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AN EVALUATION OF THE ENHANCEMENT TECHNIQUES APPLIED IN 
DELIMITATION OF URBAN AREAS: A CASE STUDY 
Sandra Maria Fonseca da Costa 
Universidade do Vale do Paraiba - UNIVAP 
Depto. de Geociéncias e História 
Praga Cándido Dias Castejon, 116 
12245-720 - Sáo José dos Campos - SP, Brazil 
ISPRS Commission VII / Working Group 9 
ABSTRACT 
Orbital remote sensing is considered as an important technique for urban research. Digital remote sensing 
data can be processed in order to enhance the urban targets, which allow the visualization of city limits. In 
this context, this paper evaluates different enhancement techniques applied to urban delimitation areas, 
selecting the best one by KAPPA STATISTIC. The following techniques have been evaluated: contrast- 
strech, principal components, ratio and vegetation index, all applied to both dry and wet seasons (LANDSAT 
image from June 8, 1986 and September 12, 1985). For both periods the principal components technique has 
been the one that the best defined the limits of the city of Säo José dos Campos, State of Säo Paulo, Brazil. 
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