Flanders goes from green to grey
Scrollytelling that uses satellite imagery and AI analysis to show how Flanders lost 62 km² of open space in six years. With animated before-and-after imagery from Google Earth in a story that literally fades from green to grey as it progresses.
This project is part of Green to grey, a European investigation by Arena for Journalism in Europe, involving 41 journalists from eleven countries. The core of the De Standaard story consists of before-and-after satellite imagery from Google Earth.
These images were captured, processed and prepared using Python scripts. They are presented as scroll-driven comparisons. Multiple locations are featured: housing developments in Astene, industrial zones in Veurne, the contested De Keer area in Ranst, padel courts popping up across Flanders.
A subtle design element that visually reinforces the narrative is the background color: it gradually shifts from green (nature, open space) to grey (concrete, development) as the article progresses. The article also features embedded Flourish charts, coordinated photos and video fragments by Jimmy Kets and an info block with six reasons for the building shift.
Winner of a Belfius Press Award.
- Andy Stevens Design & Development
- Simon Demeulemeester Text
- Dries De Smet Text
- Gert Verbelen Art direction
- Jimmy Kets Photography & video