Energy Transition

These satellite images show how Earth’s cities connect to nature

Manhattan’s dense grid is highlighted amid the wider city. The central island is fringed with piers down its west side, once serving as an entry point for the city’s many immigrants and industry hubs for the waterfront. Now, many of these piers are in disrepair or have been reclaimed as public spaces.
Manhattan’s dense grid is highlighted amid the wider city. The central island is fringed with piers down its west side, once serving as an entry point for the city’s many immigrants and industry hubs for the waterfront. Now, many of these piers are in disrepair or have been reclaimed as public spaces.
Image: Aster
By
Natasha Frost
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Sometimes, it takes a bit of perspective to see the bigger picture.

That is the tack Karen C. Seto and Meredith Reba of Yale University take in their new book, City Unseen: New Visions of an Urban Planet. Within its glossy pages, the researchers use satellite images of 100 cities around the globe to showcase the intricacies of the relationship between urban settlements and the natural world.

Seto and Reba used image-processing tools to reveal patterns, dynamics and connections that are difficult to detect from the ground. In one enhanced photo, order meets disarray in a pair of cities on the US-Mexican border, where only one is subject to American zoning regulations. Another photo, showing Mali’s capital, Bamako, reveals how the river Niger keeps farming aloft in the region’s dusty valleys.

The book explores how vulnerable urban centers are to the vagaries of the changing Earth. As the authors write: “Humans build settlements in the most vulnerable places to inhabit.” Coastal areas prone to storm surges also produce food and access to trade and energy—and can provide more temperate climates. Take Minamisoma, Japan, a coastal town that was devastated by the tsunami in 2011 caused by the Tōhoku earthquake. The tidal wave led to the meltdown of three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, and left 400 dead and a further 1,100 missing. Before-and-after images show the extent of  the waterlogged coast in a way that would be hard to grasp from the ground, with inundation stretching three miles (five kilometers) inland.

When it comes to protecting ourselves from the natural world, human ingenuity can only go so far—not to mention the harm we’ve put ourselves in by affecting the climate. An enhanced satellite photo in the book shows the urban island of Malé, in the Maldives, which has an average elevation of under 10 feet. From a distance, it’s clear how vulnerable it is to rising sea levels, and how much its 154,000 inhabitants stand to lose.

Our actions affect the places we live—these far-off photographs remind us of the fragility of our environment, and the tenuousness of our connection to it. Here’s a selection:

