Abstract

The application of remote sensing in the urban environment has received more attention than ever, mainly due to the capability of this modern technology in developing the information base that is essential for the planning and management of global cities now containing more than half of the 7 billion people of our planet. This topical entry provides a brief overview on the utilities of remote sensing for the urban environment. While remote sensing has predominately been used for urban feature extraction, we have witnessed a steady and strengthening extension of the applicability beyond this conventional domain and into areas of urban socioeconomic and environmental analysis and predictive modeling of urbanization over the past two decades. This entry covers these aspects, along with some areas that need further research.