@ Vladimir Ladinski...That is a firm that had introductory training on GIS. What was on their page is not in tandem with what I am looking for. Anyway, thank you for the input
There are many types of data that are used in urban landscape/ecology research that are only available via already established remote-sensed datasets. If you want to use these data your only option is to use GIS solutions. Alternatively, you might be interested in documenting a certain phenomenon in the urban setting, then using GIS solutions to present your study findings is usually appropriate.