Sentinel-2 NDVI Analysis Using GEE and QGIS for Green Open Space Sustainability Assessment in Kendari City

Sufrianto Sufrianto; Siti Sara Yaacob Zubir; Andi Makkawaru Isazarni Jassin; Joko Tri Brata; Erni Danggi; Sulfikar Sallu

doi:10.52436/1.jutif.2025.6.6.5409

Authors

Sufrianto Department of Civil Engineering, Universitas Sulawesi Tenggara, Indonesia
Siti Sara Yaacob Zubir Department of Civil Engineering, Politeknik Sultan Azlan Shah, Malaysia
Andi Makkawaru Isazarni Jassin Department of Civil Engineering, Universitas Sulawesi Tenggara, Indonesia
Joko Tri Brata Master’s Program in Government Science, Universitas Sulawesi Tenggara, Indonesia
Erni Danggi Department of Agricultural Product Technology, Universitas Sulawesi Tenggara, Indonesia
Sulfikar Sallu Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, Universitas Sulawesi Tenggara, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.52436/1.jutif.2025.6.6.5409

Keywords:

Geospatial Analysis, Google Earth Engine, NDVI Classification, Sentinel-2 Imagery, Urban Green Open Space

Abstract

Rapid urbanization has profoundly transformed land cover in many growing cities, leading to a substantial decline in Green Open Space (GOS) and a progressive deterioration of ecological functions. The continuous conversion of vegetated zones into impervious and built-up surfaces has reduced the city’s ability to absorb carbon, regulate local microclimates, and maintain overall ecological resilience. Consequently, assessing the sustainability and spatial distribution of GOS is crucial for ensuring environmentally balanced urban development and resilience to future land-use pressures. This study aims to evaluate the sustainability of urban green spaces in Kendari City through an integrated geospatial approach that combines remote sensing and open-source cloud computing technologies. Sentinel-2 Level-2A imagery was analyzed in Google Earth Engine (GEE) using the QA60 band for cloud masking and spatial clipping to accurately define the study boundaries. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) values were subsequently processed and classified in QGIS using a reclassification technique to distinguish vegetation density categories. The results indicate that 56.7% of the total land area, equivalent to 15,213 hectares, exhibits high greenness, reflecting dense and healthy vegetation, whereas 32.3% consists of low or non-vegetated surfaces dominated by built-up and barren lands. These findings reveal substantial spatial disparities in vegetation coverage and underscore the importance of sustainable land management and green infrastructure policies. Furthermore, this research contributes to the advancement of geospatial informatics by developing an open, reproducible workflow that integrates cloud-based computation and open-source GIS for urban ecological monitoring and sustainability assessment.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

H. Hasddin, A. A. Muthalib, E. Ngii, and A. Putera, "The ability of green open spaces in greenhouse gas control to achieve green cities in Kendari City," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 327-331, 2022, doi: https://doi.org/10.32479/ijeep.11980.

W. I. R. Aulia, "The Concept of Urban Green Open Space Development with Green Infrastructure in Kendari City," 2020, doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4108/eai.25-6-2019.2294309.

I. Asmiwyati, I. W. D. GARGITA, and P. P. K. Wiguna, "ANALYSIS OF URBAN GREEN OPEN SPACE DEVELOPMENT IN NORTH DENPASAR DISTRICT, DENPASAR CITY, BALI, INDONESIA," Geographia Technica, vol. 20, no. 1, 2025, doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.21163/GT_2025.201.07.

M. Priyanta and C. S. A. Zulkarnain, "Urban green open space in developing countries: Indonesia regulations, problems and alternative solutions," Journal of Property, Planning and Environmental Law, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 134-151, 2024, doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/JPPEL-01-2024-0002.

M. Luo and W. Zhang, "Fostering life hope in urban green spaces through brief online mindfulness: findings from four studies with park visitors," Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 16, p. 1642533, 2025, doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1642533.

A. Agustiyara, D. Mutiarin, A. Nurmandi, A. N. Kasiwi, and M. F. Ikhwali, "Mapping Urban Green Spaces in Indonesian Cities Using Remote Sensing Analysis," Urban Science, vol. 9, no. 2, p. 23, 2025, doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/urbansci9020023.

A. Rifai, H. Rakuasa, F. Tade, A. Purnama, A. Jufriansah, and A. Khusnani, "Spatial Analysis of Vegetation Index in Ambon City Center Area, Indonesia using Sentinel-2 Satellite Imagery in Google Earth Engine," Frontiers in Sustainable Science and Technology, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 32-40, 2025, doi: https://doi.org/10.69930/fsst.v2i1.365.

