Much can change in 40 years. Just ask photographer Camilo Jose Vergara, who has spent the last four decades documenting the evolution – and often disintegration – of some of the most impoverished neighborhoods in America.
In a series of newly-released photographs, the New-York based photographer’s documentary work dates back to the 1970s, where he first starting taking photos of buildings that were past their best. As part of the project, he also spoke to residents in the same areas, and has compiled the results in a new book, entitled Detroit Is No Dry Bones.
Whilst many of the sites have only deteriorated, some have undergone improvements in the way of renovations, or have been knocked down and rebuilt entirely as modern apartments.
Discussing his work, Vergara said: "Along the way I became a historically conscious documentarian, an archivist of decline, a photographer of walls, buildings, and city blocks."
I discovered information about people who lived in the locations I photographed, read about events such as crimes, fires, and stores and institutions coming in or abandoning the area, and learned about historical events that had taken place nearby.
See the gallery below, or you can check out more of Vergara's work here. For more details of the book in which this series features, see here.
[via Daily Mail]
