Special Issue "Assessing Sustainability over Space and Time: The Emerging Roles of GIScience and Remote Sensing"

A special issue of Remote Sensing (ISSN 2072-4292). This special issue belongs to the section "Urban Remote Sensing".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2022.

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Ronald C. Estoque
E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute (FFPRI), Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8687, Japan
Interests: GIScience and remote sensing; sustainability science; land change science; social–ecological system; ecosystem services; climate change impacts, vulnerability, risk and adaptation; forest transition; forest cover monitoring
Special Issues and Collections in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The formulation of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is a major leap towards humankind’s quest for sustainability. The SDGs now collectively serve as the platform for global development—a platform which now helps to guide current actions and shape visions for a sustainable future. There is a need to track the spatiotemporal dynamics of progress towards the SDGs in particular and sustainability in general, not only at the global and national scales, but also at the subnational and landscape levels. The advances in geospatial technologies (GIS and remote sensing), including the increasing availability of geospatial data, can help in this regard.

This Special Issue will bring together novel contributions on the assessment of sustainability over space and time. Contributions that highlight or explore the role or potential contribution of geospatial (GIS and remote sensing) data, tools, and techniques in the assessment of sustainability over space and time are very much welcome. Contributions that do not necessarily employ geospatial data, tools, and techniques but consider the space and time dimensions of sustainability are also very much welcome.

Contributions can be in the form of:

  • Articles;
  • Reviews;
  • Perspectives and Insights.

Dr. Ronald C. Estoque
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Remote Sensing is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Sustainability
  • Sustainability assessment
  • Sustainable development
  • Sustainable development goals
  • SDGs
  • Landscape sustainability
  • Urban sustainability
  • GIScience
  • GIS
  • Remote sensing
  • Earth observations
  • Spatiotemporal analysis
  • Spatial thinking
  • Geospatial data
  • Scale
  • Space–time
  • Sustainability indicators
  • SDG indicators
  • Land change
  • Land use/land cover
  • etc.

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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Article
Impacts of Urbanization on the Muthurajawela Marsh and Negombo Lagoon, Sri Lanka: Implications for Landscape Planning towards a Sustainable Urban Wetland Ecosystem
Remote Sens. 2021, 13(2), 316; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13020316 - 18 Jan 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1702
Abstract
Urban wetland ecosystems (UWEs) play important social and ecological roles but are often adversely affected by urban landscape transformations. Spatio-temporal analyses to gain insights into the trajectories of landscape changes in these ecosystems are needed for better landscape planning towards sustainable UWEs. In [...] Read more.
Urban wetland ecosystems (UWEs) play important social and ecological roles but are often adversely affected by urban landscape transformations. Spatio-temporal analyses to gain insights into the trajectories of landscape changes in these ecosystems are needed for better landscape planning towards sustainable UWEs. In this study, we examined the impacts of urbanization on the Muthurajawela Marsh and Negombo Lagoon (MMNL), an important UWE in Sri Lanka that provides valuable ecosystem services. We used remote sensing data to detect changes in the land use/cover (LUC) of the MMNL over a two-decade period (1997–2017) and spatial metrics to characterize changes in landscape composition and configuration. The results revealed that the spatial and socio-economic elements of rapid urbanization of the MMNL had been the main driver of transformation of its natural environment over the past 20 years. This is indicated by a substantial expansion of settlements (+68%) and a considerable decrease of marshland and mangrove cover (−41% and −21%, respectively). A statistical analysis revealed a significant relationship between the change in population density and the loss of wetland due to settlement expansion at the Grama Niladhari division level (n = 99) (where wetland includes marshland, mangrove, and water) (1997–2007: R2 = 0.435, p = 0.000; 2007–2017: R2 = 0.343, p = 0.000). The findings also revealed that most of the observed LUC changes occurred in areas close to roads and growth nodes (viz. Negombo, Ja-Ela, Wattala, and Katana), which resulted in both landscape fragmentation and infill urban expansion. We conclude that, in order to ensure the sustainability of the MMNL, there is an urgent need for forward-looking landscape and urban planning to promote environmentally conscious urban development in the area which is a highly valuable UWE. Full article
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Article
Remotely Sensed Urban Surface Ecological Index (RSUSEI): An Analytical Framework for Assessing the Surface Ecological Status in Urban Environments
Remote Sens. 2020, 12(12), 2029; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12122029 - 24 Jun 2020
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 990
Abstract
Urban Surface Ecological Status (USES) reflects the structure and function of an urban ecosystem. USES is influenced by the surface biophysical, biochemical, and biological properties. The assessment and modeling of USES is crucial for sustainability assessment in support of achieving sustainable development goals [...] Read more.
Urban Surface Ecological Status (USES) reflects the structure and function of an urban ecosystem. USES is influenced by the surface biophysical, biochemical, and biological properties. The assessment and modeling of USES is crucial for sustainability assessment in support of achieving sustainable development goals such as sustainable cities and communities. The objective of this study is to present a new analytical framework for assessing the USES. This analytical framework is centered on a new index, Remotely Sensed Urban Surface Ecological index (RSUSEI). In this study, RSUSEI is used to assess the USES of six selected cities in the U.S.A. To this end, Landsat 8 images, water vapor products, and the National Land Cover Database (NLCD) land cover and imperviousness datasets are downloaded for use. Firstly, Land Surface Temperature (LST), Wetness, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), and Normalized Difference Soil Index (NDSI) are derived by remote sensing methods. Then, RSUSEI is developed by the combination of NDVI, NDSI, Wetness, LST, and Impervious Surface Cover (ISC) with Principal Components Analysis (PCA). Next, the spatial variations of USES across the cities are evaluated and compared. Finally, the association degree of each parameter in the USES modeling is investigated. Results show that the spatial variability of LST, ISC, NDVI, NDSI, and Wetness is heterogeneous within and between cities. The mean (standard deviation) value of RSUSEI for Minneapolis, Dallas, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle yielded 0.58 (0.16), 0.54 (0.17), 0.47 (0.19), 0.63 (0.21), 0.50 (0.17), and 0.44 (0.19), respectively. For all the cities, PC1 included more than 93% of the surface information, which is contributed by greenness, moisture, dryness, heat, and imperviousness. The highest and lowest mean values of RSUSEI are found in “Developed, High intensity” (0.76) and “Developed, Open Space” (0.35) lands, respectively. The mean correlation coefficient between RSUSEI and LST, ISC, NDVI, NDSI, and Wetness, is 0.47, 0.97, −0.31, 0.17, and −0.27, respectively. The statistical significance of these correlations is confirmed at 95% confidence level. These results suggest that the association degree of ISC in USES modeling is the highest, despite the differences in land cover and biophysical characteristics in the cities. RSUSEI could be very useful in modeling and comparing USES across cities with different geographical, climatic, environmental, and biophysical conditions and can also be used for assessing urban sustainability over space and time. Full article
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Review

