ABSTRACT
It is technically very demanding for remote sensing techniques to decipher and provide accurate and meaningful information about the cityscape, since it is comprised of a highly complex physical surface. For remote sensing “purists” this may be reason enough to wish to study urban areas, and they are likely to be more than satisfied by the challenges faced when so doing. However, at risk of stating the obvious, what makes cities particularly important for most practitioners interested in applied remote sensing is not that they present a complex physical surface, but simply that they contain people. It is a fact that in most countries today the majority of the population resides within city boundaries, and the trend toward everincreasing urbanization across the globe shows few signs of slowing down. It is within the confines of cities, therefore, that most people conduct their daily lives. In so doing, they create numerous problems and issues that can potentially be addressed, or at least partially addressed, by information extracted from remotely sensed imagery.
