Examining Urban Growth From Space

"...Researchers have been able to look at urban sprawl from monitoring the emission of light from cities at night... Another interesting discovery was that urbanization seems to elongate the growing season while still reducing overall productivity. Vegetation greens up earlier in the spring and takes longer to fade out in the fall but it tends to have lower peak-season productivity than nearby areas unaffected by urbanization. This could be demonstrating a profound link to the urban heat island effect, and it has implications in climate change, particularly in the Northern Hemisphere where urban development is most intense."

Thanks to Ambar Mukherjee