This map was created in response to a conversation happening on Twitter about development density in Raleigh. Local commercial real estate professional Jed Byrne recently performed some analysis to examine development density of Raleigh when it was founded in the 18th century. Turns out prior to the auto-driven development pattern that has earned the City of Oaks the moniker of "Sprawleigh", Raleigh had a much denser pattern of development.
Jed determined that if Raleigh had maintained the density at founding, the current population would fit into a 54 square mile area. James Demby asked if I might provide a quick cartographic representation of what 54 square miles looks like overlayed on Raleigh.
@maptastik are you able to make a super simple overlay of what a 54sq mile Raleigh would look like over a map of Raleigh today?
— 🚌 🚴 (@JWDemby) April 13, 2022
By placing an origin point of NC State Capitol Building and taking advantage of some nifty JavaScript libraries, I was able to generate both a circle and square with an area of 54 square miles.
I hope that this map can be a helpful visual around which further productive discussions of development in Raleigh can take place.
Best,
Ryan