tag:theconversation.com,2011:/fr/topics/google-maps-3904/articlesGoogle Maps – The Conversation2022-11-22T13:27:52Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1944542022-11-22T13:27:52Z2022-11-22T13:27:52ZGhana digitised its address system: its failure offers lessons to other African countries creating smart cities<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/495059/original/file-20221114-12-vgjiuu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Property address has long been a problem in Ghana </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia Commons</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0042098015577319">Smart urbanism</a> is about using digital technologies to address urban problems. Across the continent, digital technologies and smart initiatives have been applied in myriad ways, including crime control, urban planning and traffic management. </p>
<p>It hasn’t always worked, however. Sometimes these initiatives have failed because the technologies weren’t well integrated into the local context. Or policies didn’t pay attention to social realities and technical requirements. </p>
<p>Ghana presents one such example. The country <a href="https://citifmonline.com/2017/10/nana-addo-launches-ghanas-digital-property-address-system/">launched</a> a smart initiative in 2017: a digital system to give every urban property an address. It’s a phone-based application which is designed to locate features anywhere in Ghana. The address is presented in alpha-numeric format (such as EY-0329-2478) and shows details such as the region and the metropolitan, municipal and district authority. It also shows the street name of the feature (a house or church, for example) and displays its coordinates. </p>
<p>Individuals can generate their own address and sometimes officials visit a property, generate the digital address for that property and supply the occupants with a tag, or physical label, to affix to the property.</p>
<p>The system was designed to provide digital addresses for properties, which could then be used for service delivery, access to services and facilitate commercial transactions. It was also intended <a href="https://dr.lib.iastate.edu/handle/20.500.12876/31132">to overcome challenges with using the old address system</a>. This consisted of numbers (for sections of streets) and letters (for streets). It had no coordinate system and was never digitised. </p>
<p>Cities need address systems that make it possible to provide location based services. </p>
<p>We conducted a <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/SASBE-06-2022-0121/full/html">study</a> to understand whether residents were using the new “smart” system. By this we wanted to explore how useful the digital addresses were to residents in their everyday routines.</p>
<p>We found that there was indeed a gap between design and reality. Uptake was low and people were frustrated with the system.</p>
<p>This happens when design features don’t take account of factors specific to a certain context. This can include the digital culture of the residents and disparities in access to the internet. A combination of these factors often trips up digitalisation programmes and initiatives in African cities.</p>
<p>Our findings show that digitalisation initiatives in Ghana need to take these into account if they’re going to succeed. They also need to include the engagement of people who will use the services to understand their expectations. </p>
<h2>A digital address system</h2>
<p>The government introduced the digital property address system with the expectation of improving navigation <a href="https://citifmonline.com/2017/10/nana-addo-launches-ghanas-digital-property-address-system/">of built-up spaces via basic landmarks like shops, drains and roads</a>. </p>
<p>Better navigation was intended to improve access to essential services and waste management. The system was supposed to make it easy to identify properties despite the informal, unplanned, and unmapped nature of much of the urban environment. </p>
<p>There have been a number of snags in the implementation of the digital property address system.</p>
<p>Firstly, decisions were taken from the office of the vice-president and implemented at local governing units. There was little input from local people, which resulted in poor understanding from the residents and apathy towards the initiative.</p>
<p>Secondly, there were hitches in the way it was rolled out. At first, <a href="https://www.ghanapostgps.com/">Ghana Post</a> provided the address tags at a fee to residents. The next phase saw a team from the office of the vice-president doing the tagging at no cost to residents. The first tags had only the digital address without features like street name and house number. They now have all the features. </p>
<p>The consequence of this is the display of different digital addresses for residents’ houses. This matters because the tag provided to residents is now a requirement for various public service agencies such as the passport office, telecommunication companies, and the <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/SASBE-06-2022-0121/full/html">National Identification Authority</a>. </p>
<h2>What we found</h2>
<p>We conducted <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/SASBE-06-2022-0121/full/html">our study</a> in three suburban communities of Accra, Ghana’s capital city. We examined the factors influencing the use of the system. We chose representatives of households based on their interest in taking part in the study, and we had 999 respondents in total.</p>
<p>We found that individual and contextual factors shaped the use of the system in Accra.</p>
<p>First, there was a difference between building owners and tenants. About 68% of residents who owned properties were likely to use the digital property addressing system, and only 32% of renters. </p>
<p>Second, socioeconomic attributes such as income, internet data cost and education level were also key determinants. Residents with low-level education and lower income were least likely to use the system. Within this group, we found this was largely about perceptions of the benefits and challenges of using a digital technology. </p>
<p>The issue of trust came up among the people we interviewed. Perceptions about inefficiencies in government initiatives and irregularities in past digital initiatives meant that people didn’t trust the new system. </p>
<p>The perception was that the system was set up as part of a political agenda rather than to meet a developmental need. It was viewed as being imposed by the presidency without engagement, transparency and accountability. There wasn’t real ownership from the users’ perspective. </p>
