How much do you think the world has changed in the last 10 years? What about the last 50? Or even better, the last 100? People, aesthetics, trends, foods, and politics have certainly changed, but so have the places where all of those things happen. Cities grow, buildings are designed and erected, and suddenly, a place doesn’t even resemble what it once was. Below are a collection of photos that drive that point home, depictions of multiple cities across the world and how they’ve changed over the years. Some of the older cities document their changes over a century or more, but some of the rapidly developing cities have made serious strides in just the last decade alone (we’re looking at you, Dubai). These before-and-after pics will simply blow your mind, and remind you just how far this world has come. More importantly, it reminds us that a mere 50 years from today, the world could look like a completely different place.Between1900 and now, Vilnius has sacrificed some interesting buildings for some lovely parks — but also added some serious skyscrapers in the distance.
It’s actually hard to believe how much change has occurred in Dubai in just 16 years — it’s a place that’s growing and expanding at such a rapid rate.
Speaking of Dubai, look what’s occurred there over the last decade alone. The rapid rate of development simply boggles the mind.
Singapore basically couldn’t look much different — the amount of buildings that have gone up over the years is truly mind-blowing.
After World War II, much of Japan was hurting. However, they made up for these dark times with a ton of development over the last half century. It almost looks like a completely different city.
Seoul is seen as one of the pillars of rapid advancement and development — the country was basically flattened during the Korean War, and it’s only taken about 60 years to turn it into the booming technological metropolis that it is today.
The images of Abu Dhabi went from looking bleak and intimidating to presenting as a wonderful paradise — especially if you happen to be rich.
China is constantly changing and growing, and one city that proves it is Shenzen. These two photos look like they were taken in completely different universes, don’t they?
Sydney looks incredibly different — and a lot more crowded than it was before.
The Brazilian capital has always been beautiful, and minus the advances in photography (not to mention that iconic statue), it hasn’t really changed that much.
The top photo of Athens was taken in 1862, which is truly a lifetime (or several) away from the state of the gorgeous city today.
The city of Fortaleza has certainly expanded, but luckily the beautiful coastline and beaches still remain intact.
Toronto was totally underdeveloped in the thirties, but the city has made up for it in rapid time over the last eighty years or so.
This city looks a lot different, and then there’s the not-so-small matter of it being unified. Funny what a difference one wall (or lack thereof) can make.
Everything looked different in the eighties, but this certainly applied to Bangkok — the whole place got a lot bigger, and a lot greener.
