Characterizing Urban Land Patterns and Dynamics linked to Sustainability Outcomes

Abstract:

Though urban land only comprises a minute fraction of the earth's surface area,

the structure of urban land (the configuration of street networks, greenspace,

buildings, and infrastructure) has wide-ranging consequences globally, for multiple

aspects of sustainability. Urban land and infrastructure patterns shape a variety

of human behaviors and activities from how residents use space, to

how they interact with their neighbors, to how they reach services, amenities, and

employment. These activities impact both environmental and social outcomes,

like consumption patterns, urban carbon emissions, physical health, and quality of

life. Understanding the land and infrastructure patterns within urban areas, and

how are they are changing, is a precursor to steering urban development towards

more sustainable pathways.

Yet there is dearth of consistent, comparative knowledge on land and infrastructure patterns and their dynamics within and across cities. Often “urban” is still considered a homogenous land cover type, despite its heterogeneity across geographic regions and along the core to peri-urban gradient. This talk explores new ways of characterizing existing and emerging patterns of the built environment in ways that link to consumption patterns, like travel behaviors and building and transportation energy use. We explore new ways of using open-source GIS data and satellite data, with a special focus on NASA’s novel Black Marble Product Suite, to characterize how urban land and infrastructure patterns may influence the outcomes important for planetary health.