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Yes, a D.I.Y. spirit and grassroots activism can go a long way in bringing about environmental change, but sometimes you need to go high-tech. Enter LIDAR (short for light detection and ranging), the technology New York City is using to pinpoint solar panel-ready roofs.
Here is how it works, according to The New York Times: a small twin-engine plane flies low over NYC shooting out laser pulses and measuring how long it takes for them to bounce back, thus creating a virtual topographical map of the city. The practical uses are astounding.
The rooftop count can then be used to create an online "solar map" that will help assess the city's capacity for solar power and even allow New Yorkers to check if the buildings they work or live in are suitable for solar panels.
The project isn't cheap. It will cost around $450,000, with $205,470 coming from the federal government, the hope is it will lead to a boom in solar panel construction. The data should be analyzed and the map complete by the end of the year.
The technology was originally developed to create 3D humidity maps but has been used for mapping everything from the volcanic ash cloud in Iceland to Mayan ruins in Central America. The New York City map will also help city planners locate neighborhoods in need of trees and plan for rainwater surges during storms.
This represents an encouraging trend in urban efficiency, with the vast, untapped square footage of New York City rooftops providing lots of space for solar panels, rooftop farms and other projects. The more we can utilize the space we have, the less need we have for sprawl. Plus, as a recent study by The Brookings Institution has shown, two-thirds of primary cities in major metropolitan areas grew in the last decade. There is a major demographic shift happening in the United States today, with cities and inner suburbs growing significantly in the latter part of the decade while outer suburban growth has slowed. As more people forego the suburbs for the city, urban energy demands will be tested like never before.
Projects like the solar map will be increasingly important in the years to come; paired with small-scale projects like rooftop agriculture, it points to a much more sustainable version of urban living. The fact that New York City even has an Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability, which was in charge of the project, is a sign that New York City should be able to handle the increased population in the years to come.
