Measuring, Mapping, Modeling, and Visualization of Cities

Dear Colleagues,

Geo-Information is a crucial basis for understanding the functioning of the cities and urban environments. The scientific knowledge about these environments is essential for decision making regarding urban planning, sustainable urbanism, and public decision making.

This Special Issue is dedicated to measuring, mapping, modeling, and visualization of cities and urban environments. The in-depth knowledge of urban environments and cities depends heavily on building evidence based on geo-information. This construction of evidence of functioning (forms, flows, trends, rhythms, intensities, systems, hierarchies, etc.) and of urban change (in urban functions, in the virtualization of commerce and services, in the use of public space, urban thermal comfort, etc.) depends of the quality of geographical data. Public policies (consideration of environmental and urban risks, soft mobility, alternative energies, sustainability, circular economy, among other policies) should be based on measurement (spatial data acquisition), mapping (spatialization data), modeling the current situation, and simulating future situations using intensive visualization, including virtual visualization.

Currently, we can talk about geo-informed cities. That is, cities that can be represented (measured, mapped, modeled, and visualized) with data resulting from public services (namely, the statistical services of each country, region or city), but also through data shared on social networks and the internet, and acquired by human sensing (using mobile phone, computer, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and other technologies).

I invite you to participate in the construction of this representation of the cities and urban environments based on measuring, mapping, modeling and visualization, relating (but not limited) to the following topics:

- Measuring using imagery (satellite imagery, UAV imagery, LiDAR, others), GPS/GLONASS technology, geolocation data, Big Data, navigation, tracking, social networking, gaming, etc.;

- Mapping with GIS for geographical analysis, spatial thinking, spatial reasoning, and spatial behavior;

- Modelling data (2D/3D space, time and scale dimensions) and cities (models for recognition of patterns, processes, equilibrium, dynamics, flows, networks, evolution and emergence, city-games, spatial cognition, etc.);

- Visualization of urban geographic representations (virtual cities and geo-information, map animation, data sharing, mobile devices, augmented reality, virtual reality, emerging technologies, tools and applications).

The cities have once again become the stage for a global event: the Covid-19 pandemic. In this circumstance, mapping and visualizing geographic information can be a key means of understanding the spread of the pandemic and providing a valuable insight for public health managers. This is also the context in which the Guest Editor mentions "geo-informed cities" in this introductory text to this Special Issue.

Prof. Dr. José António Tenedório

Guest Editor

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