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Mapping Project Using Crowdsourcing To Track Urbanization

UC San Diego Big Pixel Initiative
(Photo by UC San Diego Big Pixel Initiative)
Different band combinations are used to visualize and map the boundaries of urban areas in Ahmedabad, India, in (left) 2000 and (right) 2015. Here, the built-up area detection was done using satellite imagery from Landsat (top).

Researchers want your help in mapping cities — and, more specifically, how cities are growing.

A team from Big Pixel Initiatives at UC San Diego is working with ASU and Columbia University. They plan to use crowdsourcing to tag land as either developed — or not developed.

One of those researchers is Geographer Ran Goldblatt. He’s a post-doc in the UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy.

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Mark Brodie is a co-host of The Show, KJZZ’s locally produced news magazine. Since starting at KJZZ in 2002, Brodie has been a host, reporter and producer, including several years covering the Arizona Legislature, based at the Capitol.