THE DETERMINATION OF THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT QUALITY 
IN ROMANIA’S CAPITAL BY SATELLITE IMAGE ANALYSIS 
Vasile Loghin, George Murätoreanu 
Valahia University, Tärgoviste, Romania, vloghin@valahia.ro 
Commission WG III/7 
KEY WORDS: Remote sensing, Image, Analysis, Environment, Urban, Pollution, Development 
ABSTRACT: 
For Bucharest, the capital of Romania, a town with 2 million inhabitants and an area of 230 square kilometers, the problem of 
improving the ecological conditions is very actual and that is why it is a major strategic objective of General Urban Development 
Plan. For this reason, we think that it's very important for Bucharest to determine some areas based on environmental quality. We can 
successfully do this, by analyzing high resolution satellite images (IKONOS). 
To determine the environmental quality in specific areas (districts and functional areas) we used together a series of qualitative and 
quantitative indexes which are proper to urban ecology and can be evaluated by computerized analysis of high resolution satellite 
images: buildings density (especially in residential districts), green areas surface per inhabitant, the risk of air pollution. 
Taking into consideration the obtained data and the urban environment quality patterns, we could determine for Bucharest the 
following ecological areas categories: areas with very good ecological condition; areas with good ecological conditions; areas with 
middling ecological conditions and areas with precarious ecological conditions. 
The map drawn after a detailed analysis of IKONOS satellite map, is very useful for urban remodeling projects, which mean to find 
the most proper locations to build the new residential districts and to improve the links between them and commercial and industrial 
districts, urban circulation network, entertainment areas. 
1. INTRODUCTION (square meters/ inhabitant), the concentration of constructed 
areas, the risk of atmospheric pollution. The representation at 
Environmental quality in the big cities represents a vital very large scales of the different components of the city of 
problem both for the individual as well as for the community. Bucharest made it possible to achieve detailed analyses and 
This is because the urban environment is strongly artificial and reliable estimations. 
sometimes depreciated in comparison to the characteristics of 
the natural environment where the respective town developed. 
For Bucharest, Romania's capital, a metropolis with two million 
inhabitants and a surface of 230 km?, the amelioration of urban 
environment quality is extremely actual. We take into 
consideration the quality of the environment factors, which is 
sometimes precarious, and of the man-made elements as well as 
the extremely rapid and sometimes uncontrolled evolution of 
the urban area modeling and of the relation between the city and 
its suburbs during the last few years. Consequently this problem 
represents a major strategic objective of the General Urban Plan 
of Bucharest and its metropolitan area. 
These considerations emphasize the importance of delimiting 
areas in Bucharest according to the quality of the environment 
for the projects of urban development. In this operation 
successful use can be made of the data obtained through the 
analyses of high resolution satellite images combined with live 
observations, measurements and cartography, with 
topographical plans and aerial photographs. 
2. METHODOLOGY 
In order to determine the quality of the environment in different 
urban areas, functional zones and administrative areas starting 
from high resolution satellite images we have put into operation 
a multicriterial analysis. This meant selecting and corroborating 
several criteria specific to urban ecology, estimating and 
  
summing up relevant qualitative and quantitative parameters Figure 1. IKONOS image over Bucharest (2001). 
through the computerized analysis of IKONOS images (1 m/ The administrative limits of the 6 sectors are drawn. 
pan): the green areas reported to the number of inhabitants Source: Space Imaging 
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