Starting from an experimental campaign in Milan, the article describes how the infrared signal recorded by Landsat 8 sensors can be used to evaluate and monitor key urban scale environmental variables. The possibility of combining different spectral bands of the infrared signal with previously collected spectral bands is highlighted. The monitored variables have been mapped in geo-referenced images using Geographic Information System (GIS)instruments. In this way, a mapping database is created to be used as a benchmark to study urban heat islands and the environmental changes over the years.