This year’s event marked a significant moment for DEPRIMAP, particularly through its involvement in the 8th Workshop on Earth Observation for the Global South<\/a>, a dedicated platform to discuss how EO can support urban transformation, socio-economic monitoring, and inclusive development in data-scarce regions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n DEPRIMAP researchers Sai Ganesh Veeravalli<\/strong>, Stefanos Georganos<\/strong>, and Jan Haas<\/strong> were present at the symposium, contributing through oral presentations, workshop organisation, and active engagement with the broader EO community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A major highlight of the symposium was the 8th Workshop on Earth Observation for the Global South<\/em>, co-organised by Stefanos Georganos<\/strong> (Karlstad University, Sweden) and Monika Kuffer<\/strong> (University of Twente, Netherlands). This workshop has become a key forum for discussing how Earth Observation can support inclusive development, especially in underrepresented and data-scarce urban contexts across the Global South.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The workshop featured 12-14 oral presentations from researchers working across diverse geographies and thematic areas. The workshop was structured into three focused sessions, allowing deep dives into topics ranging from slum mapping and poverty modelling to the transferability of EO methods and participatory approaches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The event began with an inspiring keynote speech by Dr. Hannes Taubenb\u00f6ck<\/a> (German Aerospace Centre (DLR) \/ University of W\u00fcrzburg), titled:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Making Poverty Visible – The Successes and Failures of Remote Sensing and Other Geodata.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Drawing from Bertolt Brecht’s The Threepenny Opera, <\/em>Hannes emphasised the need to shed light on the invisible. In his words:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The keynote underscored how EO data, including slum morphology, settlement proxies, and night-time lights has enabled researchers to visualise and quantify poverty on a global scale. At the same time, it addressed critical gaps in knowledge, data biases, and the need for methodological innovation to ensure inclusive EO-based insights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Beyond presentations, the workshop fostered lively interactive sessions, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n These exchanges emphasised the workshop’s participatory spirit, ensuring that EO research is not only technical but also critical, reflective, and community-driven.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Below are a few pictures from the workshop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As part of the workshop, two oral presentations were delivered by DEPRIMAP team members. One of the highlights was the presentation by Sai Ganesh Veeravalli<\/strong>, titled ‘Understanding Informal Settlement Transformation through Google’s 2.5D Dataset and Street View based Validation<\/em>‘. This study is also published as a peer-reviewed full article in the ISPRS Archives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Veeravalli, S. G., Haas, J., Friesen, J., and Georganos, S.: Understanding Informal Settlement Transformation through Google\u2019s 2.5D Dataset and Street View based Validation, Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., XLVIII-M-7-2025, 245\u2013251, https:\/\/doi.org\/10.5194\/isprs-archives-XLVIII-M-7-2025-245-2025<\/a>, 2025.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Focusing on Nairobi, the research tackles the longstanding challenge of monitoring urban change within informal settlements, where traditional data sources often fall short. The study leverages Google’s Open Buildings 2.5D temporal dataset (2016-2023<\/a>), a novel resource that provides annual estimates of building presence, count, and height to detect physical transformations across the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Using a rule-based classification approach on 100-meter grid cells, the study identified four key urban change types:<\/p>\n\n\n\n What sets this work apart is its two-source validation approach. By combining Google Earth Pro imagery with Google Street View, the study achieved an impressive 96.75% overall accuracy. In areas with limited overhead data, Street View proved especially valuable for verifying vertical growth, a crucial insight for urban planners and researchers alike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The spatial analysis revealed a compelling pattern:<\/p>\n\n\n\n This underscores the need for zone-specific monitoring strategies, especially in rapidly changing informal environments where citywide trends may mask local dynamics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83d\udcd8The full paper is accessible here: https:\/\/isprs-archives.copernicus.org\/articles\/XLVIII-M-7-2025\/245\/2025\/isprs-archives-XLVIII-M-7-2025-245-2025.html<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83d\udee0\ufe0fThe open-source code for this study is available via GitHub and Zenodo: https:\/\/github.com\/saiga143\/urban-change-google-25d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Note: Sai Ganesh Veeravalli has received <\/em>an Erasmus+ mobility scholarship from Karlstad University that covered travel and accommodation expenses of the conference trip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sola.kau.se\/deprimap\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1170\/2025\/06\/Group-Picture.png\")
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Because some are in the dark. And others are in the light. And you see those in the light. You don't see the ones in the dark.<\/pre>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
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