Satellite radar interferometry for the analysis and monitoring of urban fabric

The work deals with the use of satellite radar interferometric techniques for the analysis and monitoring of ground instability in urban areas. Some various space-borne MTInSAR-based procedures by exploiting SAR data from LEO Satellites Sentinel-1 and COSMO-SkyMed constellations have been applied to italian built-up sites, at different scales from the screening of the urban fabric up to a building-scale analysis. In particular, a procedure on the assessment of the urban instability by PSI (Persistent Scatterers Interferometry)-based classification indexes has been tested in Orvieto 100 km north of Rome; a methodology for urban territory screening by means of PSI time series displacements has been performed on Pienza historical town that is included in the UNESCO WHL (World Heritage list); a procedure for generating empirical fragility and vulnerability curves from InSAR ground deformation rates and field damage survey was has been proposed for buildings exposed to slow-moving landslides on urban masonry settlements in Northern Appennine; a building deformation assessment for deriving differential settlement parametershas been applied in Volterra urban area in Central Italy. A short discussion on the relevant key points of each methodology is tacked, along with conclusions and future perspectives.