What Earth Observation Can Do for Urban Areas
Earth observation (EO) offers urban planners, local authorities and city managers a powerful lens through which to understand, monitor and manage the complex dynamics of urban environments. Satellite data can map built-up areas and track urban expansion, monitor land surface temperatures and identify urban heat islands, assess green and blue infrastructure, detect subsidence and structural changes, and support flood and disaster risk management. By delivering consistent, up-to-date spatial information across entire cities and metropolitan regions, EO enables evidence-based urban planning and helps cities become more liveable, resilient and sustainable — in line with goals such as the UN Sustainable Development Goal 11 and the EU Mission for 100 Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities.
ESA's Role in Urban Applications
ESA supports urban communities through programmes and initiatives that develop space-based applications tailored to the needs of cities and local governments. Missions such as Copernicus Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 provide freely available, high-resolution data that underpin a wide range of urban monitoring services — from land cover mapping and green space assessment to infrastructure monitoring and emergency response. Through its Business Applications and Space Solutions programme and dedicated urban thematic activities, ESA collaborates with municipalities, urban research institutions and the private sector to co-develop and scale operational EO services. These efforts contribute to smarter, data-driven city governance and support Europe's broader ambitions for sustainable urban development.
How the Stakeholder Engagement Facility Supports Urban Authorities
The ESA Stakeholder Engagement Facility (SEF) works directly with urban authorities and city practitioners to lower the barriers to adopting Earth observation in urban planning and management workflows. SEF curates catalogues of EO-powered solutions relevant to urban applications and uses tools such as the Geospatial Explorer to demonstrate how satellite data can address the specific spatial and environmental challenges cities face. Through active community building, SEF helps urban stakeholders connect with the broader EO ecosystem and discover services suited to their needs.
Engagement with urban practitioners takes many forms. A cornerstone of SEF's outreach to cities is its close collaboration with the Covenant of Mayors Europe — the world's largest movement of local and regional authorities committed to climate and energy action. Together, SEF and the Covenant of Mayors have organised webinar series and joint outreach activities that bring Earth observation capabilities directly to city administrations across Europe, helping municipalities understand how satellite data can support their climate commitments, energy planning and urban resilience strategies. This partnership provides SEF with a direct and trusted channel to engage with a large and diverse community of local authorities at different stages of their EO journey.
At the individual level, SEF conducts deep dive sessions — focused, one-on-one interactions with urban authorities designed to understand their specific challenges, explore relevant EO solutions and provide tailored guidance on how to integrate satellite data into their decision-making processes. SEF also maintains an active presence at leading urban and smart city events, including the Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona and Urbis, engaging with city leaders and innovation communities to raise awareness of the transformative potential of space data for urban development.
External Resources
The following resources cover ESA-funded projects and open tools relevant to urban EO users from
air quality and green transition planning to land use mapping, infrastructure monitoring, and SDG 11 reporting.
Urban air quality
CitySatAir
Developed and validated a methodology to combine Sentinel-5P/TROPOMI satellite data with low-cost sensor
networks and official station measurements to produce high-resolution maps of urban air quality — including
surface NO₂ and PM2.5 — at scales directly relevant to human exposure. Specifically aimed at cities in low-
and middle-income countries with limited monitoring infrastructure. Led by KNMI, NILU and Lobelia, funded by
ESA. Completed March 2025; results, tools and publications freely available.
Green transition platform
ESA Green Transition Information Factory (GTIF)
A cloud-based platform providing interactive EO-enabled tools and narratives for city planners, industry and
citizens across five Green Transition domains: Sustainable Cities, Energy Transition, Mobility Transition,
Carbon Accounting, and Climate Adaptation. Urban capabilities include urban heat island trend analysis,
building rooftop solar potential and thermal insulation assessment, PM2.5 pollution mapping, and mobility-air
quality linkages. Initially deployed for Austria; expanding to Baltic States, UK, Ireland, France and beyond.
Urban land use
Copernicus Urban Atlas
High-resolution, pan-European land cover and land use maps for ~790 Functional Urban Areas (50,000+
inhabitants) across EEA38 countries and the UK. Now updated every three years (2006, 2012, 2018, 2021
editions), with 19 urban thematic classes, plus a Street Tree Layer and Building Heights layer. Directly
supports urban planning, sustainable urbanisation reporting, green space assessment, and land take monitoring
under the EU Biodiversity Strategy. Free to download.
Ground motion & subsidence
Copernicus European Ground Motion Service (EGMS)
Provides millimetre-precision measurements of ground motion and surface deformation across all Copernicus
Participating States, derived from Sentinel-1 InSAR time series. Updated annually with both ascending and
descending track products, calibrated to GNSS. Used by city authorities to monitor structural integrity of
buildings, bridges, dams and tunnels; assess subsidence risk; and support flood resilience planning in coastal
cities. Freely accessible via the EGMS Explorer.
Global urban data
JRC Global Human Settlement Layer (GHSL)
The global reference dataset for human settlements: multitemporal grids of built-up surface, building volume
and height, resident population, and degree of urbanisation classification — spanning 1975 to 2030 at 10–100 m
resolution. Derived from Sentinel-2, Landsat and census data. Used for SDG 11 monitoring, urban growth trend
analysis, disaster exposure assessment, and climate adaptation planning. All data are free and open under CC
BY 4.0, accessible via direct download, Google Earth Engine, or the Copernicus HDX.
SDG 11 toolkit
EO Toolkit for Sustainable Cities & Human Settlements
A joint initiative of GEO EO4SDG and UN-Habitat, launched in 2021 with contributions from 40+ international
organisations. Provides open guidance, datasets, use cases and tools for applying EO to monitor SDG 11
indicators and the New Urban Agenda — covering urban planning, informal settlements, open public spaces,
transport access, air quality, and urban resilience. Includes national and city-level implementation examples
and links to training resources.
