Managing Our Urban Future 185The Role of Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems

• Published in: Geographic Information Systems to Spatial Data Infrastructure pp. 185 - 198
• Main Author: Masser, Ian
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Routledge 2020
• Edition: 1
• Subjects: GIS Facility; GIS Software; Global Geospatial Information Management; Urban Social Services; Great Eastern Plain; Spatial Data Infrastructure; Remote Sensing; Air Photographs; Vice Versa; Spatial Choice Behaviour; Uncollected Solid Waste; Smart Phone; Large Scale Base Maps; Unhealthy Living Conditions; Human Language Technologies; Uncertainty Avoidance; Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis; GIS Diffusion; Local Spatial Data Infrastructure; Sustainable Urban Development; Key Research Topics; National Academy; Spot Satellite
• ISBN: 1138584622; 9781138584624
• DOI: 10.1201/9780429505904-10

This chapter examines the potential of remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS) to assist in the tasks in general terms and discusses potential of remote sensing and GIS to assist in these tasks in general terms. It presents some of the findings of several case studies carried out in the Division of Urban Planning and Management at ITC which give some insights as to how these tools can be used to respond to this challenge. The challenges facing urban managers are numerous and include: demographic pressure; inadequate infrastructures; inadequate resources for service delivery and planning; conflicting interests between groups; and the contradicting priorities of economic development, ecological sustainability and community quality of life. The advent of satellite imagery has created new sources of information for those involved in urban management. The delivery of urban social services and the supply of basic utilities infrastructure present a wide range of management problems in rapidly growing urban areas with limited resources.