ESA’s URBIS Conference Highlights Urban Insights from Space

ESA recently hosted the URBIS conference at ESRIN, focusing on “Urban Insights from Space”. The event brought together experts and stakeholders to explore how Earth Observation (EO) data can enhance urban planning, sustainability, and energy management. The conference prominently featured ESA’s Global Development Assistance (GDA) programme, showcasing innovative applications of EO data in cities worldwide.

Zooming in on Solar Potential in Armenia

Elke Krätzschmar, along with Kristin Fleischer and Peter Schauer from IABG Geospatial Solutions, the prime of the GDA Clean Energy thematic activity, presented a detailed multiscale approach to solar potential analysis under the GDA Clean Energy case study in Armenia. Their presentation, titled “Zoom in – benefits of a multiscale approach for solar potential analysis”, emphasised the need for reliable and sustainable energy access in rapidly growing urban areas.In Armenia, a national-level solar potential analysis was conducted using High-Resolution (HR) Sentinel-2 imagery, surpassing the commonly used global solar atlas. With the team’s expertise, advantages and limitations of various scales were highlighted using globally distributed examples, down to engineering level. For the capital city Yerevan, the analysis using Very High-Resolution (VHR) stereo data to identify rooftops suitable for solar installations was presented, focusing on building orientation, types, sizes, and rooftop characteristics.The case study demonstrates how combining different data scales can effectively guide investment decisions, particularly for International Financial Institutions (IFIs) like the World Bank. By integrating various levels of EO data, the project helps tailor sustainable energy solutions to the specific needs of urban and rural settings, facilitating the transition towards cleaner energy sources in Armenia.

Mitigating Urban Heat Islands in Sargodha, Pakistan

Christophe Sannier, along with Christoff Fourie and Fabian Enssle from GAF AG, the prime of the GDA Urban Sustainability thematic activity, presented the Sargodha case study titled “A Remote Sensing Case Study in Urban Heat Island Information Product Development, Dissemination, and Usage for Sargodha City in Pakistan.” The study focused on mapping and analysing Urban Heat Islands (UHI) in Sargodha, a rapidly growing city facing extreme summer temperatures often exceeding 40°C.Using EO data, the team derived Surface Urban Heat Island Intensity (SUHII) to model the urban heat effect, correlating land surface temperatures with impervious surfaces. This analysis helps urban planners prioritise green infrastructure investments, such as parks and urban forests, to mitigate the heat island effect and improve urban liveability. The insights are now integral to Sargodha’s Green Transformation Action Plan (GTAP), guiding the city’s efforts to create a healthier environment for its 660,000 residents.

Pioneering Sustainable Urban Development from Space

The URBIS conference underscored the critical role of EO data in supporting sustainable urban development. From solar potential screening in Armenia to UHI analysis in Sargodha, the ESA GDA programme’s case studies highlight the transformative potential of space-based insights. As cities worldwide grapple with growing environmental pressures, these innovative approaches demonstrate how EO data can drive effective, data-driven solutions for resilient and sustainable urban futures.

Elke Krätzschmar

I am Elke Krätzschmar, coordinating and being the Project Manager of the Global Development Assistance activity on Clean Energy at IABG Geospatial Solutions. As a graduated engineer in Cartography, I have been working for more than two decades in the field of remote sensing and advanced image analysis, based on (semi)automatic approaches with a focus on machine learning and object-based image analysis. The continuous evolution of geospatial data as well as the related analysis techniques have enabled me to gain extensive insights into various methods of analysis. Within the energy context, I was responsible for the development and implementation of a site-selection approach for microgrids in India and Africa with respect to energy demand assessment and forecasting, as well as the site exploration for the German Renewable Energy sector. I have been leading the group of remote sensing experts of IABG’s Geospatial Department, providing solutions covering various projects and thematic domains by addressing users such as ESA, the European Commission, the Environmental Agency, or the World Bank.

Christophe Sannier

Dr. Christophe Sannier recently joined GAF AG and brings 30 years’ experience in EO based applications. Initially an academic researcher, he spent the last 17 years in the private sector. His expertise centres on integrating in situ observations and Remote Sensing technologies for land resource monitoring. Holding a PhD from Cranfield University, UK, in strategic vegetation mapping in Africa, he previously worked at IGN FI and SIRS, later part of CLS. Noteworthy contributions include leadership in ESA, FP7, and H2020 projects, especially in Copernicus Land Monitoring. His international work focuses on capacity building, knowledge transfer, and support for programmes such as GEO and more specifically GFOI, and GEOGLAM.