Damascus University, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Department of Geography.

Abstract

Recently, there has been an increase in the use of remote sensing data in the various fields of application, especially urbanization. That is because of their role in reducing the time and effort in the preparation of studies concerned with land use and land cover. These data have become an effective means for obtaining maps and plans for urban views of various types (Thematic, Topographic). With the development and increasing number of remote sensing satellites and the increasing number of available spectral bands, there is a need to determine whether they can be used to serve such studies.

This research examines the reflective properties of the built-up areas and deepens the understanding of these properties by comparing the spectral signature of each component of the urban landscape (built-up lands, agricultural lands, barren lands) within each spectral band from Landsat 7, Landsat 8 and Sentinel-2. The mean reflectance values ​​of each component within each band were calculated to determine the most effective bands for classifying built-up areas.