A method for monitoring building construction in urban sprawl areas using object-based analysis of Spot 5 images and existing GIS data

Urban sprawl has been identified as one of the most negative effects of global population growth on the environment and biodiversity. Frequent monitoring of urban sprawl is needed to limit the impact of this ongoing phenomenon. This paper proposes precise monitoring of building construction using an object-based classification methodology applied to Spot 5 images with a 2.5 m resolution. An application at a regional scale on Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean shows that this building extraction methodology has limitations in the production of reference urban maps because of difficulties in defining the shape and the number of buildings compared to classical photo-interpretation of aerial photography. However, these results are of great value for planning in urban sprawl areas where up-to-date information is lacking because of the rapid pace of house construction and residential development.