Measuring the Size and Growth of Cities Using Nighttime Light

Ch, Rafael; Martin, Diego A.; Vargas Duque, Juan Fernando

doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jue.2020.103254

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Solo Metadatos

Measuring the Size and Growth of Cities Using Nighttime Light

https://repository.urosario.edu.co/handle/10336/24886
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jue.2020.103254

Autores

Ch, Rafael

Martin, Diego A.

Vargas Duque, Juan Fernando

Fecha

2020-04

Editor

Journal of Urban Economics

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Abstract

This paper uses nighttime luminosity to estimate a globally comparable measure of the size of metropolitan areas around the world for the years 2000 and 2010. We apply recently-proposed methodologies that correct the known problems of available nighttime luminosity data including blurring, instability of lit pixels overtime and the reduced comparability of night light images across satellites and across time. We then develop a protocol that isolates stable nighttime lit pixels that constitute urban footprint. When analyzed together with existing geo-referenced population datasets, our measure of the size of metropolitan areas can be used to compute urbanization rates, urban densities, and study the size distribution of cities. We show these applications and discuss how they compare with other available figures. © 2020 Elsevier Inc.