Change detection in build-up areas on the basis of structural features of satellite images

It is shown that spatial structural features based on determining the maximum angle within which each pixel has a neighborhood that is not shadowed by other pixels of the contour provide the best efficiency in detecting man-made areas in satellite images of moderate resolution. A combined method of detection of build-up area expansion on the basis of multispectral data provided by the SPOT-4 satellite is proposed and demonstrated. This method implies the formation (with allowance for chosen features) of spatial masks of man-made objects in the reference (earlier taken) image and natural zones of the tested (later taken) image, searching for spectral-temporal anomalies, and sequential masking of selected pixels with the use of masks being formed.