scholarly journals Global inequality remotely sensed

2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (18) ◽  
pp. e1919913118
Author(s):  
M. Usman Mirza ◽  
Chi Xu ◽  
Bas van Bavel ◽  
Egbert H. van Nes ◽  
Marten Scheffer
Keyword(s):  
Light Emission ◽  
Economic Inequality ◽  
The United States ◽  
Remotely Sensed ◽  
Net Income ◽  
Spatial Variance ◽  
Gini Coefficients ◽  
Nighttime Light Data ◽  
Nighttime Light ◽  
Household Incomes

Economic inequality is notoriously difficult to quantify as reliable data on household incomes are missing for most of the world. Here, we show that a proxy for inequality based on remotely sensed nighttime light data may help fill this gap. Individual households cannot be remotely sensed. However, as households tend to segregate into richer and poorer neighborhoods, the correlation between light emission and economic thriving shown in earlier studies suggests that spatial variance of remotely sensed light per person might carry a signal of economic inequality. To test this hypothesis, we quantified Gini coefficients of the spatial variation in average nighttime light emitted per person. We found a significant relationship between the resulting light-based inequality indicator and existing estimates of net income inequality. This correlation between light-based Gini coefficients and traditional estimates exists not only across countries, but also on a smaller spatial scale comparing the 50 states within the United States. The remotely sensed character makes it possible to produce high-resolution global maps of estimated inequality. The inequality proxy is entirely independent from traditional estimates as it is based on observed light emission rather than self-reported household incomes. Both are imperfect estimates of true inequality. However, their independent nature implies that the light-based proxy could be used to constrain uncertainty in traditional estimates. More importantly, the light-based Gini maps may provide an estimate of inequality where previously no data were available at all.

scholarly journals A Simple Method to Improve Estimates of County-Level Economics in China Using Nighttime Light Data and GDP Growth Rate

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. 419 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaole Ji ◽  
Xinze Li ◽  
Yaqian He ◽  
Xiaolong Liu
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Remotely Sensed ◽  
Gdp Growth ◽  
County Level ◽  
Remotely Sensed Data ◽  
Simple Method ◽  
Gdp Growth Rate ◽  
Nighttime Light Data ◽  
Economic Statistics ◽  
Nighttime Light

County-level economic statistics estimation using remotely sensed data, such as nighttime light data, has various advantages over traditional methods. However, uncertainties in remotely sensed data, such as the saturation problem of the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program/Operational Linescan System (DMSP/OLS) NSL (nighttime stable lights) data, may influence the accuracy of this remote sensing-based method, and thus hinder its use. This study proposes a simple method to address the saturation phenomenon of nighttime light data using the GDP growth rate. Compared with other methods, the NSL data statistics obtained using the new method reflect the development of economics more accurately. We use this method to calibrate the DMSP-OLS NSL data from 1992 to 2013 to obtain the NSL density data for each county and linearly regress them with economic statistics from 2004 to 2013. Regression results show that lighting data is highly correlated with economic data. We then use the light data to further estimate the county-level GDP, and find that the estimated GDP is consistent with the authoritative GDP statistics. Our approach provides a reliable way to capture county-level economic development in different regions.

scholarly journals Evaluating the Potential of LJ1-01 Nighttime Light Data for Modeling Socio-Economic Parameters

Sensors ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (6) ◽  
pp. 1465 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guo Zhang ◽  
Xueyao Guo ◽  
Deren Li ◽  
Boyang Jiang
Keyword(s):  
Infrared Imaging ◽  
Electricity Consumption ◽  
The United States ◽  
Gross Regional Product ◽  
Linear Regression Models ◽  
Nighttime Light Data ◽  
Economic Parameters ◽  
Nighttime Light ◽  
Positive Correlations ◽  
Regional Product

The LJ1-01 satellite is the first dedicated nighttime light remote sensing satellite in the world and offers a higher spatial resolution than the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program’s Operational Linescan System (DMSP/OLS) and the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) sensor on the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) satellites of the United States. This study compared the LJ1-01 nighttime light data with NPP/VIIRS data in the context of modeling socio-economic parameters. In the eastern and central regions of China, 10 parameters from the four aspects of gross regional product (annual average population, electricity consumption, and area of land in use) were selected to build linear regression models. The results showed that the LJ1-01 nighttime light data offered better potential for modeling socio-economic parameters than the equivalent NPP/VIIRS data; the former can be an effective tool for establishing models for socio-economic parameters. There were significant positive correlations between the two types of nighttime light data and the 10 socio-economic parameters; that for the gross regional product was the highest.

