Get the chance to work with the World Bank to explore the use of your innovative technologies to better measure and assess the Urban Heat Island effect in the East Asian region
Objective
This year, the World Bank is increasingly concerned about the impact of extreme heat on East Asian countries and has embarked on the EAP Regional Extreme Urban Heat Study to better assess the impacts of extreme heat exposure in the region and to inform city-level strategies to mitigate and adapt to such negative impacts. To support this study, SSTL and the World Bank, with the support of the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), are launching the Digital Earth Partnership Technology Challenge to source solutions from companies and research organizations to better measure temperatures in cities and analyze the strength of the UHI effect in the region. Satellite data should be used to augment or support the final solution.
Background
Like the rest of the world, Asia is getting warmer due to climate change. As urbanization and climate change progress, extreme heat in cities will become an even more widespread and urgent problem. The Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect, which is caused mainly by the modification of land surfaces due to urbanisation, is exacerbating this trend. The removal of trees and other green spaces to make way for buildings and roads, the addition of heat-absorbing materials, and waste heat from energy use in buildings and transportation are adding to the already rising ambient temperature.
Urban heat results in reduced productivity, worse education and health outcomes, and greater energy requirements for cooling, leading to more carbon emissions, and also correlates with increased crime, conflict, domestic violence, and poorer mental health. The UHI effect disproportionately impacts poor or otherwise marginalized communities and is a particular problem for the region’s developing countries.
Challenge Statement
Image: ESA
Propose an innovative approach for:
- The accurate measurement of urban temperatures, including the strength of the UHI effect, for East Asian cities using satellite technology and other publicly available data sets.
- Analysis of spatio-temporal patterns of temperature evolution across East Asian cities.
- Analysis of the correlates of urban temperatures both across East Asian cities and over time, with a focus on the physical features of a city’s built environment and urban form.
- More detailed analysis of the evolution of urban temperatures for 5 specific East Asian cities - Makassar (Indonesia), Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam), Manila (Philippines), Phnom Penh (Cambodia) and Vientiane (Lao PDR) - which will include ground-truthing work to help verify the satellite-based estimates.
NOT all deliverables need to be met. Feasible objectives that can be executed should be highlighted and the limitations behind the unmet objectives should be addressed.
Who Can Participate
- All companies and research organisations that have the relevant capabilities to process geospatial imagery and other data sources, and use innovative technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) for mapping and trend analysis.
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As the workshops and roundtable sessions will be fully virtual, there will not be any geographical limitations imposed on the participating teams.
Award
- Winner will receive the "Digital Earth Partnership Technology Award"
- Prize money of S$25,000
- The opportunity to present their findings at the 2022 Global Understanding Risk Forum and other Fora
The winner will collaborate with the World Bank to execute the project and have their analysis included in the World Bank’s EAP Regional Extreme Urban Heat Study by August 2022.
Download the Project Brief for details on the challenge statement, technical proposal requirements and judging criteria
Suggested Data Sets for UHI Analysis
For more information, please contact:
Adhitya Rajasekaran (adhitya.rajasekaran@space.org.sg)
Nicolette Yeo (nicolette.yeo@space.org.sg)
Key Dates
Organisers
