Many governments are grappling with the staggering growth of urban areas around the world, as well as the difficulty of adequately meeting the basic needs of the rapidly growing urban population. The ability to successfully maintain or establish adequate infrastructure, water supply, electricity, sanitation, or poverty and education services is therefore critical and has a significant impact on a country's overall development. Conflict is also causing a large number of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs), putting additional strain on cities. These two factors are also intertwined and interact with climate change, particularly the increasing severity and frequency of disasters, the annualised global losses of which are expected to exceed $300 billion by 2030.

The availability of consistent, accurate, and up-to-date information on the status and development of the built environment is a critical requirement for implementing effective procedures for urban management and service provision. In this case, EO technology provides excellent capabilities for the inventory and analysis of urban areas, with the potential to inform and facilitate international development work on a global scale.

In this film, we hear from senior experts about the important impact of this technology in monitoring changes and growth in key urban locations, and how it has helped to underpin planning, resource management and resilience.  

Urban Development Tools

• NASA SEDAC POPGRID comparative mapping tool
• DLR WSF viewer

Featured Educators:

• Ellen Hamilton, World Bank
• Ede Ijjasz-Vasquez, (Formerly World Bank)
• Sameh Wahba, World Bank
• Anna Wellenstein, World Bank