BOOK REVIEW Remote Sensing and

Urban Analysis
Edited by: Jean-Paul Donnay, Mike J. Barnsley,
and Paul A. Longley (GISDATA 9, Series Edi-
tors: Ian Masser and François Salgé) (London,
UK:Taylor and Francis), 2001. 268 pages.

The use of remote sensing in urban analysis presents multiple
problems when compared with image classification in natural
areas. The size of the pixel, the mixture of different land covers,
and the irregularity of shapes ensure the difficulty of per-pixel
classification methods. This explains the difficulty of defining
land cover and use inside the urban boundary and justifies some
of the lack of interaction between professionals in urban plan-
ning and analysis and those in remote sensing. In light of this
gap, Remote Sensing and Urban Analysis is a welcome addition to
the scarce literature on urban analysis and remote sensing.
The publication of this book was motivated by the recent
wave of high-resolution satellites (<5 meters) and the assump-
tion that there is a need for more interaction between profession-
als involved in the urban realm. The book has its roots in a
specialist meeting on remote sensing and urban analysis held at
the University of Strasbourg, France and sponsored by the Euro-
pean Science Foundation’s (ESF) GISDATA Program. The in-
tent of the book is to unveil what modern digital remote sensing
can offer both urban planners and society in general. The method
is to explore the potential of the technology in general, and re-
mote sensing in particular.
Remote Sensing and Urban Analysis is an assemblage of su-
perbly written chapters on theory and practice. It is a resource
for remote sensing, urbanism, geography, and planning, and in-
cludes contributions from many prominent experts on remote
sensing, urban analysis, and GIS. It features themes that range
from the continuous need to advance image processing, to go
beyond the simple mapping of the physical form of urban areas,
to conclude the importance of defining new models and spatial
analysis tools, and to the improvement of the communication
between the different specialists.
The authors are effective at catching our attention with the
broad idea, exploring the multiple implications, and then detail-
ing their contributions in a coherent manner. The book is a re-
flective and well-written piece of work that is needed and that
highlights the new opportunities available for students and pro-
fessionals, as a doubt taker for those working on a daily basis and
an important landmark in the advent of this third generation of
very high spatial resolution of satellite sensors. The book is di-
vided into four parts, and the topics intertwine without losing
the flow and the attention of the reader. The authors seem to
speak with each other throughout the chapters, sharing prob-
lems, acknowledgments, and doubts, as well as making this a
comprehensive source.
Part 1 begins with an Introduction by Donnay, Barnsley,
and Longley that details the major issues to be discussed. The
state of the art in urban remote sensing, the demand for higher
spatial resolution data, the enhancement of the classification pro-
cess, and the importance of going from urban morphology/physi-
cal dimension to urban/human dimension are some of the subjects
presented. Ranchin et al. (Chapter 2) explored the fact that even
though a new generation of sensors is available, other methods
are available for merging old and new datasets. He explores a
method based on the wavelet transform. Brvio et al. (Chapter 3)
uses geostatistical techniques of fitting parameters resulting from
semivarigrams to the data sets to distinguish different urban en-

URISA Journal • Book Review 33

vironments. Bianchin (Chapter 4) explores the use of mathemati-
cal morphology operators to distinguish urban areas and their
form.
Part 2 devotes considerable attention to the use of tradi-
tional per-pixel classification based in spectral signature and im-
portant new techniques such as image segmentation (broadly
accepted by the authors as one of best techniques, but still not
widely used). It begins with a chapter by Mesev (Chapter 5) that
reviews the problems associated with the more traditional stan-
dard techniques of statistical classification and a number of prac-
tical ways to overcome those problems. Bahr (Chapter 6) explores
the importance of segmentation techniques. Barnsley (Chapter
7) takes it further, detailing the techniques of structural pattern
recognition. It flows from the readings that the identification of
the morphological properties of urban areas is hardly identifiable
through spectral signature and per-pixel analysis alone. Urban
complexity implies important relations of neighborhood that
cannot be ignored.
As soon as we understand the importance of urban mor-
phology and its different facets, the authors open another chap-
ter that goes beyond. The importance of the urban/human
dimension, the possibility of using remote sensing to infer the
character of the place, and the possibility of challenging theories
and methods are raised. Part IV (“Defining Urban Populations
Over Space and Time”) begins with Longly and Messev (Chap-
ter 9) addressing the importance of urban morphologies described
in the previous chapter to derive indicators of urban shape and
form. With that comes the questioning of data-led theories lead-
ing to theory-led data analysis. Issues such as fractal dimension/
allometry should be part of our urban agendas. Batty and Howes
(Chapter 10) explain how time is included in remote sensing and
urban analysis; they seek to understand and predict temporal
patterns, using a method to classify development by age with
remote sensing and ancillary data. Using time discontinuities re-
garding differences in densities, building materials, and trans-
port systems, three important time frames are proposed: the 1930s,
1960s, and 1990s (p. 187). Donnay and Unwin (Chapter 11)
direct our attention to the possibility of disclosing different popu-
lation densities, also with the help of ancillary data. Finally,
Baudout (Chapter 12) puts geography into perspective: do not
forget that different continents have different realities, different
objectives, and certainly different methods. This sincere and clear
disclosure of information throughout the book telling us of what
we need to be aware or the unfolding opportunities that we will
find along the way makes this book interesting.
34
Chapter 13, “A Research Agenda in Remote Sensing and
Urban Analysis,” is a highlight of the book. As the editors point
out, it is important to challenge remote sensing analysis, by go-
ing beyond per-pixel analysis into questions of configuration,
syntax, structure, and function. Contrary to what is stated in the
Epilogue, the book did not come out too early (p. 245), but just
in time! It prepares the readers for what we should expect (poten-
tialities, problems, advantages, questions still unsolved) in differ-
ent opinions, methods, and how the different fields need to be
related.
As the authors conclude, there is still much to do on some
real problems. The possibilities of this new wave of satellites also
presages new problems, and there is a danger that remote sensing
specialists will expend more effort addressing the opportunities
and problems posed by each new technological advance, rather
than seeking operational solutions to the use of existing systems,
mainly if we want to go further than the simple urban form and
try to extract other functional properties that are to the interest
of urban planners and cannot be observed directly (p. xxiii). Much
needs to be done in terms of the outdateness of some ancillary
data to monitor fast changing urban development trends, or the
balance between coarse resolution and confidentiality, and the
incompleteness of some of the data sets (p. 252). These are pre-
sented and explored as a tool to help us realize what needs to be
done. The authors see solutions through collaboration, with this
book as proof. As stated in the Conclusion “the outcome of re-
search will determine whether urban remote sensing is to fulfill
only a technical role in corroborating and updating other data
sources, or whether it might fulfill a more central role in terms of
quality of life studies, and data-rich modeling of form and
function”(p. 255). Reading this book reveals the encouraging
optimism of the authors. Overall, the aim of this book is well
accomplished. It is indeed a balanced exposition of detailed and
broad views, and the bibliography helps the reader who wants to
go further.
Reviewed by:
Elisabete A. Silva
Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, Massachusetts
bete@larp.umass.edu
URISA Journal • Vol. 13, No. 2 • Spring 2001