Coefficient of variation as a measure of urban spatial attributes, using SPOT HRV and Landsat TM data

The variation of radiometric response over urban residential areas, as recorded by a sensor, is considered to be a function of the size and spatial distribution of housing units and the pixel size of the remote sensing system. Using data from thirty residential sites over the Sydney metropolitan area, and SPOT HRV and Landsat TM data, the relation between radiometric variability and the urban spatial measures of house size and housing density were analysed. Preliminary results show that the coefficient of variation is both a function of housing density and house size, for combined multiple-sensor data sets of different pixel sizes, and strongly related to house size for different classes of housing density using a single band of SPOT HRV XS-mode data.