An approach for automatic road extraction from digital aerial imagery is presented. The extraction is based on a semantic model for roads. The images are divided into different so-called “global contexts”: rural, forest, and urban. Different parts of the road model and different strategies are used in the different global contexts. In rural areas, a multi-scale approach is employed to find init...

The population of Latin America is now largely urban. By 1990, 72 percent of the people of the region were living in cities (Figure 1). By 2020, the urban population could reach 83 percent. With increasing urbanization, the region faces problems of poverty, nutrition, and health that are somewhat different from those when the population was more rural. Thirty-five percent of the people who live...

Article history:Received 23 July 2013Received in revised form 30 October 2013Accepted 30 October 2013Available online xxxx

The availability of Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) data opens the possibility to characterize urban areas by means of this sensor all over the world. In particular, the global digital elevation model (DEM) can provide a three-dimensional atlas of urban agglomerates. However, the coarse ground resolution and the problems due to radar imaging of the complex urban environments do not allo...

QuikSCAT backscatter is generally higher over urban areas than surrounding vegetated areas. Azimuthal anisotropy has been observed over some urban areas, but the strength of the azimuthal anisotropy in the urban backscatter signal has not been well quantified. This study investigates radar azimuthal anisotropy in urban areas. QuikSCAT L1B σ observations are compared for urban, non-urban, and un...

INTRODUCTION The question of whether urban areas can offer a semblance of the natural world – a vestige (at least) of ecological integrity – is an important one to many people who live in these areas. As more and more of the world becomes urbanized, this question becomes highly relevant to the broader mission of maintaining the Earth’s biological diversity. Most people, especially when young, a...

This article introduces a new concept of ‘temporary identification style urban areas’ into design terminology and thoroughly considers the features term ‘city style’ related concepts. Such types as temporary an event permanent place are analysed. Both concepts considered on example city Kazan, in 2017 Kazan has applied for World Design Capital (WDC) status. Different elements expressed means vi...