La Rochelle, France
La Rochelle is a city in western France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. The city is connected to the Île de Ré by a 2.9 kilometre bridge completed on 19 May 1988. Its harbour opens into a protected strait, the Pertuis d'Antioche. The area of La Rochelle was occupied in antiquity by the Gallic tribe of the Santones, who gave their name to the nearby region of Saintonge and the city of Saintes. The Romans then occupied the area, where they developed salt production along the coast as well as wine production, which was then re-exported throughout the Empire. Roman villas have been found at Saint-Éloi and at Les Minimes, as well as salt evaporation ponds dating from the same period. La Rochelle was founded during the 10th century and became an important harbour in the 12th century. The establishment of La Rochelle as a harbour was a consequence of the victory of Guillaume X, Duke of Aquitaine over Isambert de Châtelaillon in 1130 and the subsequent destruction of his harbour of Châtelaillon. In 1137, Guillaume X to all intents and purposes made La Rochelle a free port and gave it the right to establish itself as a commune. Fifty years later Eleanor of Aquitaine upheld the communal charter promulgated by her father, and for the first time in France, a city mayor was appointed for La Rochelle, Guillaume de Montmirail. Guillaume was assisted in his responsibilities by 24 municipal magistrates, and 75 notables who had jurisdiction over the inhabitants. Under the communal charter, the city obtained many privileges, such as the right to mint its own coins, and to operate some businesses free of royal taxes, factors which would favour the development of the entrepreneurial middle-class (bourgeoisie).
These images acquired by the Landsat 5 and 8 satellites 28 years apart feature La Rochelle, and aim to demonstrate urban change in the city and surrounding area from 1986 to 2014. This comparison clearly indicates that the city has grown since 1986, and the towns on the island of Île de Ré - just across the Pertuis Strait from La Rochelle - also show signs of urban expansion. A particularly notable change between the two images is the construction of the bridge which connects this island to La Rochelle, opened in 1988. Another aim of these images is to promote the opportunity to download Landsat data through the ESA portals, where images captured every day are made available in near real time to the users and the scientific community. Landsat full resolution data products are freely available for immediate download at: 
View Landsat 5 TM high resolution image (JPG 2.7 MB) View Landsat 8 OLI high resolution image (JPG 3.4 MB)
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