Visualization with High-resolution Aerial Photography in Planning-related Property Research - Geographic Visualization: Concepts, Tools and Applications - page 152

Figure 7.4 An example of aerial photography used for identifying suburban in-fill development,
Brinsley, UK, October 2006 (source: author screenshot from http://maps.live.com)
In addition to illustrating high residential densities, aerial photographs can be used to
identify land in existing residential areas that could be developed at higher densities. This
is of particular interest to UK local authorities where there has been pressure to reduce
urban sprawl and increase development on brownfield sites. Residential infill development
is nothing new in British towns and cities, where there is a history of replacing large prop-
erties with smaller units, usually flats, at higher densities. However, recent renewed calls for
higher-density building by developers, planners and policy makers may increase this type of
development, especially in light of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act (2004) which
stipulates that gardens over 30 m metres (99 ft) long can be purchased for (appropriate)
residential development. Figure 7.4 is an example of how aerial photography (together with
other data such as accessibility to amenities and transport nodes) has been used by planners
and developers to identify properties in suburban areas suitable for infill development. In
this example from a suburban neighbourhood in Brinsley, UK, the property inside the box
was acquired by a developer, together with half of the neighbouring garden. The property
and the garden were then redeveloped at a higher density, with the potential to develop the
backs of the remaining gardens along the street (personal communication, property owner,
March 2006).
7.3 Aerial photography, property and surveillance
The development of aerial photography is strongly associated with issues of surveillance. Its
technical development in the First and Second World Wars and the development of satellite
remote sensing from the 1950s onwards were strongly linked to the collection of military
intelligence. The advent of cheaper and accessible high-resolution aerial photographs in the
past decade has only served to increase the concern over surveillance and privacy, especially
in the context of the growth and integration of digital data on people and places. The
emergence of Google Earth and other internet portals has caused concern in some quarters