How to use Machine Learning and Quilt to Identify Buildings in Satellite Images

Recently there has been interest in using satellite images as investing tools. Hedge funds are looking at construction in Beijing to bet on concrete demand, or they are counting cars in Walmart parking lots to get an early estimates on profits. Here I discuss a project to determine land use (i.e. is an area a building or not a building) from satellite images. The idea was to measure the change in land use over time as an economic indicator. This project was a proof of concept for the Insight Data Fellows Program.