Chapter 3
Combining Different Data Sources for City
Growth Analysis and Architectural Heritage
Mapping
Karel Pavelka and Eva Matous ˇkova ´
Abstract This chapter discusses our research effort on city growth documentation
and architectural heritage mapping through the combined use of maps and sketches,
declassified satellite data, aerial photographs and modern satellite imagery. For
analyzing city growth, an extended time frame is preferred. We selected the City of
Erbil in northern Iraq as a case study site due to its extensive expansion and the lack
of information documenting this process. The area of Iraqi Kurdistan has been
inhabited for at least 6,000 years and the sandy dry landscape has retained many
monuments there. The centre of Kurdistan is the rapidly growing City of Erbil.
Shortly after World War II the city had about 40,000 inhabitants, but now the
number is close to two million. This area has become the commercial, cultural,
agricultural and administrative centre of the region. The world-renowned historical
monument known as the Citadel Al-Qala is located at Erbi’s historic center. This
project has focused upon the mapping of the Al-Qala citadel using satellite images
and aerial photographs. After creating a vector-based planimetric map, we have
further produced a virtual three-dimensional model covering the valuable parts of
the Citadel with textures, along with a citadel information system. Our work has
demonstrated the utility of combining various sources of data for temporal analysis
of city growth and for heritage mapping.
Keywords Erbil • 3D documentation • Land use change • City growth • Satellite
images • Aerial photos • Maps • Sketches
K. Pavelka (*) • E. Matous ˇkova ´
Department of Geomatics, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Czech Technical University
in Prague, Tha ´kurova 7, 166 09 Prague 6, Czech Republic
e-mail: pavelka@fsv.cvut.cz; eva.matouskova@fsv.cvut.cz
© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015
J. Li, X. Yang (eds.), Monitoring and Modeling of Global Changes:
A Geomatics Perspective, Springer Remote Sensing/Photogrammetry,
DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-9813-6_3
37
Combining Different Data Sources for City
Growth Analysis and Architectural Heritage
Mapping
Karel Pavelka and Eva Matous ˇkova ´
Abstract This chapter discusses our research effort on city growth documentation
and architectural heritage mapping through the combined use of maps and sketches,
declassified satellite data, aerial photographs and modern satellite imagery. For
analyzing city growth, an extended time frame is preferred. We selected the City of
Erbil in northern Iraq as a case study site due to its extensive expansion and the lack
of information documenting this process. The area of Iraqi Kurdistan has been
inhabited for at least 6,000 years and the sandy dry landscape has retained many
monuments there. The centre of Kurdistan is the rapidly growing City of Erbil.
Shortly after World War II the city had about 40,000 inhabitants, but now the
number is close to two million. This area has become the commercial, cultural,
agricultural and administrative centre of the region. The world-renowned historical
monument known as the Citadel Al-Qala is located at Erbi’s historic center. This
project has focused upon the mapping of the Al-Qala citadel using satellite images
and aerial photographs. After creating a vector-based planimetric map, we have
further produced a virtual three-dimensional model covering the valuable parts of
the Citadel with textures, along with a citadel information system. Our work has
demonstrated the utility of combining various sources of data for temporal analysis
of city growth and for heritage mapping.
Keywords Erbil • 3D documentation • Land use change • City growth • Satellite
images • Aerial photos • Maps • Sketches
K. Pavelka (*) • E. Matous ˇkova ´
Department of Geomatics, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Czech Technical University
in Prague, Tha ´kurova 7, 166 09 Prague 6, Czech Republic
e-mail: pavelka@fsv.cvut.cz; eva.matouskova@fsv.cvut.cz
© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015
J. Li, X. Yang (eds.), Monitoring and Modeling of Global Changes:
A Geomatics Perspective, Springer Remote Sensing/Photogrammetry,
DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-9813-6_3
37