After documenting places like the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon and the vertical walls of El Capitan in Yosemite, the Google Streetview team thought small for its latest project.
Aarian Marshall has good news for anyone who loves trains but hasn't been able to make the trek out to Hamburg, Germany to see Miniatur Wunderland: "[a] Google Maps project takes viewers inside the 215,000-resident city, which boasts a picturesque, Austrian-style village, a skiing lodge, a high-density downtown area, a working airport, and approximately 42,650 feet of track."
If you're not yet convinced of the awesomeness of Miniatur Wunderland, Marshall also writes that the model totals 14,000 square feet, including 1,270 signals, 3,050 switches, 8,850 cars, and 228,000 trees—all rund by run by 46 computers and. Moreover, 230 people spent 580,000 hours building the thing.
Google gets it, so working with a German company called Ubilabs, the tech giant built a "lil’Google car, which rode the mini rails, the mini streets, and the mini runways to reproduce the incredibly detailed model in 365-degree views."
So after watching the preview video created by the Google Streeview team below, access Google's work to document Miniatur Wunderland an image gallery and a blog post in addition to the full Streetview experience.
FULL STORY: Take a Trip Inside the Teeniest, Tiniest Transit System

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

Map: Where Senate Republicans Want to Sell Your Public Lands
For public land advocates, the Senate Republicans’ proposal to sell millions of acres of public land in the West is “the biggest fight of their careers.”

Restaurant Patios Were a Pandemic Win — Why Were They so Hard to Keep?
Social distancing requirements and changes in travel patterns prompted cities to pilot new uses for street and sidewalk space. Then it got complicated.

Platform Pilsner: Vancouver Transit Agency Releases... a Beer?
TransLink will receive a portion of every sale of the four-pack.

Toronto Weighs Cheaper Transit, Parking Hikes for Major Events
Special event rates would take effect during large festivals, sports games and concerts to ‘discourage driving, manage congestion and free up space for transit.”

Berlin to Consider Car-Free Zone Larger Than Manhattan
The area bound by the 22-mile Ringbahn would still allow 12 uses of a private automobile per year per person, and several other exemptions.
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.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
Custer County Colorado
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)