B. Alshehri, Z. Zhang, and X. Liu, "A Review of Google Earth Engine for Land Use and Land Cover Change Analysis: Trends, Applications, and Challenges," ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information, vol. 14, no. 11, p. 416, 2025, doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi14110416.

H. Wang and F.-Y. Gong, "Quantifying city-and street-scale urban tree phenology from Landsat-8, Sentinel-2, and PlanetScope images: a case study in downtown Beijing," Remote sensing, vol. 16, no. 13, p. 2351, 2024, doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16132351.

O. G. Narin et al., "Integration of multi-temporal sentinel-1 and sentinel-2 data for paddy rice crop height estimation and uncertainty assessment using quantile regression forests," Precision Agriculture, vol. 26, no. 6, pp. 1-28, 2025, doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11119-025-10287-5.

P. Oikonomou, V. Karathanassi, V. Andronis, and I. Papoutsis, "Assessing and Forecasting Natural Regeneration in Mediterranean Landscapes After Wildfires," Remote Sensing, vol. 17, no. 5, p. 897, 2025, doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/rs17050897.

F. Ramdani, "A Very High-Resolution Urban Green Space from the Fusion of Microsatellite, SAR, and MSI Images," Remote Sensing, vol. 16, no. 8, p. 1366, 2024, doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16081366.

H. D. Nirwana, A. R. Saidy, G. M. Hatta, and A. Nugroho, "Design of Green City with Lower Carbon based on Vegetation in Banjarbaru using Sentinel-2," Journal of Applied Data Sciences, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 583-599, 2024, doi: https://doi.org/10.47738/jads.v5i2.218.

L. Moreschi, E. Gagliano, M. Gallo, and A. Del Borghi, "A framework for the environmental assessment of water-energy-food-climate nexus of crops: Development of a comprehensive decision support indicator," Ecological Indicators, vol. 158, p. 111574, 2024, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2024.111574.

X. Ren, X. Yu, and Y. Wang, "A spectral–spatial method for mapping fire severity using morphological attribute profiles," Remote Sensing, vol. 15, no. 3, p. 699, 2023, doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15030699.

M. A. Saadah, "Sustainable Urban Growth and Green Space Governance in Yogyakarta: Remote Sensing Insights and Lessons learned from Budapest (Integrating Remote Sensing into Urban Planning and Policy)," Jurnal Studi Pemerintahan, pp. 226-245, 2025, doi: https://doi.org/10.18196/jsp.v16i2.420.

A. W. Hasyim, B. M. Sukojo, I. A. Anggraini, E. R. Fatahillah, and A. Isdianto, "Urban heat island effect and sustainable planning: Analysis of land surface temperature and vegetation in Malang City," International Journal of Sustainable Development and Planning, vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 683-697, 2025, doi: https://doi.org/10.18280/ijsdp.200218.

D. A. Lestari, W. A. Arifin, N. S. Fitriasari, T. E. Ahmad, A. Rais, and D. R. Azhari, "Automatic Geographic Information System algorithm for temporal mangrove observation: A case study in Gopek Beach, North Banten," Jurnal Pendidikan Geografi: Kajian, Teori, dan Praktek dalam Bidang Pendidikan dan Ilmu Geografi, vol. 27, no. 2, p. 4, 2024, doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.17977/um017v27i22022p163-174.

Y. Hu, A. Barberopoulou, and M. Koch, "Tracing the 2018 Sulawesi earthquake and tsunami’s impact on Palu, Indonesia: a remote sensing analysis," Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, vol. 13, no. 1, p. 178, 2025, doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse13010178.

R. A. Pratomo, Z. Islamiah, and B. E. Bhaskara, "A pathway to urban resilience: investigating green open space priority areas to mitigate the urban heat island phenomenon in Samarinda City, Indonesia," International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the Built Environment, vol. 15, no. 4, pp. 591-616, 2024, doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJDRBE-02-2023-0047.

J. Hang, L. An, Y. Zhao, Z. Wu, and J. Liao, "Comparative simulation of transpiration and cooling impacts by porous canopies of shrubs and trees," Sustainable Cities and Society, vol. 111, p. 105573, 2024, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2024.105573.

