Assessing local heat stress and air quality with the use of remote sensing and pedestrian perception in urban microclimate simulations.

Cities are increasingly confronted with multiple environmental and climatic stressors. Especially during heatwaves, street canyons are both producers and sufferers of air pollution and urban heat island (UHI) effects, with severe risks on public health. To better design mitigation measures, it is important to consider both the microclimate behaviors as well as the perceptions of the local population.

Evaluation of Land Cover Change and Agricultural Protection Sites: A GIS and Remote Sensing Approach for Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), economic center and most populous city of Vietnam faces a strong structural change since its market liberalization in the late 1980s. Big challenges occur in the form of uncontrolled urban sprawl due to rapid population growth with encroachment of agricultural land, which leads to environmental and climatic issues like urban heat island effects, air pollution and flooding events. Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) provide new computer-based technologies for urban planners which can greatly ease the monitoring of agricultural loss as well as improve decision making for future land management.