Geography

The visible built-up index: advancing the detection of high-albedo urban areas

Document Type

Article

Abstract

This study introduces the Visible Built-up Index (VBI), a novel spectral index derived from the visible bands of Sentinel-2 satellite imagery. VBI is designed to enhance the extraction of built-up areas, particularly in regions dominated by high-albedo building materials. The index was evaluated against 11 other spectral indices. Our statistical and visual assessments demonstrate that VBI outperforms existing indices in detecting built-up surfaces, with area under the total operating characteristic curve (TOC AUC) values for VBI = 0.97, NDBI = 0.808 and BU = 0.916. VBI effectively highlights highly reflective roofs, distinguishes water bodies and vegetation from built-up areas, and partially separates bare soil from urban regions. Because VBI relies solely on visible bands, it enables built-up area extraction from Sentinel-2 imagery at 10 m resolution. Moreover, its simplicity broadens its applicability across various sensors, historical datasets, and drone platforms. © 2025 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Publication Title

Remote Sensing Letters

Publication Date

2026

Volume

17

Issue

2

First Page

123

Last Page

131

ISSN

2150-704X

DOI

10.1080/2150704X.2025.2609845

Keywords

built-up index, Córdoba, urban detection

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