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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 image, it’s completely surrounded by agriculture. Agriculture still dominates the 1984 and 1991 scenes, but by 2001, Chandler is no longer distinguishable from the rest of the rapid suburban expansion.

In most of the residential areas, streets are laid out in roughly a square pattern. Most of the squares are 1 square mile in size. This pattern ends abruptly in the lower left of the images (especially noticeable beginning in 2011). This area marks the boundary of the Chandler city limits and the Gila River Indian Reservation.

New freeways and freeway interchanges can also be tracked as they are built over the time series. The large interchange on the west side of the 2011 image marks the intersection of Interstate 10 and Loop 202 (the Santan Freeway). In the 2001 image, construction of the interchange and part of Loop 202 can be seen.

Also prominent is the addition of several golf courses. The green grass of the fairways shows up as bright red patterns that look like sausage links, especially across the southern part of these images.

Population of Chandler
Year Population
2022 280,711
2010 236,479
2000 176,581
1990 90,533
1980 29,673
1970 13,763

 

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Oct. 16, 1972, Landsat 1 (path/row 39/37) — Chandler, Arizona, USA
Sept. 22, 1984, Landsat 5 (path/row 37/37) — Chandler, Arizona, USA
July 8, 1991, Landsat 5 (path/row 37/37) — Chandler, Arizona, USA
Oct. 15, 2001, Landsat 7 (path/row 37/37) — Chandler, Arizona, USA
Oct. 19, 2011, Landsat 5 (path/row 37/37) — Chandler, Arizona, USA
Aug. 19, 2018, Landsat 8 (path/row 37/37) — Chandler, Arizona, USA
Sept. 18, 2023, Landsat 8 (path/row 37/37) — Chandler, Arizona, USA

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