<p>Overall, we found that about 62% of residents and even public agencies were not using it in their daily operations. </p>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<p>Our findings suggest that policymakers need to be smart about their smart urbanism agenda. We call for attention to the basics: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>affordable and accessible internet infrastructure </p></li>
<li><p>multi-stakeholder engagement </p></li>
<li><p>transparency and efficiency in the design and implementation of urban digital initiatives. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>It is only in getting the priorities right and adapting to <a href="https://theconversation.com/walk-straight-how-small-town-residents-navigate-without-street-signs-and-names-185443">contextual realities</a> that the potential of digitalisation initiatives for sustainable and equitable urban development will be realised.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/194454/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Ghanaians aren’t using the new ‘smart’ street address system which was intended to improve service delivery.Louis Kusi Frimpong, Lecturer, University of Environment and Sustainable Development Matthew Abunyewah, Research Fellow, The Australasian Centre for Resilience Implementation for Sustainable Communities, Charles Darwin UniversitySeth Asare Okyere, Visiting Assistant Professor, University of ArizonaStephen Kofi Diko, Assistant Professor, University of MemphisLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1879212022-10-17T03:00:25Z2022-10-17T03:00:25ZGoogle Earth is an illusion: how I am using art to explore the problematic nature of western maps and the myth of ‘terra nullius’<p>Within western society, maps are often perceived as scientific, neutral and objective tools. Map making has always been shaped by our social and cultural relationships to the land. In the last 20 years, approaches to map creation have become much more reliant on photographic and digital technologies, including Google Earth. </p>
<p>However, these technologies carry a rarely acknowledged <a href="https://mural.maynoothuniversity.ie/7310/1/map">subjective and colonial agenda</a> towards representing place.</p>
<p>My artistic exploration of western maps began during my honours year in 2020 and has since become a key part of my PhD research. Due to the pandemic, travel to Pitta Pitta Country was prohibited, therefore making it impossible for me to create photographs of Country for my project.</p>
<p>Pitta Pitta is located in western Queensland, 300 kilometres south of Mount Isa. My maternal great-grandmother Dolly Creed was stolen from Country as a young child and my family has been dislocated since. My understanding of this landscape is informed by oral history, and my relationship to it is shaped by my distance from it. </p>
<p>I grew up on Wadawurrung Country, an hour south from Naarm (Melbourne), and have lived in Victoria my whole life. Like many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, my understanding of self is scarred by the atrocities my family have experienced due to colonisation. </p>
<p>These experiences heavily inform my practice and research.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/drawing-data-i-make-art-from-the-bodily-experience-of-long-distance-running-182762">Drawing data: I make art from the bodily experience of long-distance running</a>
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<h2>Relationships with Country</h2>
<p>In response to COVID travel restrictions, I decided to go to Pitta Pitta “virtually” via Google Earth. While looking around Pitta Pitta via the street view function, I began noticing the inaccuracy of the technology. The images hadn’t been updated since 2007, the technology glitched a lot and, most importantly, there was no acknowledgement of Indigenous Custodianship.</p>
<p>I went looking for places I recognised on Country within Google Earth to see what had been photographed. </p>
<p>On the outskirts of Boulia, a small town on Country, a Waddi tree sits. Waddi trees are rare species of Acacia endemic to central parts of Australia. This particular tree was a significant gathering place for my people. </p>
<p>Within Google Earth it had been reduced to a blob of pixels, a dark shadow smeared on a reddish landscape. I was angered that Google decided this tree was unimportant, but also began to wonder why. </p>
<p>Responding to Google’s representation of the tree, Waddi Tree from my series (Dis)connected to Country aims to demonstrate where Google Earth has erased topographical information and Indigenous Knowledges of place.</p>
<p>My research addresses this gap. Waddi Tree layers a photograph I made of the tree during my last visit to Country in 2019 onto a screenshot from its location within Google Earth. </p>
<p>Through the omission of Indigenous Knowledges of place, western maps of Australia continue the false colonial narrative of <em><a href="https://australian.museum/learn/first-nations/unsettled/recognising-invasions/terra-nullius/">terra nullius</a></em> – land belonging to no one. </p>
<p>The photographic technologies used within Google Earth don’t allow, nor represent, the significant relationships Indigenous peoples have with Country. Photographic and digital images have also become intertwined with mapping in Google Earth. This changes how we relate to place, <a href="https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/P/bo6166019.html">normalising</a> a flattened and very limited view.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/an-ode-to-my-grandmother-remaking-the-past-using-oral-histories-theatre-and-music-180575">An Ode To My Grandmother: remaking the past using oral histories, theatre and music</a>
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<h2>Glitches in time</h2>
<p>Indigenous Knowledges of place are rooted in relationships which recognise that all forms of life have agency and are <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17547075.2018.1430996">interconnected</a>. </p>
<p>Put very simply, Country, all that it encompasses, and self are intertwined and valued equally.</p>
<p>Other images from the series seek to identify where the technology dysfunctions and breaks down within itself. I like to think of these “glitches” as tears in the technological fabric of Google Earth, and therefore the narratives the technology enforces. Pitta Pitta (Google’s Earth) and Pitta Pitta (Published Without Permission) are freeze-frames from transitions between the aerial and street view functions which emphasise this glitch. </p>
