Monitoring the urban development with integrated system from RS observation and GIS information

Urban remote sensing predominantly focuses on positive growth patterns. Urban planning mainly concentrates on the investigation of cities as an administrative unit. In this paper the phenomenon of a negative urban growth is investigated within an urban region for two selected areas: one selected test area is the gradient from inner urban districts to peri-urban communes, the other selected area is composed of four local districts within the first selected region. The urban region is the City of Leipzig, Germany, with its surrounding communes. Selected patterns of spatial processes are analysed for the gradient on a smaller scale using Spot XS data, and additionally, Landsat TM data where Spot data were missing. For the four local districts in Leipzig Color Infrared Aerial photographs (CIR) were taken for the analysis on a much larger scale. The focus of the analysis is the development of open spaces and densification. It will be shown how suburban communes and local districts within the city have developed disregarding sustainable planning. Several communes in the Leipzig region have started a planning cooperation, called "Gruner Ring Leipzig" (Green Belt Leipzig) in which remote sensing activities of the UFZ spatially support a better coordinated regional planning.