Nothing more than personal anecdote, but I've seen pics of where I live in the 50s-70s and can compare it to today.
Land use change probably has a lot to do with it, as there are a lot less sheep eating everything now, but the extreme change of going from shrubland with a few houses and no trees 50+ years ago, to hundreds of houses but you can barely see them because it's all overgrown with trees. Not just planted in people's yards, but growing wild in between properties.
Nothing more than personal anecdote, but I've seen pics of where I live in the 50s-70s and can compare it to today.
Land use change probably has a lot to do with it, as there are a lot less sheep eating everything now, but the extreme change of going from shrubland with a few houses and no trees 50+ years ago, to hundreds of houses but you can barely see them because it's all overgrown with trees. Not just planted in people's yards, but growing wild in between properties.