<p>My research and arts practice are informed by my family history and my <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/270847367_Aboriginal_notions_of_relationality_and_positionalism_A_reply_to_Weber">positionality</a> as a Pitta Pitta woman. </p>
<p>I acknowledge my Ancestors and my great-grandmother Dolly whose story has shaped my family in unimaginable ways. Additionally, I extend my respects to the ongoing Custodians of the Kulin Nations where I work and live. </p>
<p>Sovereignty has never been ceded and it always was, and forever will be, Aboriginal land.</p>
<p>I’ll finish with a <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/270847367_Aboriginal_notions_of_relationality_and_positionalism_A_reply_to_Weber">quote from</a> Indigenous scholar Aunty Mary Graham:</p>
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<p>There is no Aboriginal equivalent to the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/cogito-ergo-sum">Cartesian notion</a> of ‘I think therefore I am’ but, if there were, it would be – I am located therefore I am. Place, being, belonging and connectedness all arise out of a locality in Land.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-air-we-breathe-how-i-have-been-observing-atmospheric-change-through-art-and-science-187985">The air we breathe: how I have been observing atmospheric change through art and science</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/187921/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jahkarli Romanis does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Under COVID travel restrictions, I couldn’t travel to Pitta Pitta Country. Instead, I travelled to Country through Google Maps.Jahkarli Romanis, PhD Candidate, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1861472022-08-01T13:54:01Z2022-08-01T13:54:01ZRide-hailing in Lagos: algorithmic impacts and driver resistance<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/474861/original/file-20220719-14-y0eref.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C25%2C4249%2C2796&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A driver checking the Uber App.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/by-cyril-belaud-a-non-licensed-private-cab-driver-working-news-photo/508330288?adppopup=true">Simon Maina/AFP via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In July 2014, the ride-hailing app Uber emerged in Lagos, offering the public improved mobility through technology. Uber, at the time, was valued at <a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/blog/techflash/2014/08/uber-doubles-reach-200-cities.html">US$18 billion</a> and had launched in 205 cities. Its competitor, Bolt, arrived in Nigeria in 2016. </p>
<p>These apps enable passengers to request a taxi service immediately. They can see information like the fare range, driver ratings, trip distance and driver’s arrival time. The driver sees the passenger’s location, fare range and passenger rating. The driver gets a short time in which to accept or reject a trip request.</p>
<p>Lagos was an obvious market for a transport solution. The city is Nigeria’s financial, economic and digital hub, with over <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1218259/largest-cities-in-africa/">15.4 million</a> people and a public transport system under strain. From the rider’s point of view, Uber and Bolt offered the benefit of improved vehicles, cheaper fares, efficiency, traceability and safety.</p>
<p>The benefit for potential drivers was employment.</p>
<p>When Uber came to Nigeria, the unemployment rate was around <a href="https://databank.worldbank.org/source/world-development-indicators">4.6%</a>. By the time Bolt arrived in 2016, it had increased to 9.1%. Youth unemployment <a href="https://databank.worldbank.org/source/world-development-indicators">increased</a> from 8.1% to 12.4% in the same period, and there was a recession. It was easy for these platforms to tempt potential drivers and employees with popular phrases like “be your own boss”. These platforms advertised that drivers made between about US$286 and US$477 a week. The minimum wage was 18,000 Naira (US$43.34) a month at the time and even white-collar workers were <a href="https://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/10/nigerian-teacher-a-poorly-paid-professional-expected-to-deliver-gold/">poorly paid</a> and sometimes had to <a href="https://qz.com/africa/663626/nigeria-has-a-culture-of-not-paying-workers-and-its-not-about-to-change-anytime-soon/">wait</a> a long time to be paid. </p>
<p>In 2017, Uber claimed to have 276,000 riders and <a href="https://qz.com/africa/1090738/uber-is-marking-four-years-in-africa/">7,000</a> drivers in Nigeria. </p>
<p>Uber and Bolt seemed to perfect the platform idea. The systems created digital identities for drivers and managed them through algorithms. This was supposed to create transparency, accountability, autonomy, flexibility, safety and security. But it also created challenges for drivers.</p>
<p>I <a href="https://www.sciencegate.app/document/10.1215/00382876-9443378">researched</a> this for my PhD thesis, exploring the impact of algorithmic management on platform drivers in Lagos and how they resisted these hidden forms of control. </p>
<p>For the advantages of ride-hailing platforms to outweigh the challenges, algorithms must reflect the realities of drivers and nuances of the city where they are used. Traceability and safety on platforms must be improved, too, especially as the business model is adopted by more startups across the transport, delivery and domestic work industries. </p>
<h2>Impacts of algorithmic management in Lagos</h2>
<p>The design of the Uber and Bolt platforms demands top-notch service from drivers. This is done through performance evaluations (such as ratings, and acceptance and cancellation rates); transparency of payment (dashboard display of earnings); incentives (promotional trips); and sanctions (disciplining bad or unsafe behaviours by blocking or deactivating drivers). </p>
<p>To understand how this worked in practice in Lagos, I interviewed 25 drivers over six months, took 40 platform trips and carried out three focused group discussions with both platform drivers and traditional taxi drivers. I also used online worker groups on Facebook and interviewed passengers, policy representatives and venture capitalists. In total, about 70 people were directly involved in this study. </p>
<p>In this article, I summarise some of the challenges and strategies of resistance that my research revealed. </p>
