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Phoenix, Arizona, and its suburbs are growing rapidly, both in population and area. Landsat images show striking changes in the Phoenix metropolitan area in only a few decades. The most noticeable change is residential areas spreading over agricultural fields, which are shown in the images as bright red squares and rectangles. But in other areas, the urban growth expands over what was once bare desert.
New residents and tourists are attracted to Phoenix by the warm weather and abundant sunshine. Phoenix has maintained rapid and sustained growth, and its location in a wide valley allows neighborhoods to be built with houses that can have a lot of space around them. From 1970 to 2019, the population of the Phoenix metropolitan area grew by almost 410 percent.
Phoenix doesn’t have many cloudy days, so it’s perfect for studying urban growth with satellite images. Scientists and city planners study population growth and urban expansion in fast-growing cities like Phoenix to determine the changes that have occurred over time and to see how those changes impact the surrounding environment, affect the availability of natural resources such as water, and alter the landscape and how it’s used. That information can help people plan for future changes as cities continue to grow.
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 4,948,203 |
| 2010 | 4,192,887 |
| 2000 | 3,251,876 |
| 1990 | 2,122,887 |
| 1980 | 1,509,052 |
| 1970 | 971,228 |
| 1960 | 663,510 |
| 1950 | 331,770 |
| 1940 | 186,193 |
Location
Sept. 22, 1984, Landsat 5 (path/row 37/37) — Phoenix, Arizona, USA
July 8, 1991, Landsat 5 (path/row 37/37) — Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Oct. 15, 2001, Landsat 7 (path/row 37/37) — Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Oct. 19, 2011, Landsat 5 (path/row 37/37) — Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Aug. 8, 2020, Landsat 8 (path/row 37/37) — Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Phoenix, Arizona, USA Additional Imagery & Stories
Lake Pleasant
As Phoenix grows, the need for water rises. The Salt, Verde, and Gila Rivers bring water from Arizona’s mountains, but it’s not enough for millions of...
Southeastern Suburbs
The southeastern suburb of Chandler is the residential area near the center of these images. It was once separated from the other suburbs—in the 1972 ...
Western Suburbs
Images of the western side of the Phoenix metro area show the city growing out to meet Luke Air Force Base. The base, which opened in 1941, is in the ...
References
Acevedo, William, Taylor, Janis L., Hester, Dave J., Mladinich, Carol S., and Glavac, Sonya, Eds., 2006, Rates, trends, causes, and consequences of urban land-use change in the United States: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1726, 200 p. Available online at http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/pp1726.
The Arizona Experience, [n.d.], Central Arizona Project: The Arizona Experience, available at http://arizonaexperience.org/innovate/water-management-central-arizona-project. (Accessed July 1, 2013.)
Auch, Roger, Taylor, Janis, and Acevedo, William, 2004, Urban growth in American cities—Glimpses of U.S. Urbanization: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1252, 52 p. Available online at http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/cir1252.
Central Arizona Project, [n.d.], Central Arizona Project Web site at http://www.cap-az.com. (Accessed July 1, 2013.)
City of Chandler, [n.d.], City of Chandler--Historical Census Population: City of Chandler, accessed October 4, 2017, at http://www.chandleraz.gov/content/lrp_censuspophist.pdf.
deBuys, W., 2013, Could Phoenix soon become uninhabitable? The Nation, available at http://www.thenation.com/article/173346/could-phoenix-soon-become-uninhabitable#. (Accessed July 1, 2013.)
Scott, M., 2010, Booming growth in Phoenix suburbs: NASA Earth Observatory, available at http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=42252. (Accessed December 20, 2012.)
University of Phoenix Stadium, [n.d.], University of Phoenix Stadium Web site at http://www.universityofphoenixstadium.com/. (Accessed December 20, 2012.)
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, 2009, New Waddell Dam: U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, available at http://www.usbr.gov/lc/phoenix/projects/waddelldamproj.html. (Accessed July 1, 2013.)
U.S. Census Bureau, 2019, Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Area Population Totals Tables--2010-2019: accessed September 15, 2020, at https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/metro-micro/data/tables.html.
U.S. Census Bureau, 2019, Census of Population and Housing: accessed September 15, 2020, at https://www.census.gov/prod/www/decennial.html.
U.S. Census Bureau, [n.d.], QuickFacts--Chandler city, Arizona: accessed September 15, 2020, at https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/chandlercityarizona/PST045216.
Zuniga, J.E., 2000, The Central Arizona Project: Bureau of Reclamation, available at https://www.usbr.gov/projects/index.php?id=504. (Accessed July 1, 2013.)