NYU Stern Urbanization Project (animations)

[SHiRO]

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[SHiRO]

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[SHiRO]

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[SHiRO]

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[chris08876]

Chicago in the 1970's really ballooned in size. Also, interesting how Calcutta remained relatively the same size, only became much more denser. Shanghai also went through a dramatic change in the 1980's to now.

[PoshSteve]

Im pretty surprised at how small Moskva remained until recently. Just exploded all at once!

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by chris08876

Chicago in the 1970's really ballooned in size.

Lots of issues with these visualizations. They don't have data from every year, and the data they do have is not equally spaced-out. It doesn't seem like apples-to-apples comparisons either - in the Chicago visualization, the 1967 data is pretty vague and amoeba-like, probably drawn by hand from aerial photos, while the 1990 data is extremely precise and probably based on satellite infrared data. The 1990 set includes many smaller towns that didn't suddenly spring into existence in the 70s/80s, but they make the growth seem much more dramatic.

Graphically, they fade from one dataset to the next with a radial transition, which makes it seem like growth waves always begin at a central starting point. However, the center points they choose are not always the actual core of the cities they're representing. Visually, having the datasets fade in would have conveyed the reality better.

[SHiRO]

Originally Posted by ardecila

Visually, having the datasets fade in would have conveyed the reality better.

Maybe it's me but that's exactely what I see happening in these animations.

[JDRCRASH]

Sheez, the oil and the aquaduct made LA explode in the 20's!

[Altauria]

Originally Posted by SHiRO

Maybe it's me but that's exactely what I see happening in these animations.

I think he means how it visually grows out from the center, rather than fading in from 'underneath', as if it were a graphic layer gradually loosing its transparency from behind the current layer.

These are very interesting and dynamic illustrations, though! I would love to see them add the satellite cities, rather than making it look like they didn't exist before being included in the metro area. It can be deceiving, even if we know better.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by Altauria

I would love to see them add the satellite cities, rather than making it look like they didn't exist before being included in the metro area. It can be deceiving, even if we know better.

ditto.

the chicago animation makes it look like there wasn't a soul living anywhere outside of the city limits until the mid-20th century, when in fact there were over a million people living out in chicago's hinterlands prior to post-war suburbanization. satellite cities like waukegan, elgin, aurora, and joliet were actually bonafide smaller cities in their own right by the end of the 19th century, along with countless other smaller towns and villages. the animation is indeed quite deceiving in the way it shows the collar counties going from absolutely zero development to near total development entirely within the time span of the post-war era. that's just not how it happened.