<p>The first challenge the platforms present is that drivers can be <a href="https://dailypost.ng/2021/09/09/police-arrest-suspects-for-murder-of-uber-driver-in-lagos/">exposed to danger</a>. A ride-hailing driver has to register with a platform by providing personal information such as a valid driver’s licence, certifications such as proof of the vehicle passing inspection, address and guarantors to validate worker details. Passengers provide less personal information: contact numbers, bank card details (optional), email addresses and addresses which are not verified. Drivers are <a href="https://www.icirnigeria.org/uber-bolt-drivers-protest-killings-by-passengers/">vulnerable</a> to passengers. One driver said: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>A good number of drivers have been killed by riders because platforms do not profile them well. They do not often input their correct information in the app; they are collecting cars and killing people. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Even if passengers are blocked from the app following drivers’ complaints, they can re-enter the platform ecosystem with different accounts. In contrast, drivers can be temporarily or permanently deactivated if a passenger complains – even falsely. Drivers are calling for better scrutiny of passengers because they do not feel safe on platforms.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Cars in a traffic jam." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/474194/original/file-20220714-32290-oveflf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/474194/original/file-20220714-32290-oveflf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=774&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474194/original/file-20220714-32290-oveflf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=774&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474194/original/file-20220714-32290-oveflf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=774&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474194/original/file-20220714-32290-oveflf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=973&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474194/original/file-20220714-32290-oveflf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=973&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474194/original/file-20220714-32290-oveflf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=973&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Drivers complain they are sometimes misled into traffic jams.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Daniel Arubayi</span></span>
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<p>The second challenge is the inaccuracy of embedded digital maps. In a city like Lagos, a poorly built environment without a proper address system, the app can mislead drivers to traffic jams, bad roads or areas undergoing infrastructural construction. This can delay pick-up or arrival times, lead to conflict with passengers, affect the fare, increase cancellation rates, and reduce ratings. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/lagoss-chequered-history-how-it-came-to-be-the-megacity-it-is-today-124306">Lagos's chequered history: how it came to be the megacity it is today</a>
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<p>Passengers complicate this issue by switching pickup locations or providing false locations. This affects drivers’ arrival times and hence their performance record. The algorithms don’t properly account for these realities of driving in Lagos. </p>
<h2>Escaping the app</h2>
<p>Drivers have found ways to resist the algorithms to make more income. For instance, drivers ask riders to cancel a trip so they (drivers) aren’t penalised by cancelling it themselves. They earn a cancellation fee and then take the passengers on the trip anyway – offline. </p>
<p>Drivers persuade passengers to do this by raising the possibility of traffic jams, dangerous or very distant locations and bad roads. They then suggest that the rider cancel the trip and go offline on a better route at a lower fare. </p>
<p>Sometimes, passengers initiate offline trips, especially if they go to multiple destinations or travel out of the city. It suits the drivers because they are not entirely subject to the algorithm in terms of payment, ratings and directions from embedded maps. </p>
<p>Social media and communication networks such as Facebook, WhatsApp and Telegram are central to drivers’ resistance strategies. These online environments serve as daily commentary on the job and a source of tricks for how to resist algorithms. Drivers can comment on whether a proposed offline fare is reasonable, for example, or share details of a passenger for safety. </p>
<p>One informant told me a story about a female passenger who refused to pay a driver:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>When this was posted in the WhatsApp group, about 27 drivers visited the lady, seized her iPhone, and collected the fare, including money for damages.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Build in local realities</h2>
<p>Platforms such as Uber and Bolt possess the power to fully digitise the <a href="https://theconversation.com/nigerias-okada-motorcycles-have-a-bad-image-but-banning-them-solves-nothing-154765">transport industry</a> in Lagos with their technology. </p>
<p>But platform algorithms in isolation cannot solve the challenges drivers experience, mainly when contexts are so different from the global north where the platforms were designed.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/186147/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Daniel Arubayi currently works for Fairwork, based at Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford which researches similar issues. </span></em></p>Drivers claim that algorithms are skewed against them on ride-hailing platforms.Daniel Arubayi, Researcher, University of OxfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1705602021-10-27T13:20:25Z2021-10-27T13:20:25ZOne sentence in a book leads researchers to a species not seen in over 100 years<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428188/original/file-20211025-15-1uq3sir.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">One of four montane skinks collected by the researchers.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wilson Monia</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s been more than 100 years since a live montane skink, <em>Proscelotes aenea</em>, was last spotted. Since then, it hasn’t been clear whether the lizard was extinct or just very good at hiding.</p>
