What are the limitations of satellite imagery analysis in urban planning?

Satellite imagery in urban planning faces spatial limitations due to its high cost and limited availability. Lower resolution images, though cheaper, can miss crucial details and features. Effective urban planning also needs local knowledge and data from other layers like utilities and networks to provide a comprehensive view. Balancing cost and detail, while integrating multiple data sources, is essential for accurate planning.

Las limitaciones del análisis de imágenes satelitales en planificación urbana incluyen baja resolución espacial y temporal, interferencia atmosférica, limitaciones espectrales, complejidad en el procesamiento de datos, preocupaciones éticas y de privacidad, así como costos y acceso restrictivo a datos detallados y herramientas técnicas.

Satellite resolution is often poor in geomorphology, difficult to see views of buildings on the hills, inclination of land (important for drainage and transportation). With more powerful computers better resolution and more data per building and street can become useful tools for planners

Satellite resolution is often poor in geomorphology, difficult to see views of buildings on the hills, inclination of land (important for drainage and transportation). With more powerful computers better resolution and more data per building and street can become useful tools for planners

Satellite resolution is often poor in geomorphology, difficult to see views of buildings on the hills, inclination of land (important for drainage and transportation). With more powerful computers better resolution and more data per building and street can become useful tools for planners

Satellite resolution is often poor in geomorphology, difficult to see views of buildings on the hills, inclination of land (important for drainage and transportation). With more powerful computers better resolution and more data per building and street can become useful tools for planners

Satellite resolution is often poor in geomorphology, difficult to see views of buildings on the hills, inclination of land (important for drainage and transportation). With more powerful computers better resolution and more data per building and street can become useful tools for planners

Generally, compared to higher resolution sensors (e.g. Planet at 3m) that typically include the visible and NIR, coarser resolution sensors e.g. Landsat or Sentinel-2 at max 30m and 10m respectively, have spectral ranges that extend into the SWIR, and even thermal bands. These bands are more suited to lithology or moisture analysis which can be advantageous to urban planning. However, multiple sensors from different sources have spectral ranges/bands that overlap, either in the providers legacy of satellites, such as the Landsat series, or between different sensors. Most Vis-NIR sensors have overlapping spectral bands, extending the potential data volume available for analysis, though integration should have EO expert guidance.

As with all Earth Observation (EO) analysis, there are limitations to the science and its feasibility in application, including spatial and temporal resolution. However, the increasing availability of free or low cost data, higher performance computing, and open source software, is making the technology more accessible to applications such as urban planning. Therefore one key consideration is to what extent does the analysis adapt or influence traditional methods. There is sometimes a fear that EO will supercede traditional practices, whereas EO should be treated as an invaluable data source to inform decision-making and better assist effective resource management, but only with ground based expert knowledge to guide and inform usage.