Because of the decrease in the availability of land area and the ever-increasing price per square meter, cities often tend to grow vertically. When we picture large metropolitan areas, we almost always imagine high-rise buildings, and the recognizable skyline becomes an icon that immediately evokes the places in which they are located.
If we compare it to the Cartesian coordinate system, this vertical growth makes the 'z-axis' assume a greater significance and thus requires a more distant point of view to better understand its form. By looking at these tall buildings from afar and grasping their surroundings - either close, still within the city limits, or on the outskirts - one can identify even the most invisible aspects.
With higher costs per square meter, vertically dense urban centers are typically composed of offices and headquarters of large companies or high-end real estate developments, which stand out not only for their height but also for their privileged position in the urban context.
While some aerial images adopt a more usual and easily apprehensible representation of vertical urbanization, emphasizing the buildings' facades, others only suggest their height from their shadows. In yet another partnership with Overview, we present images of selected cities around the world from an aerial point of view, providing a more panoramic perception of the verticalization phenomenon from different angles.