Dr. Ellen Banzhaf
PhD - Senior Scientist
Department of Urban and Environmental Sociology
Helmholtz Centre
for Environmental Research - UFZ
Permoserstr. 15
04318 Leipzig, Germany
phone: ++49 341 6025 1738
Dr. Ellen Banzhaf

Research Areas
The main focus is on quantitative analyses of spatial and temporal dynamics in urban regions using remote sensing techniques. Monitoring and classifying land use and delineating change detection of LULC elementary procedures in the interdisciplinary field of urban development studies. Urban structures and further spatial indicators are derived to understand processes of spatial dynamics and corresponding socio-demographic and socio-economic development in neighbourhoods, cities and urban regions. Regional, national and international contexts are taken into consideration.
- Monitoring urban land use and land cover at various scales from urban regions to neighbourhoods.
- Analysing impacts of land-use dynamics and population development as drivers for urban transformations.
- Investigating urban structures regarding their urban ecological and socio-economic parameters to foster resilient urban development.
- Mapping and monitoring urban ecosystems and their services towards a more sustainable environmental development.
Supervision of internships, B.Sc. and M.Sc. thesis
Current publications
2024 (3)
- Banzhaf, E., Kabisch, S., Rink, D. (2024):
Das Stadtlabor Leipzig am UFZ
In: Kabisch, S., Rink, D., Banzhaf, E. (Hrsg.)
Die resiliente Stadt : Konzepte, Konflikte, Lösungen
Springer Spektrum, Berlin, Heidelberg, S. 91 - 94
full text (doi) - Kabisch, S., Rink, D., Banzhaf, E. (Hrsg., 2024):
Die resiliente Stadt : Konzepte, Konflikte, Lösungen
Springer Spektrum, Berlin, Heidelberg, XXI, 296 S.
full text (doi) - Zandersen, M., Banzhaf, E., Knopp, J.M., Scheffler, J., Levin, G., Guell, C., Wicke, M. (2024):
Naturbasierte Lösungen zur Stärkung der Resilienz in Städten
In: Kabisch, S., Rink, D., Banzhaf, E. (Hrsg.)
Die resiliente Stadt : Konzepte, Konflikte, Lösungen
Springer Spektrum, Berlin, Heidelberg, S. 145 - 164
full text (doi)
2023 (3)
- Anees, M.M., Banzhaf, E., Wang, J., Joshi, P.K. (2023):
Quality index approach for analysis of urban green infrastructure in Himalayan cities
Land 12 (2), art. 279
full text (doi) - Knopp, J.M., Levin, G., Banzhaf, E. (2023):
Aerial data analysis for integration into a green cadastre - an example from Aarhus, Denmark
IEEE J. Sel. Top. Appl. Earth Observ. Remote Sens. 16 , 6545 - 6555
full text (doi) - Wu, B.-W., Ma, J., Banzhaf, E., Meadows, M.E., Yu, Z.-W., Guo, F., Sengupta, D., Cai, X.-X., Zhao, B. (2023):
A first Chinese building height estimate at 10 m resolution (CNBH-10 m) using multi-source earth observations and machine learning
Remote Sens. Environ. 291 , art. 113578
full text (doi)
2022 (7)
- Banzhaf, E., Anderson, S., Grandin, G., Hardiman, R., Jensen, A., Jones, L., Knopp, J., Levin, G., Russel, D., Wu, W., Yang, J., Zandersen, M. (2022):
Urban-rural dependencies and opportunities to design nature-based solutions for resilience in Europe and China
Land 11 (4), art. 480
full text (doi) - Banzhaf, E., Bulley, H.N., Inkoom, J.N., Elze, S. (2022):
Mapping open data and big data to address climate resilience of urban informal settlements in Sub-Saharan Africa
Climate 10 (12), art. 186
full text (doi) - Bird, D.N., Banzhaf, E., Knopp, J., Wu, W., Jones, L. (2022):
Combining spatial and temporal data to create a fine-resolution daily urban air temperature product from remote sensing land surface temperature (LST) data
Atmosphere 13 (7), art. 1152
full text (doi) - Elze, S., Banzhaf, E. (2022):
High-precision monitoring of urban structures to understand changes in multiple ecosystem services
Urban For. Urban Green. 73 , art. 127616
full text (doi) - Jones, L., Anderson, S., Læssøe, J., Banzhaf, E., Jensen, A., Bird, D.N., Miller, J., Hutchins, M.G., Yang, J., Garrett, J., Taylor, T., Wheeler, B.W., Lovell, R., Fletcher, D., Qu, Y., Vieno, M., Zandersen, M. (2022):
A typology for urban Green Infrastructure to guide multifunctional planning of nature-based solutions
Nature-Based Solutions 2 , art. 100041