The US-Mexico border snakes across this image, about a third of the way down. It divides the twin cities of Calexico, California (population 40,000) from Mexicali, Mexico (690,000), both visible in purple. Above the border, blocks are neatly arranged with a smaller urban footprint; below, Mexicali sprawls into a mosaic of surrounding agricultural plots.
The US-Mexico border snakes across this image, about a third of the way down. It divides the twin cities of Calexico, California (population 40,000) from Mexicali, Mexico (690,000), both visible in purple. Above the border, blocks are neatly arranged with a smaller urban footprint; below, Mexicali sprawls into a mosaic of surrounding agricultural plots.
Image: Landsat OLI/TIRS
The Ecuadorian city of Guayaquil (shown in light turquoise) sits at the intersection of three rivers, seen here as indigo ribbons through the landscape. Nearby, marsh and agricultural land (red) borders the city and extends into the countryside. But the rivers’ bounty comes with a cost—the black blocks throughout the image are fields that have been flooded.
The Ecuadorian city of Guayaquil (shown in light turquoise) sits at the intersection of three rivers, seen here as indigo ribbons through the landscape. Nearby, marsh and agricultural land (red) borders the city and extends into the countryside. But the rivers’ bounty comes with a cost—the black blocks throughout the image are fields that have been flooded.
Image: Landsat OLI/TIRS
The historic city of Bologna, Italy, is a mixture of a heritage center made of well-preserved brick, surrounded by a modern urban environment of 385,000 people—the dark blue spider around the central oval of pale green.
The historic city of Bologna, Italy, is a mixture of a heritage center made of well-preserved brick, surrounded by a modern urban environment of 385,000 people—the dark blue spider around the central oval of pale green.
Image: Landsat OLI/TIRS
The tiny area in pale turquoise to the upper left of Grand Island in the center of this image is the reason for all this urban buildup at the US-Canadian border—Niagara Falls. This international tourist destination is the busiest crossing point between the two countries, with Ontario to its left and New York to its right.
The tiny area in pale turquoise to the upper left of Grand Island in the center of this image is the reason for all this urban buildup at the US-Canadian border—Niagara Falls. This international tourist destination is the busiest crossing point between the two countries, with Ontario to its left and New York to its right.
Image: Landsat OLI/TIRS
The Japanese city of Sapporo is shown in purple, surrounded by its vast agricultural area. The region is a hotspot for strawberries, cherries, and apples. Over to the right, snowy mountain tops can be seen in pink.
The Japanese city of Sapporo is shown in purple, surrounded by its vast agricultural area. The region is a hotspot for strawberries, cherries, and apples. Over to the right, snowy mountain tops can be seen in pink.
Image: Landsat OLI/TIRS
Bamako is Mali’s dry and dusty capital (population 3.3 million) in the foothills of the Mandingo Plateau cliff. The region is nourished by the weblike tributaries of the river Niger, visible in red throughout the landscape.
Bamako is Mali’s dry and dusty capital (population 3.3 million) in the foothills of the Mandingo Plateau cliff. The region is nourished by the weblike tributaries of the river Niger, visible in red throughout the landscape.
Image: Landsat OLI/TIRS
The medieval city of Shiraz, Iran, (blue) is northwest of Maharlu Lake, visible in aqua blue. The city and lake sit at the base of the Zagros Mountains, from which a seasonal river flows into the lake—a fertile spot surrounded by semiarid land.
The medieval city of Shiraz, Iran, (blue) is northwest of Maharlu Lake, visible in aqua blue. The city and lake sit at the base of the Zagros Mountains, from which a seasonal river flows into the lake—a fertile spot surrounded by semiarid land.
Image: Landsat OLI/TIRS
Manaus is the largest city on the Amazon (population 2.15 million), yet only a single cable bridge connects its southern area to its northern center. The city sits at the confluence of two rivers: the Rio Negro, seen in dark blue, and the Rio Solimões, which appears light turquoise due to sand particles that reflect the light.
Manaus is the largest city on the Amazon (population 2.15 million), yet only a single cable bridge connects its southern area to its northern center. The city sits at the confluence of two rivers: the Rio Negro, seen in dark blue, and the Rio Solimões, which appears light turquoise due to sand particles that reflect the light.
Image: Landsat OLI/TIRS
Chongqing, China, straddles three horizontal “grooves” in the Earth’s crust known as anticlines and synclines. The city is built on sandstone in a region that’s well-known for coal mining.
Chongqing, China, straddles three horizontal “grooves” in the Earth’s crust known as anticlines and synclines. The city is built on sandstone in a region that’s well-known for coal mining.
Image: Landsat OLI/TIRS
The Russian town of Semikarakorsk (population 24,000) is surrounded by a patchwork of farmland, showing the diversity of crops grown in the region. It’s an area Anton Chekhov once described as so fertile you could poke a stick into the ground and it would take root. The Don river, which snakes past the city, brings nutrients to the fields in good years, and catastrophic flooding in bad ones.
The Russian town of Semikarakorsk (population 24,000) is surrounded by a patchwork of farmland, showing the diversity of crops grown in the region. It’s an area Anton Chekhov once described as so fertile you could poke a stick into the ground and it would take root. The Don river, which snakes past the city, brings nutrients to the fields in good years, and catastrophic flooding in bad ones.
Image: Landsat OLI/TIRS
Anchorage, the largest city in Alaska, sits on the peninsula’s northwest coast beneath the shadows of the Chugach Mountains. The rocky outcrops of the mountain and the city’s cement blocks (at left) reflect light at a similar wavelength—so both appear a vibrant orange.
Anchorage, the largest city in Alaska, sits on the peninsula’s northwest coast beneath the shadows of the Chugach Mountains. The rocky outcrops of the mountain and the city’s cement blocks (at left) reflect light at a similar wavelength—so both appear a vibrant orange.
Image: Landsat OLI/TIRS