Why is this field of houses in the middle of nowhere? This is just the kind of question that Alex MacLean wants us to ask. MacLean has flown a light plane over much of the US documenting changes to the environment caused by both people and nature. 鈥淢y photographs are environmental puzzles: the viewer has to decipher what is going on,鈥� he says.
This is an 鈥渆xurban鈥� residential development: one that that sits beyond the normal suburbs of a city, in this case South Jordan in Utah. MacLean 鈥� a pilot, architect and renowned aerial photographer 鈥� spotted this place when he was taking pictures for a project looking at housing density patterns around the US. This field of around 200 houses is a classic example of exurban development, a phenomenon driven by the American dream of owning a detached house with a large backyard.
The dream is becoming an environmental nightmare, though. 鈥淓xurban developments typically lie further out than traditional suburbs and are more scattered and isolated. This makes them much more difficult to provide with services and infrastructure,鈥� says MacLean. 鈥淭he result is longer commutes and more traffic congestion, pollution and wasted energy.鈥� As with many of MacLean鈥檚 photographs, it is only when you see things from the perspective of an aeroplane that you get a true picture of what is going on. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a settlement pattern that will work against us in the long run,鈥� he says.
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To see more of MacLean鈥檚 unusual landscape photographs visit the exhibition 鈥淟ooking at Landscapes: Environmental puzzles from three photographers鈥� at the New York Hall of Science, which runs until 28 May (see also ). MacLean鈥檚 latest book, Visualizing Density, is published by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.