Machine learning based urban sprawl assessment using integrated multi-hazard and environmental-economic impact.

The increasing demand for land development due to human activities has fueled urbanization. However, uncontrolled urban development in some regions has resulted in urban environmental problems arising from an imbalance between supply and demand. This study aims to develop an integrated model for evaluating and prioritizing the management of hazardous urban sprawl in the Bandung metropolitan region of Indonesia. The novelty of this study lies in its pioneering application of long-term remote sensing data-based and machine learning techniques to formulate an urban sprawl priority index. This index is unique in its consideration of the impacts stemming from human economic activity, environmental degradation, and multi-disaster levels as integral components. The analysis of hazardous urban sprawl across three distinct time periods (1985-1993, 1993-2008, and 2008-2018) revealed that the 1993-2008 period had the highest increase in human economic activity, reaching 172,776 ha. The 1985-1993 period experienced the highest level of environmental degradation in the study area. Meanwhile, the 1993-2008 period showed the highest concentration of multi-hazard locations. The combined model of hazardous urban sprawl, incorporating the three parameters, indicated that the highest priority for intervention was on the outskirts of urban areas, specifically in West Bandung Regency, Cimahi, Bandung Regency, and East Bandung Regency. Regions with high-priority indices require greater attention from the government to mitigate the negative impacts of hazardous urban sprawl. This model, driven by the urban sprawl priority index, is envisioned to regulate urban movement in a more sustainable manner. Through the efficient monitoring of urban environments, the study seeks to guarantee the preservation of valuable natural resources while promoting sustainable urban development practices.

Identification of illegally dumped plastic waste in a highly polluted river in Indonesia using Sentinel-2 satellite imagery.

Plastic waste monitoring technology based on Earth observation satellites is one approach that is currently under development in various studies. The complexity of land cover and the high human activity around rivers necessitate the development of studies that can improve the accuracy of monitoring plastic waste in river areas. This study aims to identify illegal dumping in a river area using the adjusted plastic index (API) and Sentinel-2 satellite imagery data. Rancamanyar River has been selected as the research area; it is one of the tributaries of Citarum Indonesia and is an open lotic-simple form, oxbow lake type river. Our study is the first attempt to construct an API and random forest machine learning using Sentinel-2 to identify the illegal dumping of plastic waste. The algorithm development integrated the plastic index algorithm with the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and normalized buildup indices. For the validation process, the results of plastic waste image classification based on Pleiades satellite imagery and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) photogrammetry was used. The validation results show that the API succeeded in improving the accuracy of identifying plastic waste, which gave a better correlation in the r-value and p-value by + 0.287014 and + 3.76 × 10-26 with Pleiades, and + 0.143131 and + 3.17 × 10-10 with UAV.

Multi-air pollution risk assessment in Southeast Asia region using integrated remote sensing and socio-economic data products.

Air pollution has massive impacts on human life and poor air quality results in three million deaths annually. Air pollution can result from natural causes, including volcanic eruptions and extreme droughts, or human activities, including motor vehicle emissions, industry, and the burning of farmland and forests. Emission sources emit multiple pollutant types with diverse characteristics and impacts. However, there has been little research on the risk of multiple air pollutants; thus, it is difficult to identify multi-pollutant mitigation processes, particularly in Southeast Asia, where air pollution moves dynamically across national borders. In this study, the main objective was to develop a multi-air pollution risk index product for CO, NO2, and SO2 based on Sentinel-5P remote sensing data from 2019 to 2020. The risk index was developed by integrating hazard, vulnerability, and exposure analyses. Hazard analysis considers air pollution data from remote sensing, vulnerability analysis considers the air pollution sources, and exposure analysis considers the population density. The novelty of this study lies in its development of a multi-risk model that considers the weights obtained from the relationship between the hazard and vulnerability parameters. The highest air pollution risk index values were observed in urban areas, with a high exposure index that originates from pollution caused by human activity. Multi-risk analysis of the three air pollutants revealed that Singapore, Vietnam, and the Philippines had the largest percentages of high-risk areas, while Indonesia had the largest total high-risk area (4361 km2). Using the findings of this study, the patterns and characteristics of the risk distribution of multiple air pollutants in Southeast Asia can be identified, which can be used to mitigate multi-pollutant sources, particularly with respect to supporting the clean air targets in the Sustainable Development Goals.