Over the last decades the rapid growth of the world population has led to a large number of
emerging megacities. The 1999 Izmit (Turkey) earthquake is a striking example of the impact of
natural hazards on megacities. On August 17 1999 a magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck the area
of Izmit Turkey resulting in 18 000 fatalities and US$ 18 billion in economic losses. The
probability of a magnitude 7 earthquake striking Istanbul within the next 30 years ranges
between 30% to 70%. In order to reduce the impact of natural hazards on human lives emergency
management plans are essential. The development of these plans strongly relies on up-to-date
population and inventory data. However existing techniques for population data generation do
not meet the requirements of today s dynamic cities. In this context remote sensing has become
an important source of information in the last years. However detailed analyses on the
suitability of remote sensing for urban applications are still rare. For her study Julia
Kubanek conducted a quantitative evaluation of the suitability of Ikonos imagery (1m
resolution) for population modeling in the district of Zeytinburnu (Istanbul Turkey). The
results show that Ikonos images can be used for complementing existing inventory data sets. The
automated extraction of single buildings was identified as the major source of error in the
estimation of the population. Kubanek's study discusses the replacement of traditional
time-consuming and cost-intensive techniques for population estimation with remotely sensed
imagery as a relatively new data source in an increasingly urbanized and fast-changing world.
Her book addresses scientists and professionals in geography remote sensing urban planning
and natural hazards research.
