Revolutionising Urban Greening

Written By Rob Phillimore

OPO’s nature data platform integrates SatVu’s high-resolution thermal data to enhance city planning.

 

The Project

SatVu has partnered with Office of Planetary Observations (OPO), an Australian company measuring and monitoring the greening initiatives. Their Nature Data platform powered by AI is designed to assist at every level of governance, city planning, and land management. 

OPO focused on Darwin’s context aware heat stress streets and combined it with canopy cover density and tree stress index. Hotsat-1 data collected in December 2023 enhanced OPO’s insights precisely indicating three areas of high prioritisation for new tree planting.

 

The challenge of urban heat

SatVu’s mission is to capture the highest resolution thermal data from space for a safer and more sustainable Earth. We can provide critical information to aid in the mitigation of climate change effects. By analysing data from our satellites, decision makers will be able to make more informed plans and better respond to extreme climate events, ultimately contributing to a more resilient and well-prepared world.

One area where high resolution thermal data is a game-changing technology is the example is the Urban Heat Island Effect (UHI).

The Urban Heat Island Effect describes a phenomenon where urban areas experience different temperatures to its surroundings. Built-up areas are typically warmer by a couple of degrees Celsius, though it can be up to 10 degrees  and varies depending on the time of day and season. This is due to buildings and paved surfaces absorbing heat from the sun and human activity (e.g. car exhausts or hot air vents), then releasing that heat to the lowest layer of the atmosphere late into the night. Natural surfaces like vegetation which dominate non-urban landscapes absorb less heat, exhibit cooling effects from evaporation and cool down more quickly at night, meaning the UHI effect is greater at night.

The UHI intensifies heatwaves, exposing city-dwellers to thermal discomfort and heat stress. In fact, a case study in the UK found that during the 2003 European Heatwave (Europe’s hottest heat event in 500 years) 50% of all heat-related deaths during the 2003 heatwave in the West Midlands could be attributed to the UHI effect.

The UN expects 68% of people to live in urban areas by 2050, up from 55% today. As global temperatures are also rising, many more people will be vulnerable to heat-related illness in the coming years. This is especially true where rapid urbanisation coincides with high vulnerability to climate change.

 

SatVu’s work to tackle urban heat

In the past months, SatVu has started talking to Chief Heat Officers, local authorities, and solution providers at the GEO Global Heat Resilience Service ‘Heat Sprint’ event and collected feedback from stakeholders involved in city planning projects enquiring about the potential of HotSat satellites. The conclusions of these conversations are unanimous – more granular and frequent measurements of heat distribution in urban areas should become a tool in assessing the cost, effectiveness, and urgency of the local authorities’ response to extreme heat events. However, currently available thermal datasets (Landsat) are too coarse to give a trustworthy image of a city at a street level.

Landsat

SatVu

 

Data Fusion: Each City to Its Needs

In the past few years, we have seen a few innovative solutions becoming part of city policies. Singapore is leading on skyrise greening with over 300 hectares introduced in new developments. Sevilla’s mayor promotes the “policy of shade” which involves large awnings shielding from direct sunlight in the most populated areas of the city. In Athens, a €55 m loan from the European Investment Bank facilitates the development of nature based solutions such as green corridors and the sustainable water management system.

The diversity of solutions highlights that a strategy effective in one location may not be easily applicable to another. Each city is unique, influenced not only by its geographical location but also by factors such as demographics, land structure, and other distinctive characteristics.

According to Eleni Myrivili, Global Chief Heat Officer of the UN-Habitat and Arsht Rock Resilience Center, “to start building heat resilience, one of the first things a city should do is map-out and correlate critical geospatial parameters (climate data, land coverage, demographic, socio-economic) in order to understand heat vulnerability and how to prioritize city policies and initiatives.” 

 

Office of Planetary Observation: Nature Data platform to assist at every level of governance, city planning, and land management

OPO offers a three tier SaaS offering to help measure and manage the natural capital of your project site towards a nature positive future. These include but are not limited to:

  • Tree Canopy Mapping

  • Tree Canopy Health

  • Tree Inventories

  • Urban Heat Island site monitoring

  • Urban Heat Island context monitoring

  • Where to Plant & number of trees

  • Green Infrastructure & Biodiversity corridors

  • Reports with insights & actions for your planning, budgeting, design and operation needs

From local governments, urban planners to design firms and landscape architects, OPO services the built environment industry for better planning and management of cities across the world urban greening assets. OPO’s consulting clients include Telstra InfraCo, Bupa, Urbis, Department of Environment Energy & Climate Action and Local Councils.

Narayan Buckley, Director Industry Strategy, Northern Territory Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade, Northern Territory Government said:

“The Northern Territory Government recognises the potential of earth observation to enhance urban planning, inform climate adaptation strategies and support economic development. Which This is why the Northern Territory Government supported development of OPO’s urban greening platform through its Earth Observation for the Northern Territory (EO4NT) grant program.

“Tools like OPO’s urban greening platform have the potential to support evidence-based decision-making in urban planning which can enhance society’s capacity to respond to climate challenges.”

Natalia Kuniewicz, Business Development Lead - Climate & Sustainability at SatVu said:

“With SatVu's advanced thermal imaging, we can better monitor urban heat islands, assess the health of green spaces, and optimize plant planning to create more sustainable and resilient cities. This technology empowers every level of governance to make informed decisions that promote greener, cooler, and more liveable urban environments.”

 
 
 

Sources:

  • https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2013GL057320

  • https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10584-011-0021-0

  • https://www.researchgate.net/publication/359405969

  • https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-16461-9

  • https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10584-011-0021-0

  • https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/learn-about/weather/case-studies/heatwave

  • https://ehjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12940-016-0100-9

  • https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-16461-9

Rob Phillimore
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