Satellite-Based Canopy and Green Observation System
Along with water, green spaces and trees are key elements in mitigating the negative effects of climate change in urban areas, particularly in reducing the urban heat island effect and increasing resilience to heavy rainfall. Furthermore, they improve the quality of life, promote active use of public spaces and sustainable mobility, and have been shown to contribute to the mental and physical health of the population. Effective implementation of greening measures to adapt to climate change requires their integration into local land-use planning.
AEE INTEC and B-NK, together with other partners in the R&D project “RaumGrün & Gemeinden” (FFG No. 902414), examined and integrated available geodata sources on climate change, including the use of satellite data, and developed the initial foundations for GIS-based proposal methods for green-blue infrastructure derived from these sources. As part of this project, it also became clear that the targeted implementation of greening requires a precise inventory of urban green spaces and tree populations in order to identify potential and gaps based on data and to enable digital analyses.
The overarching project goal is to develop web-based visualization tools using freely available remote sensing data to meet the EU-wide requirement for monitoring urban green spaces and tree canopy cover. In addition to generating a high-resolution green space data layer that identifies the relevant structures, a second focus is on developing algorithms for change detection. Professional dialogue with relevant institutions (e.g., ÖROK, the Association of Austrian Cities and Municipalities, the Federal Environment Agency, Vienna Geospace Hub) as well as validation in two “Climate Pioneer” test cities ensures that the tools are developed in a needs-based, application-oriented manner. In addition, opportunities for broader applications of the results will be explored, such as the development of urban climate change adaptation measures or the quantification of green spaces asCO2 sinks.
The tests, using two Climate Pioneer Cities as examples, are designed so that Graz—as a Climate Pioneer City with excellent data—serves as the starting point, while Gleisdorf, as a small Climate Pioneer town, can benefit from the methodology developed. These maps then provide a very good data foundation for identifying local potential and shortcomings.
Project Management: AEE – Institute for Sustainable Technologies
