Identifying NBS’ elements | GEOURBAN/ SEN4RUS projects | Urban NBS | Employing various types of EO imagery to provide urban environmental indicators | Estimating vegetation/ water/built-up density | |
DECUMANUS project | Green roofs and street trees | Computing the slope of the building roofs and assessing the portion of surfaces covered with vegetation | Detecting green roofs and street trees | Fine | |
EOValue project (UrbanNBS app.) | Green roofs | Automatically estimating green roofs’ likelihood and normalized difference vegetation index based on EO | Detecting and monitoring green roofs |
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Chrysoulakis, N.; Somarakis, G.; Stagakis, S.; Mitraka, Z.; Wong, M.-S.; Ho, H.-C. Monitoring and Evaluating Nature-Based Solutions Implementation in Urban Areas by Means of Earth Observation. Remote Sens. 2021, 13, 1503. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13081503
Chrysoulakis N, Somarakis G, Stagakis S, Mitraka Z, Wong M-S, Ho H-C. Monitoring and Evaluating Nature-Based Solutions Implementation in Urban Areas by Means of Earth Observation. Remote Sensing. 2021; 13(8):1503. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13081503
Chicago/Turabian StyleChrysoulakis, Nektarios, Giorgos Somarakis, Stavros Stagakis, Zina Mitraka, Man-Sing Wong, and Hung-Chak Ho. 2021. "Monitoring and Evaluating Nature-Based Solutions Implementation in Urban Areas by Means of Earth Observation" Remote Sensing 13, no. 8: 1503. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13081503