If you’re just realizing that Philly has grown and changed tremendously this year, welcome! Now, with satellite images collected for the past three decades by Google Earth Engine, we can concretely see just how much this city has developed.
Google Earth Engine teamed up with Carnegie Mellon University’s CREATE Lab to put some 5 million satellite images from around the world into one interactive timelapse map. All of the images were taken on a cloud-free day from 1984 to 2016, so you can clearly see cities, including Philadelphia, change before your eyes.
Now, you can’t really zoom in close to into specific Philly neighborhoods, but that’s what Google Earth is for. To play around with the map, embedded here, just enter “Philadelphia” or any respective city into the search bar, press play, sit back, and watch.