Perform Building Inspections From Your Desk

While Pictometry's new mapping technology is being used for public safety, it's also being used by building officials who don't have to leave the office to see who's building without a permit.

1 minute read

April 6, 2006, 1:00 PM PDT

By Chris Steins @planetizen


"Instead of just the straight-down views that distant satellites gather, a small company called Pictometry International has developed an oblique-imaging, geo-spatial system to snap vast swaths of America's varied landscape at a 40-degree angle from a few thousand feet in the air...

...So far, the six-year-old company has mapped most of the nation's big cities and 140 of the 3,200 counties where 30 percent of Americans live. Urban and rural zones encompassing 80 percent of the population will be shot by the end of next year, as well as big chunks of Canada, Latin America, Europe and beyond, it said.

'I haven't found any city department that hasn't been able to use the system and make their job a little easier,' Marino said. 'As with everything else, budgets are very tight and you have to do more with the same amount of people or less.' "

Sunday, April 2, 2006 in Wired Magazine

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Use Code 25for25 at checkout for 25% off an annual plan!

Redlining map of Oakland and Berkeley.

Rethinking Redlining

For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

May 15, 2025 - Alan Mallach

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

May 14, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Front of Walmart store with sign.

Walmart Announces Nationwide EV Charging Network

The company plans to install electric car chargers at most of its stores by 2030.

May 7, 2025 - Inc.

Regeneration of contaminated industrial land used for waste dumping, West Midlands, UK, 2006 .

EPA Awards $267 Million to Clean Up and Reuse Contaminated Sites

The EPA is investing the funds to clean up and redevelop contaminated sites nationwide, supporting economic growth, community revitalization, and environmental restoration.

6 hours ago - Environmental Protection

Archway made of bikes in Knoxville, Tennessee over Tennessee River.

Knoxville Dedicates $1M to New Greenway

The proposed greenway would run along North Broadway and connect to 125 miles of existing trails.

May 18 - WATE

25mph speed limit sign with digital "Your Speed" sign below it.

Philadelphia Launches ‘Speed Slots’ Traffic Calming Pilot

The project focuses on a 1.4-mile stretch of Lincoln Drive where cars frequently drive above the posted speed limit.

May 18 - WHYY