Land use experts say that urban development is a sure sign of growth but scientists are telling them otherwise that that is not totally the case, for now. The resulting problems associated with urban development has been debated for quite sometime and scientists are beginning to utilize some of the most technologically advanced methods to begin studying the impact urban development has on the environment. Using satellite imagery, scientists are now beginning to gather and analyze historical data that used to be impossible due to lack of historical data that would allow quantifiable analysis. Even these scientists admit that;

“we know next to nothing about the extent to which development is scattered or compact, and how this varies across space,” they write.

that has prompted the studies of urban development to se if they truly are to blame for environmental problems we are experiencing today. This would allow planners and developers to work hand in hand for a sustainable tomorrow where development and environmentalism would allow better utilization of the land and the resources that are so limited to avoid some if not all of the socio-economic problems we have to date.