Tracing Suburban Growth Through Aerial Images

Tracing Suburban Growth Through Aerial Images

Author

Brett Perry
August 29, 2024

Tracing Suburban Growth Through Aerial Images

Author: Jason Smith

Suburbs have become woven into the fabric of American life, stretching out from city centers and transforming what was once forest and farmland into sprawling neighborhoods, shopping centers, and winding cul-de-sacs.

1950s suburban neighborhoods — Levittown, PA. (Source: Aesthetics Wiki)

While suburbs might lack the historic landmarks that are common in cities—like old Main Streets, century-old churches, and grand mansions—each suburb has its own unique story to tell. Aerial photos are a powerful tool for uncovering these stories, revealing the gradual but impactful changes that have shaped suburban landscapes over time.

Figure 1. The slider compare feature is a particularly useful tool to help visualize the dynamic changes from rural to suburban landscapes. (Screenshot of HistoricAerials.com)

Whether you’re curious about the history of your neighborhood or researching the development of suburban areas, aerial photos are an invaluable resource. The oldest images available on HistoricAerials often show suburbs in their pre-development phase. By browsing chronologically through years of imagery, the dynamic evolution of these areas.

Figure 2. Sequence of aerial images showing the development of Atascocita, a suburb of Houston, Texas. (HistoricAerials.com)

Take Atascocita, a suburb of Houston, as an example. In 1930, Edgar Tobin captured this area in aerial photographs (Figure 3). As the photos show, the area was mostly dense forest back then. The historic Atascocita Road stands out, leading to the San Jacinto River at Atascocita Crossing. A ferry once operated there, along a significant 18th-century military and smuggling route, but by

this time a bridge had been built.

Figure 3. 1930 aerial image of the Houston suburb of Atascocita. (HistoricAerials.com)

This crossing was eventually submerged when a dam was built to create Lake Houston. The 1930 image captures a moment in time before these transformations occurred, preserving a piece of the area’s history that has since been altered by development.

In many places, aerial photos can allow you to pinpoint the very first neighborhood to be developed in a suburb, or even the very first street. In Atascocita, imagery from 1957 shows the first residential street, called Camp Lillie Road (Figure 4). Interestingly, it would be nearly 20 years before any more residential streets were laid in this area. Today, this road is just one in a sea of residential neighborhoods. (Figure 5).

Figure 4. 1956 aerial image of showing Camp Lillie Road, the first residential street in Atascocita. (HistoricAerials.com)

Figure 5. The same view, from 2020, showing Camp Lillie Road and newer neighborhoods surrounding it in Atascocita. (HistoricAerials.com)

By comparing images from different decades, you can track the growth of an area, from the initial street layouts to the construction of homes and the eventual maturity of the neighborhood.

Whether you’re trying to determine when your neighborhood was built or trace the pattern of suburban expansion, HistoricAerials provides the tools to explore these histories. Aerial imagery allows you to piece together the story of your community, frame by frame.

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If you're curious about the dimensions of renowned places or your neighborhood, our Distance Tool is your go-to. Dive in and see the world from a fresh perspective! (Explore viewer)

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