The urban heat island effect is the warming of cities due primarily to a decrease in vegetation density. As population density increases and our city continues to grow, green spaces are crucial design elements for the health of its residents and keeping our city cool. People with lower incomes are the most vulnerable to the health risks posed by the heat island effect. However, is green space a luxury? What is the relationship between income and vegetation density in Greater Vancouver?
To answer these questions I used open source Sentinel-2 satellite data from the Copernicus Dataspace Browser and Stats Canada census data. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) is a measurement derived from satellite images that helps us understand how much healthy, green vegetation is present in an area. After calculating the NDVI, I masked the satellite data with census tract geospatial boundaries to find NDVI statistics for each neighborhood in Greater Vancouver.
The next step was to create separate tables in Excel of the data to prepare it for modelling in PowerBI. I created a Star Schema model, added the necessary DAX measures and built this report.
The analysis provides statistically significant evidence of a relationship between income and NDVI across different census tracts within the Greater Vancouver Area.
For the full Python analysis, visit my website.
Sources and Inspiration
[1] Satellite Data, https://browser.dataspace.copernicus.eu/
[2] Boundary Files, https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/geo/sip-pis/boundary-limites/index2021-eng.cfm?y...
[3] Census Income, https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/dv-vd/income-revenu/index-en.html
[4] Geo Spatial Transformations, https://mapshaper.org/
[5] Inspiration, https://ghanadatastuff.com/post/sentinel_ndvi_accra/
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