Everyone knows the economic downturn drastically impacted Detroit, but few things can demonstrate what such a decline looks like than a comparison of Google Street View images over just the last few years.
Alex Alsup has been pulling together before-and-after images using Google Street View, which has the ability to search back to images taken in past years, and showcasing them on his Tumblr blog GooBing Detroit. Alsup has also used Bing's street-view tool, a rival to Google's, said on the blog he is only using Google's product at the moment.
Exeter Street in 2009. (Image source: Google Street view via GooBing Detroit)
Exeter Street in 2013. (Image source: Google Street view via GooBing Detroit)
Montlieu Street in 2009. (Image source: Google Street view via GooBing Detroit)
Montlieu Street in 2013. (Image source: Google Street view via GooBing Detroit)
Chene Street in 2007. (Image source: Google Street view via GooBing Detroit)
Chene Street in 2013. (Image source: Google Street view via GooBing Detroit)
Healy Street 2009. (Image source: Google Street view via GooBing Detroit)
Healy Street in 2013. (Image source: Google Street view via GooBing Detroit)
Alsup regularly updates his blog, but when it received some attention last year after starting up, he told the Huffington Post his interest is specifically focused on areas that aren't necessarily developed.
"I try to avoid the more developed areas of the city -- even though there's been a lot of change there -- I just find the neighborhoods much more important and interesting," he told the Huffington Post. "I do try to find improvement and not just decay, but improvement is, unfortunately, not as common as the opposite."
See more of Detroit's rapid transformation as chronicled by Alsup on his blog.
Alsup works for Loveland Technologies, a Detroit firm that helps its clients "get on top of big problems like foreclosure prevention, blight identification and reduction, the reuse of vacant space and the preservation of community assets."
Alsup did not immediately respond to TheBlaze's request for comment.
(H/T: Gizmodo)