<p>But, thanks to a combination of field work and detective skills, we can now announce that <em>Proscelotes aenea</em> is alive and scuttling around the sandy soils of Lumbo, Mozambique. This is an exciting result for our research project, <a href="http://www.extinctorshy.org">Extinct or Shy</a>. The project highlights what happens when there isn’t a great deal of data available about species in poorly sampled areas: species might be assumed to be extinct when they’re not, so their presence may not be taken into account when countries make conservation decisions.</p>
<p>Our journey to find the elusive montane skink has also highlighted why scientists’ field notes are so important. We used field notes made more than a century ago, as well as a tantalising clue in a naturalist’s autobiography, to narrow down where the skink might be found. </p>
<p>It’s a good reminder to modern researchers to make their fields notes as detailed as possible for future readers. After all, a species that is common at one point in time may not always be so in the future. Any “clues” that might guide researchers years, decades – or even centuries – from now are crucial.</p>
<h2>Hunting for written clues</h2>
<p>The last time the montane skink was recorded by scientists in Lumbo was in 1918. Naturalist Arthur Loveridge collected six specimens during a two-month stay in the area. In his field notes (contained in <a href="https://library.museum.wa.gov.au/fullRecord.jsp?recno=66462">a hard-to-find book</a>), Loveridge wrote that the skinks were found while “the land was cleared of stumps to make tent space for a British camp”. He gave a vague description of that land: at the “British Campsite” – a military base set up during the East African campaign of the First World War – in Lumbo, 3km away from Mozambique Island. There were no coordinates or other reference points to locate the camp site.</p>
<p>Using only these descriptive notes, Wilson Monia, Abdulrabe Jamal and Ali Puruleia, the students responsible for our project’s field work, conducted local interviews that took them to a more inland military base. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/search-for-elusive-skinks-is-filling-gaps-in-mozambiques-biodiversity-data-165635">Search for elusive skinks is filling gaps in Mozambique’s biodiversity data</a>
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<p>It seemed unlikely that this was the seaside site Loveridge wrote about, given its distance from the water. Further online searches didn’t turn up any reference to this campsite; no botanical records were available in <a href="https://www.gbif.org/">online databases</a> that referred to the site in further detail.</p>
<p>The clues we needed turned up unexpectedly in a short passage in Loveridge’s autobiography, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6394887-many-happy-days-i-ve-squandered">Many Happy Days I’ve Squandered</a>, where he briefly describes his stay in Mozambique. The skinks were not mentioned, but he did describe his daily routine. It was a single sentence that led the trio of researchers to the montane skink:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The camp itself was on a kind of peninsula; on the farther side of Lumbo Bay there were acres of mud flats covered by mangrove trees.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>After a quick look on Google maps, the team immediately found this site and set up new traps. Within two weeks we had found the montane skink; the students have so far recorded four individuals.</p>
<p>In 1918, Lumbo was most likely predominantly covered inland by savanna and by mangrove on the coast. Today it is home to around 20,000 people – double what it was 50 years ago, so far more densely populated than it was during Loveridge’s time. Travelling through the area, you’ll see tar roads and cement houses; there are farms and wetlands, but very little native vegetation remains. </p>
<h2>More work to come</h2>
<p>The project is now collecting important ecological information to map and assess the species. The montane skink is <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/44978942/44978950">listed as “data deficient”</a> by the <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/resources/categories-and-criteria">International Union for the Conservation of Nature</a>. Once more data has been provided, the species may be assessed as range-restricted or threatened; both these categories require countries to put certain protections in place to support the at-risk species.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-used-60-year-old-notebooks-to-find-out-why-male-hippos-have-bigger-tusks-than-females-168686">We used 60-year-old notebooks to find out why male hippos have bigger tusks than females</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Finding the montane skink doesn’t mean that Extinct or Shy’s work is done. The team is also trying to find another species, Boulenger’s legless skink (<em>Scolecoseps boulengeri</em>). There’s even less information about this species than there is about the montane skink; so far our searches have been unsuccessful.</p>
<h2>Detail is key</h2>
<p>One of the biggest lessons to take from this work is that rich detail in field notes is crucial. The level of detail researchers use in their field notes today varies wildly; some provide minimal detail while others document weather, soil type, associated species, micro-habitat and much more. And, although field notes can be stored in online back-ups, a significant number undoubtedly still sit on shelves, in attics and in moving boxes as researchers progress through their field seasons and careers. This comes with a risk that the data can easily be lost forever.</p>
<p>When it comes to reptiles like skinks, many modern surveys are conducted using both trapping and active search methods. Explicitly describing how many of each species are recorded, as well as where and how they were obtained, can provide valuable details for studies that aim to reproduce earlier results. </p>
<p>This is increasingly important in areas that are rapidly changing due to urbanisation, expanding agriculture and that are experiencing adverse effects of climate change.</p>
<p>It was a description of a campsite that led us to find the montane skink again after 100 years without a scientific record in the area. We hope that in the future field biologists, with support and encouragement from editors and journals, will include such relevant information alongside species checklists in their scientific publications.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/170560/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Harith Omar Morgadinho Farooq receives funding from Rufford's Foundation.
