Scientific article
OA Policy
English

Mapping Local Climate Zones (LCZ) Change in the 5 Largest Cities of Switzerland

Published inUrban science, vol. 8, no. 3, 120
First online date2024
Abstract

In the face of climate change and population growth, Local Climate Zone (LCZ) maps have emerged as crucial tools for urban planners and policymakers to address Urban Heat Island (UHI) effects, thereby playing a significant role in mitigating climate change. This study presents a methodology for classifying major Swiss cities into LCZs, offering an efficient, cost-effective, and uniform tool for supporting climate action plans across municipalities and cantons. Initial results show that Sentinel-2, Landsat 8, and Landsat 5 imagery perform well in LCZ classification with an overall accuracy usually exceeding 80%, and Sentinel-2 displays marginally superior performance. Temporal analysis reveals that the built-up classes of Open low-rise and Open mid-rise have increased by ~3%, while Large low-rise and Bare rock or paved have decreased, and Compact mid-rise remains stable. For the natural classes, Water and Dense trees remain stable, but Low plants have declined (~4%). A general decline in overall accuracy over time is noted, attributed to landscape changes. This preliminary effort emphasizes the need to enhance and automate the methodology, integrate it into the Swiss Data Cube, and potentially extend analyses with climate data to better study UHI effects. Future work will include developing visualization and tracking services for urban planners and authorities.

Keywords
  • Climate
  • Urban areas
  • Cities
  • Sentinel-2
  • Landsat
Citation (ISO format)
MOIX, Estelle, GIULIANI, Gregory. Mapping Local Climate Zones (LCZ) Change in the 5 Largest Cities of Switzerland. In: Urban science, 2024, vol. 8, n° 3, p. 120. doi: 10.3390/urbansci8030120
Main files (1)
Article (Published version)
Identifiers
Additional URL for this publicationhttps://www.mdpi.com/2413-8851/8/3/120
Journal ISSN2413-8851
201views
53downloads

Technical informations

Creation22/08/2024 11:36:03
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