2025 Tracks

Arizona, while a major producer of fruits and vegetables, faces significant food security challenges as urban growth encroaches on traditional agricultural lands, especially in metro Phoenix. How can we identify and develop urban agriculture spaces to reduce our dependency on imports and strengthen local food resilience?

Culture is hard to measure. This track uses open data and satellite data to map cultural assets across cities. By revealing cultural hubs and underserved areas, it guides policies that make urban development more inclusive and sustainable.

The Sahel, a region where resilient communities have thrived for generations amidst harsh landscapes, is now confronting the escalating challenges of climate change and desertification. How can satellite data help us understand these rapid shifts and design innovative solutions to support communities before they are forced to leave?

General Resources

Below is a list of resources and data sets that are applicable to all tracks and are a helpful way to get started.

High Resolution Population Density Maps from Humanitarian Data Exchange

LandScan Population Data

Harmonized Global Critical infrastructure & Index (CISI)

Global Land Use Land Cover from Sentinel-2

Human Global Settlement Extent

LandCoverNet is a global annual land cover classification training dataset

Harmonized Global Night Time Lights (1992-2020)

Global NPP-VIIRS-like nighttime light (2000-2020)

Global Consensus Landcover (Multi-sourced)

Long-term Land Surface Temperature Daily (2003-2020)

Global Daily near-surface air temperature (2003-2020)

Pre and post event high-resolution satellite imagery in support of emergency planning, risk assessment, monitoring