scholarly journals A New Fusion Approach for Extracting Urban Built-up Areas from Multisource Remotely Sensed Data

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (21) ◽  
pp. 2516 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaolong Ma ◽  
Chengming Li ◽  
Xiaohua Tong ◽  
Sicong Liu
Keyword(s):  
Vegetation Index ◽  
Sample Selection ◽  
Remotely Sensed ◽  
High Accuracy ◽  
Support Vector ◽  
Remotely Sensed Data ◽  
Decision Level ◽  
Nighttime Light Data ◽  
Nighttime Light ◽  
Fusion Approach

Recent advances in the fusion technology of remotely sensed data have led to an increased availability of extracted urban information from multiple spatial resolutions and multi-temporal acquisitions. Despite the existing extraction methods, there remains the challenging task of fully exploiting the characteristics of multisource remote sensing data, each of which has its own advantages. In this paper, a new fusion approach for accurately extracting urban built-up areas based on the use of multisource remotely sensed data, i.e., the DMSP-OLS nighttime light data, the MODIS land cover product (MCD12Q1) and Landsat 7 ETM+ images, was proposed. The proposed method mainly consists of two components: (1) the multi-level data fusion, including the initial sample selection, unified pixel resolution and feature weighted calculation at the feature level, as well as pixel attribution determination at decision level; and (2) the optimized sample selection with multi-factor constraints, which indicates that an iterative optimization with the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), the modified normalized difference water index (MNDWI), and the bare soil index (BSI), along with the sample training of the support vector machine (SVM) and the extraction of urban built-up areas, produces results with high credibility. Nine Chinese provincial capitals along the Silk Road Economic Belt, such as Chengdu, Chongqing, Kunming, Xining, and Nanning, were selected to test the proposed method with data from 2001 to 2010. Compared with the results obtained by the traditional threshold dichotomy and the improved neighborhood focal statistics (NFS) method, the following could be concluded. (1) The proposed approach achieved high accuracy and eliminated natural elements to a great extent while obtaining extraction results very consistent to those of the more precise improved NFS approach at a fine scale. The average overall accuracy (OA) and average Kappa values of the extracted urban built-up areas were 95% and 0.83, respectively. (2) The proposed method not only identified the characteristics of the urban built-up area from the nighttime light data and other daylight images at the feature level but also optimized the samples of the urban built-up area category at the decision level, making it possible to provide valuable information for urban planning, construction, and management with high accuracy.

scholarly journals Delineating the Urban Areas of a Cross-Boundary City with Open-Access Data: Guangzhou–Foshan, South China

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 2930
Author(s):  
Pengfei Ban ◽  
Wei Zhan ◽  
Qifeng Yuan ◽  
Xiaojian Li
Keyword(s):  
Urban Area ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
City Size ◽  
Border City ◽  
Point Of Interest ◽  
Nighttime Light Data ◽  
Profile Line ◽  
Point Analysis ◽  
Nighttime Light ◽  
Single Data

Cities defined mainly from the administrative aspect can create impact and problems especially in the case of China. However, only a few researchers from China have attempted to identify urban areas from the morphology dimension. In addition, previous studies have been mostly based on the national and regional scales or a single prefecture city and have completely ignored cross-boundary cities. Defining urban areas on the basis of a single data type also has limitations. To address these problems, this study integrates point of interest and nighttime light data, applies the breaking point analysis method to determine the physical geographic scope of the Guangzhou–Foshan cross-border city, and then compares this city with Beijing and Shanghai. Results show that Guangzhou–Foshan comprises one core urban area and six suburban counties, among which the core urban area extends across the administrative boundaries of Guangzhou and Foshan. The urban area and average urban radius of Guangzhou–Foshan are larger than those of Beijing and Shanghai, and this finding contradicts the city size measurements based on the administrative division system of China and those published on traditional official statistical yearbooks. In terms of urban density value, Shanghai has the steepest profile followed by Guangzhou–Foshan and Beijing, and the profile line of Guangzhou–Foshan has a bimodal shape.

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