A peak under the hood at "Ground Truth"—the operation behind Google Street View.
Greg Miller details the new layers of information that the Google Maps team is extracting from its operation "Ground Truth," or "a combination of algorithms and meticulous manual labor" that collects data and applies it in the form of Google Street View.
Since Google Street View launched in 2007, the Google Maps team has discovered that the data their cars collect can be used for much more than just spot checking their Google Maps data on the ground. "Those algorithms borrow methods from computer vision and machine learning to extract features like street numbers painted on curbs, the names of businesses and other points of interest, speed limits and other traffic signs," writes Miller.
Miller was granted behind-the-scenes access to the Google Maps operation fopr the article, enabling him to share a lot of the technical details behind Google Maps. His summation after his tour: "The maps, it seems, are only getting deeper."
FULL STORY: The Huge, Unseen Operation Behind the Accuracy of Google Maps
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Chicago to Turn High-Rise Offices into Housing
Four commercial buildings in the Chicago Loop have been approved for redevelopment into housing in a bid to revitalize the city’s downtown post-pandemic.
New Park Opens in the Santa Clarita Valley
The City of Santa Clarita just celebrated the grand opening of its 38th park, the 10.5-acre Skyline Ranch Park.
U.S. Supreme Court: California's Impact Fees May Violate Takings Clause
A California property owner took El Dorado County to state court after paying a traffic impact fee he felt was exorbitant. He lost in trial court, appellate court, and the California Supreme Court denied review. Then the U.S. Supreme Court acted.
How Urban Form Impacts Housing Affordability
The way we design cities affects housing costs differently than you might think.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
Town of Zionsville
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.