Study of urban green space changes using Sentinel-2 data in Thai Binh city, Vietnam

Urban green spaces play a crucial role in regulating the environment, improving the quality of life, and contributing significantly to achieving the goals of sustainable urban development. However, the rapid pace of urbanization in recent years has led to substantial changes in land use, particularly a reduction in the area of vegetation and urban green zones. This study utilizes Sentinel-2 L2A satellite data, which offer advantages in spatial resolution and multitemporal observation capabilities. To complement information on vegetation conditions, the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was calculated. For the classification of major land-cover categories, including water bodies, vegetation, urban areas, and bare land, the Random Forest machine learning algorithm was applied. The analysis results show that urban green spaces in Thai Binh have undergone significant temporal changes, with urban expansion identified as the main factor contributing to the decline of vegetation cover. The findings provide a clear understanding of the development and degradation of urban greenery at the local level and have practical significance for management and planning. They contribute to forming sustainable urban development strategies that balance urban growth and environmental protection, applicable not only to Thai Binh but also to other cities in Vietnam.