The application of new technologies in construction: Inventory and characterisation of rural constructions using the Ikonos satellite image

The aim of this work is to demonstrate the usefulness of high-resolution satellite images, in particular Ikonos images, in the study of rural constructions with regard to their subsequent reuse. It includes an inventory of buildings and estimation of densities as well as a study of distribution patterns of constructions. In addition, it will reveal the possibilities that the images offer in relation to the cataloguing of construction characteristics. This information can be integrated into a GIS (Geographical Information System) and can be analysed alongside other data. The methodology employed, based on the digital analysis of high-resolution images, is cost effective in the inventorying of buildings, especially in areas of dispersed settlement.