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Review
Remote Sensing for International Peace and Security: Its Role and Implications
Remote Sens. 2021, 13(3), 439; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13030439 - 27 Jan 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1305
Abstract
Remote sensing technology has seen a massive rise in popularity over the last two decades, becoming an integral part of our lives. Space-based satellite technologies facilitated access to the inaccessible terrains, helped humanitarian teams, support complex emergencies, and contributed to monitoring and verifying [...] Read more.
Remote sensing technology has seen a massive rise in popularity over the last two decades, becoming an integral part of our lives. Space-based satellite technologies facilitated access to the inaccessible terrains, helped humanitarian teams, support complex emergencies, and contributed to monitoring and verifying conflict zones. The scoping phase of this review investigated the utility of the role of remote sensing application to complement international peace and security activities owing to their ability to provide objective near real-time insights at the ground level. The first part of this review looks into the major research concepts and implementation of remote sensing-based techniques for international peace and security applications and presented a meta-analysis on how advanced sensor capabilities can support various aspects of peace and security. With key examples, we demonstrated how this technology assemblage enacts multiple versions of peace and security: for refugee relief operations, in armed conflicts monitoring, tracking acts of genocide, providing evidence in courts of law, and assessing contravention in human rights. The second part of this review anticipates future challenges that can hinder the applicative capabilities of remote sensing in peace and security. Varying types of sensors pose discrepancies in image classifications and issues like cost, resolution, and difficulty of ground-truth in conflict areas. With emerging technologies and sufficient secondary resources available, remote sensing plays a vital operational tool in conflict-affected areas by supporting an extensive diversity in public policy actions for peacekeeping processes. Full article
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Review
A Review of the Sustainability Concept and the State of SDG Monitoring Using Remote Sensing
Remote Sens. 2020, 12(11), 1770; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12111770 - 31 May 2020
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 2250
Abstract
The formulation of the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) was a major leap forward in humankind’s quest for a sustainable future, which likely began in the 17th century, when declining forest resources in Europe led to proposals for the re-establishment and conservation of [...] Read more.
The formulation of the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) was a major leap forward in humankind’s quest for a sustainable future, which likely began in the 17th century, when declining forest resources in Europe led to proposals for the re-establishment and conservation of forests, a strategy that embodies the great idea that the current generation bears responsibility for future generations. Global progress toward SDG fulfillment is monitored by 231 unique social-ecological indicators spread across 169 targets, and remote sensing (RS) provides Earth observation data, directly or indirectly, for 30 (18%) of these indicators. Unfortunately, the UN Global Sustainable Development Report 2019—The Future is Now: Science for Achieving Sustainable Development concluded that, despite initial efforts, the world is not yet on track for achieving most of the SDG targets. Meanwhile, through the EO4SDG initiative by the Group on Earth Observations, the full potential of RS for SDG monitoring is now being explored at a global scale. As of April 2020, preliminary statistical data were available for 21 (70%) of the 30 RS-based SDG indicators, according to the Global SDG Indicators Database. Ten (33%) of the RS-based SDG indicators have also been included in the SDG Index and Dashboards found in the Sustainable Development Report 2019—Transformations to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. These statistics, however, do not necessarily reflect the actual status and availability of raw and processed geospatial data for the RS-based indicators, which remains an important issue. Nevertheless, various initiatives have been started to address the need for open access data. RS data can also help in the development of other potentially relevant complementary indicators or sub-indicators. By doing so, they can help meet one of the current challenges of SDG monitoring, which is how best to operationalize the SDG indicators. Full article
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