Harith Omar Morgadinho Farooq is also affiliated with Lúrio University, Mozambique</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Allison Perrigo receives funding from Kungl. Vetenskaps- och Vitterhets-Samhället (KVVS). </span></em></p>Detailed field notes can help researchers track down rare species.Harith Omar Morgadinho Farooq, Post-doc, University of GothenburgAllison Perrigo, Director of the Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre, University of GothenburgLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1669912021-09-06T19:44:28Z2021-09-06T19:44:28ZHow Google Maps can help with efforts to tackle delays in accessing critical maternal health services<p>Every year, <a href="https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/Maternal_mortality_report.pdf">295,000 women die</a> from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth globally. Nigeria accounts for an enormous <a href="https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/Maternal_mortality_report.pdf%20">23% of these deaths</a>. Each one is a needless tragedy, and preventing them should be a global priority.</p>
<p>How can we do so? Research has shown that prompt access to nine critical maternity services, together known as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijgo.2004.11.026">emergency obstetric care</a>, can reduce deaths of pregnant women by 15-50% and the deaths of their unborn children by 45-75%.</p>
<p>Pregnant women have a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0277953694902267">higher risk of dying if they experience any of three delays</a> in accessing this care when they need it. These include a delay in deciding to seek care, a delay travelling to appropriate health facilities, or a delay in receiving the care they need when they get there.</p>
<p>In Nigeria, it’s the delay in travelling to receive care that is often the most deadly, with many women left to travel to health facilities either on their own or with support of their relatives, without professional help. This journey is thought of as a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12978-020-00996-7">“black box”</a> because unravelling what happened during their travel, including delays experienced while en route, can only be analysed after it is already too late.</p>
<h2>The promise of Google Maps</h2>
<p>What if we could <a href="https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/1/e004318">use Google Maps</a>, the most popular navigation app on earth, to help understand these delays? In a recently <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/heapol/czab099">published study</a>, my colleagues and I assessed travel time to care for pregnant women in emergency situations using data from Google Maps.</p>
<p>We used the travel time estimates we found to assess the coverage of critical maternity services in Nigeria’s most urbanised state and the largest city in sub-Saharan Africa – Lagos.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A satellite view of Lagos on Google Maps" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/418913/original/file-20210901-17-2szf3p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/418913/original/file-20210901-17-2szf3p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/418913/original/file-20210901-17-2szf3p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/418913/original/file-20210901-17-2szf3p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/418913/original/file-20210901-17-2szf3p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=567&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/418913/original/file-20210901-17-2szf3p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=567&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/418913/original/file-20210901-17-2szf3p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=567&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Google Maps data can help us understand pregnant women’s journeys to hospital for emergency care.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Google Maps</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Our results showed that for women who travelled directly to a hospital, travel time ranged from 2 to 240 minutes. For those who went there after a referral, travel time ranged from 7 to 320 minutes. Total travel time was within 60 minutes for 80% of pregnant women. The time of day and having been referred were both associated with travelling more than 60 minutes.</p>
<p>We identified three hotspots from which pregnant women travelled more than 60 minutes to public hospitals in Lagos. These areas were Alimosho/Ifako-Ijaiye, Eti-Osa and Ijanikin/Morogbo. In cases when a referral was required, we identified a fourth hotspot in the north of Ikorodu, where pregnant women required more than 60 minutes to arrive at a hospital that could provide the care they need.</p>
<h2>Eliminating hotspots</h2>
<p>Our findings indicate that these hotspots require government intervention to reduce delays in women accessing care. The Lagos state government already appears to be addressing one of these hotspots by <a href="https://businessday.ng/health/article/lagos-targets-1m-mothers-children-as-110-bed-mcc-opens-in-eti-osa/">building the Eti-Osa Maternal and Child Care Centre</a>.</p>
<p>Similar action is needed to address the Ijanikin/Morogbo hotspot, as there is currently no public hospital for about 30 km to the east and west of this cluster.</p>
<p>For Alimosho/Ifako-Ijaiye and north of Ikorodu, there are established public hospitals within these areas already and it appears the challenge might be their relative inaccessibility. In these areas, road expansion and repair and the improvement of referral systems could be effective ways to minimize travel time.</p>
<p>Our research reinforces existing evidence that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12978-020-00996-7">pregnant women face significant challenges</a> in accessing emergency care. Even in places that are expected to have the so called “urban advantage”, pregnant women in urgent situations still have to face traffic congestion, poor roads and slow referral systems.</p>
