Scientists have identified a characteristic “urban pulse“ of six major cities around the world by analyzing high-frequency satellite images, Reuters reported.
The study covers Dubai, Lagos, Mexico City, Mumbai, Seattle and Shenzhen and offers a new approach to tracking urbanization in near real time. The results are published in a scientific journal.
Until now, urban development processes have usually been assessed using data such as population censuses, economic indicators or maps of urban expansion. According to the authors of the study, these indicators provide an incomplete picture of the dynamics of cities.
The team used data from NASA's Landsat and the European Space Agency's Sentinel-2 satellites to track construction, demolition of buildings, infrastructure projects and the encroachment of the urban environment into green spaces, BTA specifies.
The researchers found that urbanization does not occur smoothly and evenly, but is characterized by sudden jumps, cycles of accelerated development and stagnation, as well as different rates of change in individual neighborhoods of the same city.
The most intensive growth was recorded in the Chinese metropolis of Shenzhen, which in a few decades transformed from a fishing village near Hong Kong into a metropolis. According to the researchers, this is due to large-scale and coordinated state mobilization of capital. Dubai, on the other hand, is distinguished by sharp peaks associated with large-scale investment projects. In Lagos, development is more fragmented, while Seattle shows a pattern of market-driven renewal and densification of the urban environment.
Mumbai and Mexico City are among the cities that have shown the greatest resilience during global shocks such as the Covid pandemic, the authors also note.
Detailed statistics on average property prices in Bulgaria by city and neighborhood can be seen at imot.bg