Mapping the Influence of Olympic Games’ Urban Planning on the Land Surface Temperatures: An Estimation Using Landsat Series and Google Earth Engine

• Published in: Remote sensing (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 16; no. 18; p. 3405
• Main Authors: Padró, Joan-Cristian, Della Sala, Valerio, Castelló-Bueno, Marc, Vicente-Salar, Rafael
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.09.2024
• Subjects: Airport expansion; Airports; Australia; Catalysts; Cities; Cloud computing; Construction; Earth resources technology satellites; Economic development; Environmental protection; France; Geographic information systems; Green development; Green infrastructure; Infrastructure; Japan; Land surface temperature; Landsat; normalized land surface temperature; Olympic games; Olympic villages; Outdoor air quality; Quebec; Remote sensing; Spain; Sports facilities; surface urban heat island; Sustainable development; Temperature; Tourism; United Kingdom; Urban areas; Urban development; Urban heat islands; Urban planning; Urban renewal; United Kingdom; France; Australia; Japan; Quebec; Spain; Beijing China; Canada; Los Angeles California; Montreal Quebec Canada; United States > US; China
• ISSN: 2072-4292; 2072-4292
• DOI: 10.3390/rs16183405

The Olympic Games are a sporting event and a catalyst for urban development in their host city. In this study, we utilized remote sensing and GIS techniques to examine the impact of the Olympic infrastructure on the surface temperature of urban areas. Using Landsat Series Collection 2 Tier 1 Level 2 data and cloud computing provided by Google Earth Engine (GEE), this study examines the effects of various forms of Olympic Games facility urban planning in different historical moments and location typologies, as follows: monocentric, polycentric, peripheric and clustered Olympic ring. The GEE code applies to the Olympic Games that occurred from Paris 2024 to Montreal 1976. However, this paper focuses specifically on the representative cases of Paris 2024, Tokyo 2020, Rio 2016, Beijing 2008, Sydney 2000, Barcelona 1992, Seoul 1988, and Montreal 1976. The study is not only concerned with obtaining absolute land surface temperatures (LST), but rather the relative influence of mega-event infrastructures on mitigating or increasing the urban heat. As such, the locally normalized land surface temperature (NLST) was utilized for this purpose. In some cities (Paris, Tokyo, Beijing, and Barcelona), it has been determined that Olympic planning has resulted in the development of green spaces, creating “green spots” that contribute to lower-than-average temperatures. However, it should be noted that there is a significant variation in temperature within intensely built-up areas, such as Olympic villages and the surrounding areas of the Olympic stadium, which can become “hotspots.” Therefore, it is important to acknowledge that different planning typologies of Olympic infrastructure can have varying impacts on city heat islands, with the polycentric and clustered Olympic ring typologies displaying a mitigating effect. This research contributes to a cloud computing method that can be updated for future Olympic Games or adapted for other mega-events and utilizes a widely available remote sensing data source to study a specific urban planning context.