<p>For a pregnant woman in an emergency situation, delay can be a matter of life and death. If we are going to make progress in reducing maternal mortality, targeted actions that respond to local area-specific challenges like those recommended in our study will go a long way.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/166991/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Aduragbemi Banke-Thomas a reçu des financements de AXA Research Fund.</span></em></p>Using data from the popular navigation app, researchers have pinpointed the areas of Lagos, Nigeria, where emergency obstetric care is most needed.Aduragbemi Banke-Thomas, Research Fellow, London School of Economics and Political ScienceLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1640012021-07-07T13:00:01Z2021-07-07T13:00:01ZRoadkill: we can predict where animals cross roads – and use it to prevent collisions<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410133/original/file-20210707-13-16nachg.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4896%2C3672&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A white-tailed deer crossing a road in Nova Scotia, Canada.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Martin Mayer</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>You’re driving somewhere remote at night, and out of nowhere, a deer dashes onto the road and makes it across just inches ahead of your bumper. Anyone who owns a car is likely to experience this at some point. </p>
<p>Most of the world’s land is intersected by roads, and they break natural habitat into isolated patches and endanger the lives of animals who try to move between them. The relatively small country of Denmark, for example, is covered by around 59,000km of paved roads, on which over 2.5 million <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/452288/denmark-number-of-registered-passenger-cars/">registered cars</a> drive.</p>
<p>An estimated 194 million birds and 29 million mammals die each year on <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/fee.2216">European roads</a>. Apart from causing unnecessary death and suffering which might ultimately reduce populations, animal-vehicle collisions also risk human safety and cost drivers and insurance companies dearly, especially when larger animals are involved.</p>
<p>The good news is that something can be done about this, because the risky road crossings that animals attempt do not happen randomly. In a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030147972101210X?via%3Dihub">new study</a>, we found that the timing and location of collisions between wildlife and vehicles are actually fairly predictable. We can use this information to create warning systems that help drivers to be more vigilant.</p>
<h2>Wildlife crossings</h2>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/wildlife-can-be-saved-from-becoming-roadkill-with-a-new-tool-that-finds-the-best-locations-for-fences-147153">In other studies</a>, researchers have tried to find hotspots in the landscape where most animals tend to cross roads. These areas can then be fenced off and bridges and tunnels built to allow wildlife to bypass the road safely. These measures reduce roadkill and help animals roam more freely, whether it’s to continue on ancient feeding migrations or to seek mates and reproduce. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Three lanes of traffic pass under a grassy overpass." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410136/original/file-20210707-21-115yj5j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410136/original/file-20210707-21-115yj5j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410136/original/file-20210707-21-115yj5j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410136/original/file-20210707-21-115yj5j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410136/original/file-20210707-21-115yj5j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410136/original/file-20210707-21-115yj5j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410136/original/file-20210707-21-115yj5j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A wildlife overpass in Dwingelderveld National Park, the Netherlands.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/aerial-view-animal-wildlife-overpass-crossing-144415978">Pics-XL/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Sadly, creating wildlife crossings is very expensive, and rarely cost-effective over large areas and all road types. This is especially true in densely populated countries with lots of roads like the UK, Germany or Denmark. Just adding fences along roads would be the cheaper alternative, but if there are no corridors to allow animals to keep moving, fences would only keep animals isolated from each other.</p>
<p>The traditional approach to reducing roadkill in most countries is to use wildlife warning signs. But since these road signs remain fixed in one place, they are not very effective. For example, deer won’t usually cross a road during the middle of the day when more drivers are likely to be on the road. Animals are active at specific times and might use different areas depending on the time of year. Road signs most often warn drivers when the risk of animals crossing is relatively low, and as a result, drivers pay less attention to them over time.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Four red deer stags in a roadside clearing." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410103/original/file-20210707-15-o0kedd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410103/original/file-20210707-15-o0kedd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410103/original/file-20210707-15-o0kedd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410103/original/file-20210707-15-o0kedd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410103/original/file-20210707-15-o0kedd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=526&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410103/original/file-20210707-15-o0kedd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=526&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410103/original/file-20210707-15-o0kedd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=526&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Red deer in Denmark. This species is often killed when attempting to cross roads.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Martin Mayer</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A warning app</h2>
<p>We investigated 85,000 vehicle collisions in Denmark for three species – roe, fallow, and red deer – over 17 years. Both the place and the time at which collisions happened were predictable and largely similar between the different deer species. More collisions occurred during dusk and dawn, when traffic levels were intermediate, and in areas when forest cover was increasing.</p>
<p>These findings could feed into digital maps and sat-nav to create a live warning system that updates drivers when they’re passing through high-risk areas at times of the day when lots of animals are active. A noise or flashing signal could alert drivers when a collision is likely.</p>
