Launched in December 1999 as part of NASA’s Earth Observing System, the 100 Cities Project is designed to collect and analyze daytime and nighttime ASTER satellite imagery over 100 urban centers.

Through this method of urban environmental monitoring (UEM), or urban remote sensing, researchers on this project develop algorithms to classify land use/land cover (LULC) in urban centers, quantify the structure of the Phoenix urban landscape, and investigate correlations between their high-resolution LULC classification derived from ASTER and coarse-resolution biophysical measurements obtained from the MODIS sensor in urban areas.

The program works to build collaborations among urban practitioners and scientists, with an underlying goal to inform sustainable development through urban models, planning, and policy formulation. Learn more at http://100cities.asu.edu