BRANCH - Beyond NDVI - Remote Sensing, AI, and Citizen Science for Urban Green Space and Health Research

Context and objectives

Urban green spaces are increasingly recognized as essential for public health, climate resilience, and biodiversity, yet urban planning and epidemiological studies still rely largely on simplistic greenness indicators (e.g. NDVI). Such metrics overlook key properties - vegetation structure, biodiversity, spatial configuration, visibility, and accessibility - that determine how green spaces affect physical and mental health.
BRANCH addresses this gap by developing and operationalizing a multi scale, health oriented typology of urban green spaces, integrating ecological, spatial, and human centred dimensions. Using advanced Earth observation, AI-based image analysis, proximal sensing, and citizen science, BRANCH maps functional green space characteristics across Belgian cities and links them to large scale, individual level health data.
•    SO1 Develop a multi scale functional typology of urban green spaces relevant for health.
•    SO2 Operationalize the typology through a multi modal EO and GIS workflow for detailed green space mapping.
•    SO3 Quantify health impacts of functional green space exposure using landscape epidemiology and longitudinal health data.
•    SO4 Translate results into actionable guidance for urban planning, public health, and green infrastructure management.