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Description
I've made a gif with the urban evolution of my birth place, Seville, and surroundings. I hope you like it!

Seville is approximately 3,200 years old. The passage of the various civilizations instrumental in its growth has left the city with a distinct personality, and a large and well-preserved historical centre.
The original core of the city, in the neighborhood of the present-day street "Cuesta del Rosario", dates to the 10th century BC, when Seville was on an island in the Guadalquivir estuary next to the Tartesian gulf. At that time it was known as Spal, which meant "lowland".

The city was known from Roman times as Hispalis. Hispalis developed into one of the great market and industrial centres of Hispania, while the nearby Roman city of Italica (present-day Santiponce, birthplace of the Roman emperors Trajan and Hadrian) remained a typically Roman residential city.

Following Roman rule, there were successive conquests of the Roman province of Baetica by the Germanic Vandals, Suebi and Visigoths during the 5th and 6th centuries. At this time the city was called Spalis.

Seville was taken by the Moors in 712 and renamed as Isbiliya. It was the capital for the kings of the Umayyad Caliphate, the Almoravid dynasty first and after the Almohad dynasty from the 8th to 13th centuries.

The Moorish urban influences continued and are present in contemporary Seville, for instance in the custom of decorating with plants and small fountains in the courtyards of the houses. However, most buildings of the Moorish aesthetic actually belong to the Mudéjar style of Islamic art, developed under Christian rule and inspired by the Arabic style. Original Moorish buildings are the Patio del Yeso in the Alcázar, the city walls, and the main section of the Giralda, the bell tower of the Seville Cathedral.

In 1248, the Christian King Ferdinand III of Castile conquered Seville. From this time the city is known as Sevilla.

Following the 1492 Christopher Columbus expedition to the New World, the results from his claiming territory and trade for the Crown of Castile (soon to be Spain) in the West Indies began to profit the city, as all goods imported from the New World were required to pass through the Casa de Contratación before being distributed throughout the rest of Spain. Unlike other harbors, reaching the port of Seville required sailing about 80 kilometers (50 mi) up the River Guadalquivir, which had been heavily defended with fortifications since the Middle Ages. This made Seville the best-defended port to receive the riches transported from the Americas. A 'golden age of development' commenced in Seville, due to its being the only port awarded the royal monopoly for trade with the growing Spanish colonies in the Americas and the influx of riches from them. Since only sailing ships leaving from and returning to the inland port of Seville could engage in trade with the Spanish Americas, merchants from Europe and other trade centres needed to go to Seville to acquire New World trade goods. The city's population grew to more than a hundred thousand people.

During the 18th century Charles III of Spain promoted Seville's industries. Construction of the Real Fábrica de Tabacos (Royal Tobacco Factory) began in 1728.

Between 1825 and 1833, Melchor Cano acted as chief architect in Seville; most of the urban planning policy and architectural modifications of the city were made by him and his collaborator Jose Manuel Arjona y Cuba.

In the years that Queen Isabel II ruled directly, about 1843–1868, the Sevillian bourgeoisie invested in a construction boom unmatched in the city's history. The Isabel II bridge, better known as the Triana bridge, dates from this period; street lighting was expanded in the municipality and most of the streets were paved during this time as well.

By the second half of the 19th century Seville began an expansion supported by railway construction and the demolition of part of its ancient walls, allowing the urban space of the city to grow eastward and southward. The Sevillana de Electricidad Company was created in 1894 to provide electric power throughout the municipality, and in 1901 the Plaza de Armas railway station was inaugurated. The Museum of Fine Arts (Museo de Bellas Artes de Sevilla) opened in 1904.

In 1929 the city hosted the Ibero-American Exposition, which accelerated the southern expansion of the city and created new public spaces such as the Plaza de España and the Maria Luisa Park. Not long before the opening, the Spanish government began a modernization of the city in order to prepare for the expected crowds by erecting new hotels and widening the medieval streets to allow for the movement of automobiles.

Under Francisco Franco's rule Spain was officially neutral in World War II (although it did collaborate with the Axis powers), and like the rest of the country, Seville remained largely economically and culturally isolated from the outside world. In 1953 the shipyard of Seville was opened, eventually employing more than 2,000 workers in the 1970s. Before the existence of wetlands regulation in the Guadalquivir basin, Seville suffered regular heavy flooding; perhaps worst of all were the floods that occurred in November 1961 when the River Tamarguillo, a tributary of the Guadalquivir, overflowed as a result of a prodigious downpour of rain, and Seville was consequently declared a disaster zone

In 1992, coinciding with the fifth centenary of the Discovery of the Americas, the Universal Exposition was held for six months in Seville, on the occasion of which the local communications network infrastructure was greatly improved: the SE-30 ring road around the city was completed and new highways were constructed; the new Santa Justa train station had opened in 1991, while the Spanish High Speed Rail system, the Alta Velocidad Española (AVE), began to operate between Madrid-Seville.

Nowadays the city has a population of 700 000 people and a metropolitan area of 1.5 million.

