24-05-2006

RADARSAT-2 SOAR project approved

Informal settlements monitoring by SAR Partecipants Paolo Gamba (Principal Investigator) Department of Electronics, University of Pavia Martino Pesaresi (Co-Investigator) European Commission, Joint Research Centre Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen (IPSC) Support to External Security Sector (SES) Dr. Yun Zhang (Co-Investigator) Department of Geodesy and Geomatics Engineering University of New Brunswick Project objectives The research activities in this project are aimed first of all at multitemporal analysis of informal settlements using high-resolution SAR data. With respect to these tasks, the specific scientific aims split in two main areas: a)    the development of new methodologies for rapid mapping using high-resolution SAR data. b)    the test and validation of these algorithms for informal settlements monitoring, exploiting, whether possible, ancillary optical data. As a follow-on and more general aim of this project, this work is devoted to better understand the driving forces and processes of informal settlement changes; the location of such habitats around central cities, and their connection with migration, either legal or illegal. It will make the monitoring of such areas and their changes a source of information, which is extremely valuable not only to urban planners, but also to security initiatives, such as the European GMES (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security). So, one more aim of this project is to increase the timeliness and effectiveness of information on informal settlements, particularly in developing countries that depends upon the availability of useful data. Detecting evolutions in land cover/use requires detailed surveys, in order to deal with built-up objects and also covering a large area enabling the identification of changes in the outskirts. SAR data are one primary source to complement with other, existing ones (maps, aerial photography, optical satellite imagery, etc.). SAR data may obviate problems of the other sources, providing temporally and spatially detailed information on urban changes (location and type of urban structure, population density, infrastructures, …).