My assessment of the last two Landsat images is that the population growth of Egypt coupled with urban expansion at the expense of agricultural land is a recipe for catastrophe. It is a different catastrophe than that awaiting Dallas-Forth Worth, but a catastrophe nonetheless.

Obviously the condition of Australian cities lies somewhere between the two extremes of Dallas-Fort Worth and Cairo.

The last point I wish to make is that the difference between the future facing these two cities and that confronting Sydney, Melbourne or any other Australian city is a matter of choice. In Australia we have both the time to change as well as the political and technological capacity to effect that change. All that is needed is the recognition that change is necessary, now.

Finally, I encourage the reader to pursue the many topics raised in this Chapter in greater depth than space allowed here. A list of additional reading is provided as well as details of supporting map material and the digital image data included on the CD-ROM.