Monday, June 18, 2012

Way out east

I noticed that the City of Lincoln is preparing to annex Sky Ranch Acres, essentially moving the City limits out to 112th and Holdrege. There has been some incredible eastward growth in recent years. Here's a snapshot of the area along N. 84th St. between Leighton Ave. and Holdrege Street. The sepia-toned image on the left was shot in 2005, the image on the right in the Spring of 2010:

Click image for larger view
Across town, here's another comparison between 2005 and 2010, in the vicinity of S. 27th and Grainger Parkway (that's Yankee Hill Road along the bottom edge):


There has been even more change in both of these areas since the 2010 photos.  Lincoln continues to grow at a rate of about 1.4% annually.  That may not sound like much, but on a base of 258,000 it means we are adding about 3,600 residents to Lincoln every year--about the population of Gothenburg or O'Neill, Nebraska.

6 comments:

Steve said...

Need a little more coffee this morning? (sepia-toned image appears on the left on my computer)

I think, if we just stop taking these aerial (or satellite) photos, our population will stop increasing and we won't have to continue adding services. :)

Anonymous said...

To me the big question is: Is growth a good thing? It would be interesting to compare the Census numbers from 2000 and 2010. How large was the percentage of growth in the various income levels? The number of people relying on Public Assistance? Refugees?

How do the Lincoln numbers compare to the state overall? Have the ratios of private jobs vs Public Sector jobs remained the same? How about the ratio of rental property to home owners in the two time frames?

I have lived in the Lincoln area for forty years. I think I liked it here when it wasn't quite so large.
Gun Nut

Tom Casady said...

Steve:

Did someone sneak decaf into my cup? Correction has been made. Thanks!

Steve said...

Gun Nut:

I agree with you, and I've been here over 60 years.

Tom:

Finding ways to blame others for our mistakes is an art that takes years to perfect! I'm still working on it. :)

Anonymous said...

I find the lack of trees and vegetation in these areas appalling and would never want to live there

Steve said...

Anon 11:51,

There is plenty of vegetation down in those areas. You can only find it with a helicopter or satellite infrared sensor. Think pot growing operations. :)

Besides, think how much you could save in time and money with no trees (or leaves) in the yard.