Utilizing Remote Sensing to Measure Urban Decongestion Strategies in a Post COVID 19 Environment

Abstract:

The explosion of COVID-19 on urban areas around the world has been profound. Highly dense habitation spaces are a failure of urban planning that cannot be allowed to persist in a post COVID world. SDG 11 warrants decongestion strategies that must be implemented to reduce overcrowding and provide enhanced environments for social distancing without causing degenerative social isolation among the impoverished. To measure progress with these decongestive strategies, our approach utilizes a balanced scorecard with four key performance indicators (KPIs) which can be determined using open satellite data and the new Multidimensional Analysis Toolset within the ESRI ArcGIS software. This toolset aggregates multiple raster image files into a multidimensional data cube allowing advanced image processing against the entire temporal stack. Functions include change detection, anomaly analysis, trend analysis and trend prediction. The four KPIs being measure by this approach are:

• KPI Green – the measure of population density to the amount of available greenspace.
• KPI Blue – the measure of population density to accessible urban open water.
• KPI Clear – the measure of air quality based on NO2 data from the Aura and Sentinel 5 satellites
• KPI Black – The amount of paved area repurposed from transportation to open air pedestrian venues such as markets and outdoor dining.

The measurement of these KPIs is well established remote sensing science, but what makes our approach unique is that we provide a simplified methodology easily implemented by any national agency with GIS capabilities. Sharing these measurements can be quickly accomplished in an online Operations Dashboard. The result is a qualitative balanced scorecard providing high visibility to the SDG stakeholders and broader community.