Photos Document the Rapid Rise of Central California Subdivisions

New York-based photographer Dustin Aksland explores the housing boom in the Central Valley of California in his series Ventana View. Interested in documenting the rapid development of subdivisions and the disappearance of the agricultural land, Aksland makes images that are beautiful, yet unsettling and sad. While working on the project, he was witness to the way things transpired—“I found it disturbing that they would rip down large acreage of orchards, construct poor quality homes, plant trees, lay sod, and plan schools before they even sold one home. Shortly after I finished my project, the housing bubble burst and now I hear most of these subdivisions sit there uninhabited.”

Feature Shoot Contributing Editor Julia Sabot is the Associate Photo Editor at Dwell.

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