Trends in land use and development are made obvious with satellite imagery tracking changes during the 2010s.
Emily Badger and Quoctrung Bui of The New York Times, worked with Tim Wallace and Krishna Karra from Descartes Labs, a geospatial analytics company to track trends in development over the past decade.
"With [satellite imagery's] growing power and precision, we can see both intimate details — a single home, bulldozed; a tennis court, reinvented — and big patterns that recur across the country," write Badger and Bui.
The trends they spot from above are illustrated in the source article, but they read as follows:
- The Exurbs Boom Again
- The Urban Core, Redeveloped
- Diversity Becomes the Norm
- Big Tech's Imprint
- Big Tech's Big Boxes
- Rust Belt Homes, Demolished
- Transit Transformations
- After Disaster, Renewal
FULL STORY: A Decade of Urban Transformation, Seen From Above
Planning for Proximity, for the Climate’s Sake
A new global platform will help the world identify and encourage opportunities for more proximity in the built environment—development patterns that can help reduce sources of greenhouse gas emissions and other forms of pollution if built well.
Snohomish County, Washington, Sets its Sights on Sprawl
Advocates say it’s unnecessary, but Snohomish County is preparing to expand its urban growth areas to allow for more low density residential development.
Planning for Congestion Relief
The third and final installment of Planetizen's examination of the role of the planning profession in both perpetuating and solving traffic congestion.
Planetizen’s Top Planning Books of 2023
The world is changing, and planning with it.
Chicago Red Line Extension Could Transform the South Side
The city’s transit agency is undertaking its biggest expansion ever to finally bring rail to the South Side.
How ‘Daylighting’ Intersections Can Save Lives
Eliminating visual obstructions can make intersections safer for all users.
LA Pledges to Add Thousands of New Bus Stop Shelters
The city’s bus riders will finally get some relief from sun and rain.
How Paris, Texas Became a ‘Unicorn’ for Rural Transit
A robust coalition of advocates in the town of 25,000 brought together the funding and resources to launch a popular bus service that some residents see as a mobility lifeline—and a social club.
San Diego Trolley Nation’s Most Popular Light Rail
The system's ridership benefited from an extension project and free transit for youth.
Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization
City of Morganton
San Joaquin County
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
Park City Municipal Corporation
National Capital Planning Commission
City of Santa Fe, New Mexico
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
