ABSTRACT
Cities are socio-economic prime movers of any state. However, because of the high population density and scale of the activities performed within the urban centres, they are the prime reason for adverse effects on the environment as well. Some of the effects are local such as urban floods, whereas some of the effects are global such as climate change. Quantifying urban impact on the environment is essential for designing the right interventions and making cities more sustainable.
The United Nations’ indicator framework provides a helpful perspective on sustainable development. However, sustainability assessment is a very data- and effort-intensive endeavour. A systemic view providing benefits, burdens, and vulnerabilities of the urban centres is helpful in reducing the complexity.
Many of the indicators require a synoptic view which is provided by remote sensing alone. An urban metabolism model using remotely sensed data, based on the systemic view of the city, is useful in predicting the impact of urban activities on its surroundings. The urban metabolism framework is a collection of remote sensing models that provide estimates of urban consumption and emissions. It further provides a prediction of future scenarios of a city and thus helps in the design of the right interventions.
