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Patikova, Alice 
MONITORING URBAN DYNAMICS FOR BRATISLAVA IN 1949 - 1997 
Alice PATIKOVA*, Gerhard KEMPER**, Carlo LAVALLE*** 
*Technical University Brno, The Czech Republic 
Department of Geodesy, Faculty of Civil Engineering 
gdpat@fce.vutbr.cz 
**GGS firm, Germany 
kemper@ggs-speyer.de 
***CEO, Joint Research Centre, Space Application Institute, Italy 
carlo.lavalle@jrc.it 
Working Group FORMTEXTIV/3 
KEY WORDS: Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing, DTM, Orthophoto, Image processing, Land use/Land cover, 
Change detection 
ABSTRACT 
The main goals of Bratislava Project are analyses and monitoring of urban changes. The use of digital photogrammetry, 
remote sensing and GIS methods in such type of projects was verified. This project belongs to the MURBANDY 
(Monitoring Urban Dynamics) project, which was originally started as part of the CEO (The Centre for Earth 
Observation) programme in 1998. It is aimed to demonstrate that satellite data can be effectively used for urban 
monitoring and planning. 
1 INTERNATIONAL INITIATIVE AS PROJECT BACKGROUND 
1.1 What is the CEO? 
The Centre for Earth Observation (CEO) is a European initiative to encourage the wider use of information generated 
by satellites, which are observing the planet Earth. The CEO seeks to attract a wide range of participants in Europe, 
from local government authorities and the Services of the European Commission to scientific researchers and 
commercial companies; bringing together those who could benefit from the use of EO data and those who provide it. 
The CEO is founded by the European Commission, firstly as a joint DG JRC/DG XII program under the 4™ Framework 
Program, and after that as one of the main projects of the JRC’s Space Application Institute in the 5™ Framework 
Program. 
The Centre for Earth Observation Program was started to show potential customers how to use and exploit Earth 
observation data and to promote European activity in this important global market. Funded and managed by the 
European Commission, the CEO Program has been one of the biggest European undertakings since the launch of the 
first remote sensing satellite to transform the science of the Earth observation into an operational tool for daily use. 
Most of the CEO staff is located at the European Centre in Ispra in Northern Italy. The second office is in Brussels in 
the Space Unit of the Directorate General of DG XII. 
1.2. MURBANDY project 
The MURBANDY (Monitoring Urban Dynamics) project was originally started as part of the CEO Program in 1998. It 
aimed to demonstrate that satellite data could be effectively used for urban monitoring and planning by the EC. Results 
from MURBANDY have been included in the European Spatial Development Perspective (ESDP) policy document that 
was approved by the Council of Ministers in May 1999. The derived data-sets for the cities of Dublin and Milan were 
used as examples of urban sprawl. 
The main object of MURBANDY project was to measure land uses of artificial fabric of Bratislava and its immediate 
suburban area and to detect changes of land use within last 48 years. The derived products were „reference“ and 
historical" land use databases for urban and suburban areas. The development and verification of methodology for the 
enlarged CORINE land cover layer production belonged also to this project. 
  
International Archives of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. Vol. XXXIII, Part B7. Amsterdam 2000. 1119