Metrics to Rank Illegal Buildings

The problem of illegal buildings (IBs) is becoming dramatic in developing countries due to the population explosion, but, at the same time, it is still an unsolved issue also in several states usually called advanced (e.g., Italy). To protect the environment and, hence, people, authorities must respond to the challenge of IBs by demolishing them. However, in countries where the phenomenon is extended, it is indispensable provide land managers with IT tools that guide them in defining an order of intervention towards demolition. Through remote sensing methods, we can identify suspicious buildings with a good approximation, but they are all ex-aequo. The research described in this work proposes three metrics to rank the IBs located close to rivers. The ranking may be used as the IBs demolition order.