Description
I've made a gif with the urban evolution of my birth place, Seville, and surroundings. I hope you like it!

Seville is approximately 3,200 years old. The passage of the various civilizations instrumental in its growth has left the city with a distinct personality, and a large and well-preserved historical centre.
The original core of the city, in the neighborhood of the present-day street "Cuesta del Rosario", dates to the 10th century BC, when Seville was on an island in the Guadalquivir estuary next to the Tartesian gulf. At that time it was known as Spal, which meant "lowland".

The city was known from Roman times as Hispalis. Hispalis developed into one of the great market and industrial centres of Hispania, while the nearby Roman city of Italica (present-day Santiponce, birthplace of the Roman emperors Trajan and Hadrian) remained a typically Roman residential city.

Following Roman rule, there were successive conquests of the Roman province of Baetica by the Germanic Vandals, Suebi and Visigoths during the 5th and 6th centuries. At this time the city was called Spalis.

Seville was taken by the Moors in 712 and renamed as Isbiliya. It was the capital for the kings of the Umayyad Caliphate, the Almoravid dynasty first and after the Almohad dynasty from the 8th to 13th centuries.

The Moorish urban influences continued and are present in contemporary Seville, for instance in the custom of decorating with plants and small fountains in the courtyards of the houses. However, most buildings of the Moorish aesthetic actually belong to the Mudéjar style of Islamic art, developed under Christian rule and inspired by the Arabic style. Original Moorish buildings are the Patio del Yeso in the Alcázar, the city walls, and the main section of the Giralda, the bell tower of the Seville Cathedral.

In 1248, the Christian King Ferdinand III of Castile conquered Seville. From this time the city is known as Sevilla.

Following the 1492 Christopher Columbus expedition to the New World, the results from his claiming territory and trade for the Crown of Castile (soon to be Spain) in the West Indies began to profit the city, as all goods imported from the New World were required to pass through the Casa de Contratación before being distributed throughout the rest of Spain. Unlike other harbors, reaching the port of Seville required sailing about 80 kilometers (50 mi) up the River Guadalquivir, which had been heavily defended with fortifications since the Middle Ages. This made Seville the best-defended port to receive the riches transported from the Americas. A 'golden age of development' commenced in Seville, due to its being the only port awarded the royal monopoly for trade with the growing Spanish colonies in the Americas and the influx of riches from them. Since only sailing ships leaving from and returning to the inland port of Seville could engage in trade with the Spanish Americas, merchants from Europe and other trade centres needed to go to Seville to acquire New World trade goods. The city's population grew to more than a hundred thousand people.

During the 18th century Charles III of Spain promoted Seville's industries. Construction of the Real Fábrica de Tabacos (Royal Tobacco Factory) began in 1728.

Between 1825 and 1833, Melchor Cano acted as chief architect in Seville; most of the urban planning policy and architectural modifications of the city were made by him and his collaborator Jose Manuel Arjona y Cuba.

In the years that Queen Isabel II ruled directly, about 1843–1868, the Sevillian bourgeoisie invested in a construction boom unmatched in the city's history. The Isabel II bridge, better known as the Triana bridge, dates from this period; street lighting was expanded in the municipality and most of the streets were paved during this time as well.

By the second half of the 19th century Seville began an expansion supported by railway construction and the demolition of part of its ancient walls, allowing the urban space of the city to grow eastward and southward. The Sevillana de Electricidad Company was created in 1894 to provide electric power throughout the municipality, and in 1901 the Plaza de Armas railway station was inaugurated. The Museum of Fine Arts (Museo de Bellas Artes de Sevilla) opened in 1904.

In 1929 the city hosted the Ibero-American Exposition, which accelerated the southern expansion of the city and created new public spaces such as the Plaza de España and the Maria Luisa Park. Not long before the opening, the Spanish government began a modernization of the city in order to prepare for the expected crowds by erecting new hotels and widening the medieval streets to allow for the movement of automobiles.

Under Francisco Franco's rule Spain was officially neutral in World War II (although it did collaborate with the Axis powers), and like the rest of the country, Seville remained largely economically and culturally isolated from the outside world. In 1953 the shipyard of Seville was opened, eventually employing more than 2,000 workers in the 1970s. Before the existence of wetlands regulation in the Guadalquivir basin, Seville suffered regular heavy flooding; perhaps worst of all were the floods that occurred in November 1961 when the River Tamarguillo, a tributary of the Guadalquivir, overflowed as a result of a prodigious downpour of rain, and Seville was consequently declared a disaster zone

In 1992, coinciding with the fifth centenary of the Discovery of the Americas, the Universal Exposition was held for six months in Seville, on the occasion of which the local communications network infrastructure was greatly improved: the SE-30 ring road around the city was completed and new highways were constructed; the new Santa Justa train station had opened in 1991, while the Spanish High Speed Rail system, the Alta Velocidad Española (AVE), began to operate between Madrid-Seville.

Nowadays the city has a population of 700 000 people and a metropolitan area of 1.5 million.