full text (doi) - Wu, W., Luo, X., Knopp, J., Jones, L., Banzhaf, E. (2022):
Refined land cover for Beijing, Shanghai, Ningbo in China and Paris Region, Velika Gorica, Aarhus in Europe under different scenarios in 2030 [Data set]
ZENODO 10.5281/zenodo.6997232 - Wu, W., Luo, X., Knopp, J., Jones, L., Banzhaf, E. (2022):
A European-Chinese exploration: Part 2 – Urban ecosystem service patterns, processes and contributions to environmental equity under different scenarios
Remote Sens. 14 (4), art. 3488
full text (doi)
2021 (2)
- Banzhaf, E., Wu, W., Luo, X., Knopp, J. (2021):
Integrated mapping of spatial urban dynamics—A European-Chinese exploration. Part 1—Methodology for automatic land cover classification tailored towards spatial allocation of ecosystem services features
Remote Sens. 13 (9), art. 1744
full text (doi) - Wu, W.-B., Ma, J., Meadows, M.E., Banzhaf, E., Huang, T.-Y., Liu, Y.-F., Zhao, B. (2021):
Spatio-temporal changes in urban green space in 107 Chinese cities (1990–2019): The role of economic drivers and policy
Int. J. Appl. Earth Obs. Geoinf. 103 , art. 102525
full text (doi)
2020 (5)
- Anees, M.M., Mann, D., Sharma, M., Banzhaf, E., Joshi, P.K. (2020):
Assessment of urban dynamics to understand spatiotemporal differentiation at various scales using remote sensing and geospatial tools
Remote Sens. 12 (8), art. 1306
full text (doi) - Banzhaf, E., Bird, D.N., Blanco, E., Fletcher, D., Jones, L., Knopp, J., Luo, X., Wu, W., Yang, Y., Bachiller‐Jareno, N., Hutchings, M., Ma, J., Miller, J., Vieno, M., Zhao, B. (2020):
Synthesis report on current datasets and their applicability of ecosystem services mapping and modelling. Deliverable N°3.1. WP N°3 Mapping and modelling ecosystem services
REGREEN - Nature-Based Solutions, 76 pp.
full text (url) - Banzhaf, E., Kollai, H., Kindler, A. (2020):
Mapping urban grey and green structures for liveable cities using a 3D enhanced OBIA approach and vital statistics
Geocarto Int. 35 (6), 623 - 640
full text (doi) - Fletcher, D., Zhao, B., Grandin, G., Yang, J., Barra, M., Ruzic, M., Vinther Larsen, L., Iversen, S., Xu, Y., Chen, C., Banzhaf, E., Knopp, J., Luo, X., Wu, W., Vesuviano, G., Jones, L. (2020):
Report on assessment of drivers and pressures leading to urban challenges, across the ULLs, including spatial and temporal components. Deliverable D2.1. for EU H2020 REGREEN project
REGREEN - Nature-Based Solutions, 41 pp.
full text (url) - Palliwoda, J., Banzhaf, E., Priess, J.A. (2020):
How do the green components of urban green infrastructure influence the use of ecosystem services? Examples from Leipzig, Germany
Landsc. Ecol. 35 (5), 1127 - 1142
full text (doi)
2019 (3)
- Banzhaf, E., de la Barrera, F., Reyes-Paecke, S. (2019):
Urban green infrastructure in support of ecosystem services in a highly dynamic South American city: a multi-scale assessment of Santiago de Chile
In: Schröter, M., Bonn, A., Klotz, S., Seppelt, R., Baessler, C. (eds.)
Atlas of ecosystem services : drivers, risks, and societal responses
Springer International Publishing, Cham, p. 157 - 165
full text (doi) - Wang, J., Pauleit, S., Banzhaf, E. (2019):
An integrated indicator framework for the assessment of multifunctional green infrastructure—Exemplified in a European city
Remote Sens. 11 (16), art. 1869
full text (doi) - Wang, J., Xu, C., Pauleit, S., Kindler, A., Banzhaf, E. (2019):
Spatial patterns of urban green infrastructure for equity: A novel exploration
J. Clean Prod. 238 , art. 117858
full text (doi)
2018 (5)
- Banzhaf, E., Arndt, T., Ladiges, J. (2018):
Potenziale städtischer Gewerbebrachflächen für eine integrierte Stadtentwicklung. Monitoring für ein nachhaltiges Flächenmanagement am Beispiel der wieder wachsenden Stadt Leipzig. Potential performance of commercial urban Brownfield sites in integrated urban development – Monitoring for sustainable land-use management based on the example of the city of Leipzig
disP - The Planning Review 54 (2), 26 - 43
full text (doi) - Banzhaf, E., Arndt, T., Ladiges, J. (2018):
Potentials of urban brownfields for improving the quality of urban space
In: Kabisch, S., Koch, F., Gawel, E., Haase, A., Knapp, S., Krellenberg, K., Nivala, J., Zehnsdorf, A. (eds.)
