Image source: American Museum of Natural HistoryThis brief video shows how the Phoenix area spread from 1912 to 2004. It uses a combination of map and satellite images to show vividly what most of us have trouble picturing from descriptions or even in-person observation.
The accompanying text makes the point that, due to water issues, Phoenix is one area where the population has actually grown faster than the physical spread of the city. Nevertheless, sprawl is sprawl, and Phoenix is a poster child for the term.
As the video starts, note that the pink areas are urban and the green are agricultural. It’s amazing to see how urban development has obliterated so much of the area’s agriculture.
Though it’s less clear on the video, having grown up there and been back for visits, the loss of desert land has been equally dramatic. A couple of years ago, when I took a drive north from Scottsdale, I was shocked that what used to be a huge expanse of desert wilderness for nearly 20 miles between Scottsdale and the village of Carefree, is now almost completely “developed” with Porsche dealerships, restaurants, and subdivisions.
I hope that, after seeing the video, anyone who’s resigned to Mount Vernon and Lisbon eventually being swallowed up by the sprawl of Cedar Rapids and Iowa City will think twice about what we might do to prevent that. Just a thought.