The Beauty of Urban Planning from Space
Escaping from the regular debate that surrounds urban planning — veering away from the economics, the societal balances, the environmental sensitivities — and looking directly into the eye of the urban space from above, it becomes clear that the beauty of a city is not reserved to terra firma alone. Individual buildings and their interiors are a city’s paint strokes, street art and urban interventions are the embellishments, but what happens when we see the urban form from the perspective of a bird? We see the full work of art, the lucky things.
The collection of 11 cities in this post gives us an insight into one more dimension of our urban realm – the real-life master plan. Some of the images you see, for example the flying object of Brasília, can be looked at as Rorschach-like patterns where the objects you see might be exclusive to your mind. What can you see?
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven, Connecticut // Source: Google/USGS
Washington, D.C., U.S.A.
Washington, D.C., U.S.A. // Source: Google
Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Belo Horizonte, Brazil // Source: Google/Digital Globe
Brasília, Brazil
Brasília, Brazil // Source: earthobservatory.nasa.gov
El Salvador, Chile
El Salvador, Chile // Source: Google/GeoEye
El Salvador, Chile // Source: Google/GeoEye
La Plata, Argentina
La Plata, Argentina // Source: Google/Geoeye
Palmanova, Italy
Palmanova, Italy // Source: Google/Digital Globe
Jaipur, India
Jaipur, India // Source: Google/GeoEye
Adelaide, Australia
Adelaide, Australia // Source: Google/Digital Globe
Canberra, Australia
Canberra, Australia // Source: Google/GeoEye
Canberra’s Capital Hill // Source: GeoEye