Urban transformations - Sustainable urban development through resource efficiency, quality of life and resilience
Future City 10
Springer International Publishing, Cham, p. 221 - 232
full text (doi) - Banzhaf, E., Knapp, S., Koch, F. (2018):
Part III. Quality of life and ecosystem services : outline
In: Kabisch, S., Koch, F., Gawel, E., Haase, A., Knapp, S., Krellenberg, K., Nivala, J., Zehnsdorf, A. (eds.)
Urban transformations - Sustainable urban development through resource efficiency, quality of life and resilience
Future City 10
Springer International Publishing, Cham, p. 233 - 234
full text (doi) - Banzhaf, E., Reyes-Paecke, S.M., de la Barrera, F. (2018):
What really matters in green infrastructure for the urban quality of life? Santiago de Chile as a showcase city
In: Kabisch, S., Koch, F., Gawel, E., Haase, A., Knapp, S., Krellenberg, K., Nivala, J., Zehnsdorf, A. (eds.)
Urban transformations - Sustainable urban development through resource efficiency, quality of life and resilience
Future City 10
Springer International Publishing, Cham, p. 281 - 300
full text (doi) - Wang, J., Banzhaf, E. (2018):
Towards a better understanding of Green Infrastructure: A critical review
Ecol. Indic. 85 , 758 - 772
full text (doi)
2017 (5)
- Banzhaf, E., de la Barrera, F. (2017):
Evaluating public green spaces for the quality of life in cities by integrating RS mapping tools and social science techniques
2017 Joint Urban Remote Sensing Event; Dubai; UAE; 06 March 2017 through 08 March 2017
Joint Urban Remote Sensing Event (JURSE) 2017
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), New York, NY, p. 1 - 4
full text (doi) - Banzhaf, E., Kabisch, S., Knapp, S., Rink, D., Wolff, M., Kindler, A. (2017):
Integrated research on land-use changes in the face of urban transformations – an analytic framework for further studies
Land Use Pol. 60 , 403 - 407
full text (doi) - Cabral, I., Keim, J., Engelmann, R., Kraemer, R., Siebert, J., Wolf, F., Banzhaf, E., Bonn, A. (2017):
Assessing the contribution of urban gardens to ecosystem services and biodiversity in the city of Leipzig
In: Kabisch, N., Stadler, J., Duffield, S., Korn, H., Bonn, A. (eds.)
Proceedings of the European Conference “Nature-based Solutions to Climate Change in Urban Areas and their Rural Surroundings“ Bonn, Germany, 17-19 November 2015
BfN-Skripten 456
Bundesamt für Naturschutz (BfN), Bonn, p. 68 - 69
full text (url) - Haase, D., Kabisch, S., Haase, A., Andersson, E., Banzhaf, E., Baró, F., Brenck, M., Fischer, L.K., Frantzeskaki, N., Kabisch, N., Krellenberg, K., Kremer, P., Kronenberg, J., Larondelle, N., Mathey, J., Pauleit, S., Ring, I., Rink, D., Schwarz, N., Wolff, M. (2017):
Greening cities – To be socially inclusive? About the alleged paradox of society and ecology in cities
Habitat Int. 64 , 41 - 48
full text (doi) - Wang, J., Banzhaf, E. (2017):
Derive an understanding of Green Infrastructure for the quality of life in cities by means of integrated RS mapping tools
2017 Joint Urban Remote Sensing Event; Dubai; UAE; 06 March 2017 through 08 March 2017
Joint Urban Remote Sensing Event (JURSE) 2017
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), New York, NY, p. 1 - 4
full text (doi)
2016 (3)
- de la Barrera, F., Reyes-Paecke, S., Banzhaf, E. (2016):
Indicators for green spaces in contrasting urban settings
Ecol. Indic. 62 , 212 - 219
full text (doi) - de la Barrera, F., Rubio, P., Banzhaf, E. (2016):
The value of vegetation cover for ecosystem services in the suburban context
Urban For. Urban Green. 16 , 110 - 122
full text (doi) - Kindler, A., Banzhaf, E., Reyes-Paecke, S., Weiland, U., Müller, A. (2016):
Escenarios para ordenamiento territorial y gestión del riesgo por inundación
In: Barton, J.R., Kopfmüller, J. (eds.)
Santiago 2030 : escenarios para la planificacion estrategica
RiL Editores, Santiago, p. 131 - 160