A. Onasis, H. Akib, R. Niswaty, and A. Kasmawati, "Evaluation of Green Open Space Policy in Supporting Sustainable Development," Journal of Indonesian Scholars for Social Research, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 129-136, 2025, doi: https://doi.org/10.59065/jissr.v5i1.207.

D. Moravec, J. Komárek, S. López-Cuervo Medina, and I. Molina, "Effect of atmospheric corrections on NDVI: Intercomparability of Landsat 8, Sentinel-2, and UAV sensors," Remote Sensing, vol. 13, no. 18, p. 3550, 2021, doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13183550.

F. Goroee and O. Bazrafshan, "Comparative Performance Analysis of Google Earth Engine and SNAP Platforms for Estimating Water Quality Parameters in Minab Dam Reservoir Using Multi-Spectral Resolution Satellite Imagery," Water and Soil Management and Modelling, vol. 5, no. 3, pp. 104-122, 2025, doi: https://doi.org/10.22098/mmws.2025.16743.1557.

T. L. Bui, Y. Mori, M. Maeda, and H. Somura, "Artificial macropores and water management effects on reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from rice paddy fields," Environmental Challenges, vol. 9, p. 100657, 2022, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envc.2022.100657.

M. Drusch et al., "Sentinel-2: ESA's optical high-resolution mission for GMES operational services," Remote sensing of Environment, vol. 120, pp. 25-36, 2012, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2011.11.026.

A. Nugroho, A. Jauhari, and M. Faisal, "Hasil Turnitin Urban Heat Island Spatial Model for Climate Village Program Planning," doi: https://repo-dosen.ulm.ac.id//handle/123456789/36499.

D. Pangestu, M. Sunariya, and N. Anggani, "Utilization of NDVI analysis in fulfilling Green Open Space in Balaraja District, Tangerang Regency in 2023," in IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 2025, vol. 1438, no. 1: IOP Publishing, p. 012027, doi: https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/1438/1/012027.

M. Kelly-Fair et al., "Analysis of land use and land cover changes through the lens of SDGs in Semarang, Indonesia," Sustainability, vol. 14, no. 13, p. 7592, 2022, doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/su14137592.

A. Isdianto, A. W. Hasyim, B. M. Sukojo, I. Alimuddin, I. A. Anggraini, and E. R. Fatahillah, "Integrating Urban Design with Natural Dynamics: Enhancing Ecological Resilience in Malang City over a Decade," International Journal of Sustainable Development & Planning, vol. 20, no. 3, 2025, doi: https://doi.org/10.18280/ijsdp.200313.

P. Tutuko, N. Aini, A. Safrilia, A. G. Sulaksono, and R. Wikantiyoso, "The Calculation of Green Open Space Patterns in The Cities in Indonesia Examining the Connectivity and NDVI of CBD and Residential Areas in the Colonial Cities of Malang and Bandung, Indonesia," International Review for Spatial Planning and Sustainable Development, vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 179-197, 2025, doi: https://doi.org/10.14246/irspsd.13.2_179.

B. SUDARMANTO, S. SURANTO, S. SUNTORO, and J. SUTRISNO, "Measuring climate action readiness in maintaining ecological resilience using satellite imagery and field research in Garang Watershed, Central Java, Indonesia," Biodiversitas: Journal of Biological Diversity, vol. 24, no. 5, 2023, doi: https://doi.org/10.13057/biodiv/d240551.

V. R. Parmono and Y. A. Singgalen, "Integrating Remote Sensing, Consumer Preferences, and Sustainable Marketing: A GWR Study of Urban Growth and Heat Island in BSD City, Indonesia," International Journal of Sustainable Development & Planning, vol. 20, no. 8, 2025, doi: https://doi.org/10.18280/ijsdp.200811.

F. Gascon et al., "Copernicus Sentinel-2A calibration and products validation status," Remote Sensing, vol. 9, no. 6, p. 584, 2017, doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/rs9060584.

I. K. Putrajaya, "Analisis indeks Vegetasi Menggunakan Citra ALOS AVNIR-2 untuk Estimasi Kebutuhan Ruang Terbuka Hijau Berdasarkan Kebutuhan Oksigen Di Kota Denpasar, Provinsi Bali," Jurnal Pendidikan Geografi: Kajian, Teori, dan Praktek dalam Bidang Pendidikan dan Ilmu Geografi, vol. 22, no. 1, p. 6, 2024, doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.17977/um017v22i12017p049.