Comparison of selected impervious surface products derived from remote sensing data — A case study for the city of Munich

Data on impervious surfaces (IS) are a crucial source of information to assure effective and sustainable urban development. Several concepts and methods for a local, regional, national or even continental quantification and assessment of IS utilizing remote sensing data have emerged. In this manner, selected products are quantitatively compared and qualitatively evaluated: The European-wide operationally generated product `Urban Atlas' and the `FTS-Soil Sealing' data set, results of the `iSurf-A model', IS information derived from HyMap hyperspectral data and from a high resolution 3-D city model based on satellite imagery and airborne laserscanning, respectively - with reference data provided by the city of Munich. The results show differences in accuracies and can be useful for a critical discussion in terms of applicability for various research and planning questions.