Morphological and Entropy Analysis of Urban Change in Six European Metropolitan Areas Based on Copernicus Land Monitoring Service Products
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Urban areas across Europe are undergoing rapid morphological transformations driven by densification, redevelopment, and infrastructure expansion. Monitoring these urban changes requires operational, harmonized, and reproducible approaches grounded in Earth Observation. This study presents a Copernicus use case demonstrating how the High-Resolution Layer Imperviousness Change (2015–2018) and Urban Atlas datasets can be integrated with the Guidos Toolbox (GTB) to quantify structural urban change across six metropolitan areas (Milan, Sofia, Riga, Warsaw, Viseu, Santander). Morphological Spatial Pattern Analysis (MSPA) and entropy-based indicators were applied to characterize land take, fragmentation, compaction, and internal reorganization of impervious surfaces. The combined framework captured both configurational morphology and spatial disorder, revealing divergent development patterns: pronounced heterogeneity and fragmentation in Sofia, stabilization or compact growth in Milan, Warsaw, and Santander, controlled densification in Riga, and localized intensification without outward expansion in Viseu. All analyses rely on openly accessible Copernicus data and open-source tools, ensuring full reproducibility and transferability. Outputs were disseminated through a FAIR-compliant geoportal developed within a Copernicus FPCUP project, supporting transparency and reuse. The findings underscore the value of Copernicus services for operational urban monitoring and provide a scalable methodology to support European land-use policies, including the Zero Net Land Take 2050 target and the EU Soil Strategy.
Source: Remote Sensing
DOI: 10.3390/rs18081149
Authors: Ines Marinosci, Angela Cimini, Luca Congedo, Benedetta Cucca, Paolo De Fioravante, Pasquale Dichicco, Annalisa Minelli, Michele Munafò, Nicola Riitano, Michał Krupiński, Stanisław Lewiński, Szymon Sala, Kamil Drejer, Krzysztof Gryguc, Marek Ruciński, Agris Brauns, Dainis Jakovels, Zlatomir Dimitrov, Lachezar Filchev, Mariana Zaharinova, Daniela Avetisyan, Kamelia Radeva, Georgi Jelev, Lyubomir Filipov, Juan López Torralbo, Ana Silio, José Manuel Álvarez-Martínez, David Trullén, Hugo Costa, Pedro Benevides, Mário Caetano
Institution: Universidad de Oviedo
Language: English
Subfield: Global and Planetary Change
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,258
Award: G5281333208
OpenAlex ID: W7153973665