In 1984, Ronald Reagan was president, the Detroit Tigers won the World Series, The Los Angeles Raiders won the Super Bowl, and Beverly Hills Cop was the biggest box office hit. Needless to say, a lot has changed since 1984, especially how many of our cities look. Google has recently released timelapse videos of 193 major cities across the world to show how much they have changed in the past 32 years.
Sometimes it’s hard to gauge the degree in which things change unless you can see it in context, that’s what’s so great about these videos. You might remember specific things about the city you’re from, but it’s hard to visualize all of those from ground level. All of the videos below have been shared on Youtube by the Google Earth team, but these are only a small portion of all the videos available. We chose the cities below, as they’re relevant to the construction industry and most have seen impressive growth over the past three decades. If you’re interested in viewing more, there are some other interesting videos of glaciers, rain forests, and bodies of water which can tell an interesting story. You can view the entire playlist by clicking here.
If you want even more interactivity, the Google Earth Engine website allows you to zoom and pan across the entire globe to get the exact view you want. I made the custom video below of several different areas of Dubai using the Timelapse Tour Editor:
Dubai, UAE
Dubai has seen incredible growth over the past 32 years and obviously has an impressive collection of enormous towers, including the Burj Khalifa. I find the amount of man-made islands that the country has created particularly interesting.
Las Vegas, Nevada
Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX
Phoenix, AZ
