Remote sensing analysis on Rome’s squares

Abstract

This work aims to contribute to better understanding the use of public street spaces. This paper presents the results of a research activity aimed at studying urban areas by means of remotely sensed data acquired over the city of Rome. This work regards Roma’s Squares, a crucial element in the history of settlements and a best appropriate place not only for the study of urban development, but also for economic, social, functional and ritual. A remotely sensed pictures shot on the center of Rome (12.15 km²), allows us to examine the reasons why some squares in the city of Rome gained their representative and monumental character. We tried to classify the elements and materials for a comparative analysis through an original approach to remote sensing data. The remote sensing data of Rome were classified using the Spectral Angle Mapper (SAM), algorithm. The technology is rapidly evolving, the new sensors have now better spatial and spectral resolutions to analyze that were unthinkable until recently. This allows us to demonstrate innovatively how to characterize and quantify the roofing surfaces and also to issue considerations on the aerial view of the city and some squares. Furthermore, through the historical reading, an attempt was made to interpret the dynamics of current use, trying to identify some critical issues in progress. The purpose was to issue a real code use to interpret the life that now and then takes place in the squares and spreads throughout the world.