We all know that urban areas are growing at a giant steps and not always the expansion urbanization of a city can be beneficial and effective or leave a minimal footprint on environmental impact and ecosystems that surround us.
From this perspective, we must begin to have aware that the analysis of the expansion of the cities and their planning reports positive and negative that should be analyzed by experts urbanists who need a global vision and a quantity huge amount of data to draw the conclusions that we will benefit us to procure a sustainable urban development and coherent in the cities of the future.
Now from the Google Earth platform and viewer Timelapse we can begin to better understand the growth urban planning and how it occurs in cities, towns, what is their process from the perspective of observation or simply studying any part of the Earth.
This recently updated tool – Google Timelapse – with a huge amount of data and images with a clearer quality, it provides us with information visual since 1984 that, although it may sound like a long time, actually many landscapes and features of the Earth have changed drastically since then to this day. today.
The next view is north of Saudi Arabia, the area covered by groundwater supply and management of large irrigation systems to maintain the green fields in Al-Busayta, Al-Jouf (North Arabia Saudi).
32 years of changes on a database of more than 5 Millions of satellite images acquired in the last three decades will provide us with a fast overview and ease of planning which is emphasized in many cities, the deterioration of our soils or how to avoid the urban sprawl.
The interactive experience of Google Timelapse allows the user to explore changes in the Earth's surface like we've never seen before, revealing a new, sharper view of our planet with colors that have increased their realism and fewer elements that distract from data analysis. An example from Dubai …
Panoramic views or the option to zoom in or out according to zoom in to start exploring our new timelapse or power creating comparisons between different years are some of the skills of the new application that will undoubtedly benefit urban planners, researchers, scientists or journalists from detect possible changes or map and quantify differences in the surface of the Earth. (We also remember the article by how to create 3d maps that can be useful)
The application suggests some examples of urban sprawl that are recognized quickly and visually; from Dubai through Las Vegas, Madrid, Barcelona, cities like Mexico or New York or getting closer to less populated areas such as Antarctic glaciers and the example devastating of the Aral Sea.
Las Vegas reproduction:
Reproduction of the Aral Sea and its disappearance:
It is also worth seeing the urban expansion of the city of Beijing or Shanghai (China) over the last three decades. The following reproduction is from Shanghai… Impressive the advance of excessive urbanism!….
We must remember that many environmental problems that we know in the different continents its origin is in the unstoppable
A report confirming the bad planning practiced in Europe is the study called Urban sprawl in Europe whose conclusions are devastating…“more than a quarter of the territory that make up the European Union, it is currently already urbanized»… with the problem that life expectancy of Europeans is greater each year, more people, who also live alone exerting greater pressure on the living space and land occupation.
We leave a video of how Google works Timelapse Earth to get an idea of what can be done. The example refers to creating a Tour on a specific area…
Understanding how the widening of the cities and the growth of cities before more transport infrastructures (See also TOD cities), a incessant occupation of land or a greater consumption of energy is and will be a priority in the future.
These factors are detrimental to the environment or a relentless increase in greenhouse gas emissions greenhouse causing irremediable changes in the change climate change or increased noise or air pollution than inevitably affects the inhabitants of the cities.
Uncontrolled urban sprawl directly affects all of us. quality of life and therefore to many other factors, such as For example, the health of the inhabitants of urban areas. Concepts such as the resilience of cities or the sustainable urban development are and will be the bases will constitute the construction of friendlier cities for everyone.
