Facilities management using remote sensing data in a GIS environment

Facilities management in an urban environment calls for detailed information on existing urban features, settlements, rail and road traffic networks, waterbodies, vacant lands, etc. and the integration of the same with necessary collateral information such as trend of population growth. The panchromatic (PAN) data from IRS-1C with a spatial resolution of 5.8 m as well as multispectral data from LISS III with a resolution of 23:5 m offer new opportunities. The present study attempts to evaluate the IRS-IC PAN and LISS III data with a view to understand their potential for facility management for an urban environment. Also, the methodology to arrive at facilities developmental plans in an urban environment based on merged PAN and LISS III data as well as by integrating various layers of information in a GIS environment is discussed. The study clearly brings out the potential of IRS-IC PAN and LISS III data for a new set of remote sensing applications related to the management of urban environment. (C) 1998 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.