<p>Many of the factors that help predict the risk of collisions on roads, such as land cover, road type and traffic volume, are already recorded in digital mapping systems. Information on deer population density and activity, from projects that collect this kind of data, could be added.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A tablet with 'collision risk' on it and different factors like 'land cover' pointing to it." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410105/original/file-20210707-13-181qy53.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410105/original/file-20210707-13-181qy53.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=663&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410105/original/file-20210707-13-181qy53.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=663&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410105/original/file-20210707-13-181qy53.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=663&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410105/original/file-20210707-13-181qy53.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=834&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410105/original/file-20210707-13-181qy53.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=834&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410105/original/file-20210707-13-181qy53.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=834&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Different types of data could feed into a sat-nav application that warns drivers with live updates on their collision risk.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030147972101210X?via%3Dihub">Martin Mayer</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Users could even report collisions to make the app more accurate. Such reporting systems are already used in some countries, like <a href="https://www.viltolycka.se/">Sweden</a>, and via <a href="https://www.waze.com/">some apps</a>, though they only map the place, and not the time, where roadkill happened.</p>
<p>Of course, this warning system will not be as efficient in reducing roadkill as fencing and wildlife passages. But it would be a far cheaper alternative in places where these other measures are too expensive or difficult to implement. Even if it helps reduce roadkill by as little as 10%, it would still save the lives of tens of thousands of people and animals in Europe each year.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/164001/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Sat-navs could one day warn motorists when they drive through high-risk areas.Martin Mayer, Postdoctoral Research Associate in Animal Ecology, Aarhus UniversityRichard Michael Gunner, PhD Candidate in Animal Behaviour, Swansea UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1486912020-10-29T12:30:53Z2020-10-29T12:30:53ZGoogle antitrust case suggests Apple should be in the Department of Justice’s crosshairs too<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/366276/original/file-20201028-13-1fpcvkw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=10%2C318%2C3327%2C2376&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Apple devices drive over half of all Google search traffic. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/AppleBeatsExxon/a953a0fa656b4464b5e0c8b8e18bea27/photo?Query=apple%20AND%20logo&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=270&currentItemNo=93">AP Photo/Russel A. Daniels</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Google’s payments to Apple to promote its search engine in iPhones, iPads and Mac computers <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-sues-monopolist-google-violating-antitrust-laws">are at the center</a> of the Department of Justice’s antitrust lawsuit against the tech giant. </p>
<p>The suit alleges this creates a “continuous and self-reinforcing cycle of monopolization” by limiting which search engines consumers can use. </p>
<p>But as <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=z9oUtFsAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">someone who studies platform markets, competition and industry structure</a>, I believe the agreement seems more like a damning indictment of Apple’s own potentially illegal business practices. </p>
<h2>Why Google needs Apple</h2>
<p>The Department of Justice alleges that Google pays Apple and other device-makers to set its search engine as the default “on billions of mobile devices and computers worldwide,” thus controlling how users access the internet. </p>
<p>It’s true, Google is dominant in search, which accounted for an <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2019/12/24/is-google-advertising-revenue-70-80-or-90-of-alphabets-total-revenue/#18092d894a01">estimated 83% of parent company Alphabet’s revenue</a> in 2019. </p>
<p>But <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-search-deal-google-value-privacy-2020-10">about half of Google’s search traffic</a> originates from Apple devices. If Apple were to replace Google with an alternative default search engine on its devices, I estimate that Google could lose US$30 billion to $40 billion in annual revenue, assuming most users didn’t change the setting back to Google.</p>
<p>Even if Apple didn’t pick a default and pushed the search engine choice to users, it would still have to create a list of possibilities. Research on <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.1287/ijoc.2020.0968">search</a> and <a href="https://scholar.smu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1565&context=jalc">airline tickets</a> has shown that consumers overwhelmingly tend to pick whatever is at the top of the list, meaning Apple would still wield significant power over user choice. </p>
<p>Because of this, Google clearly has a powerful motive to keep its search engine as the default choice. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="The Google search application is pictured running on an iPhone." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/366230/original/file-20201028-13-1dzjqne.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=132%2C111%2C4530%2C2992&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/366230/original/file-20201028-13-1dzjqne.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/366230/original/file-20201028-13-1dzjqne.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/366230/original/file-20201028-13-1dzjqne.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/366230/original/file-20201028-13-1dzjqne.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/366230/original/file-20201028-13-1dzjqne.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/366230/original/file-20201028-13-1dzjqne.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ultimately Google depends on device-makers like Apple to reach users.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/the-google-search-application-is-seen-running-on-an-iphone-news-photo/1027366886">Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Why Apple would pick Google anyway</h2>
<p>Apple’s role as the gateway to billions of searches is the critical factor here. </p>
<p>Consider an Apple executive preparing the iPhone or another device for launch, choosing whether to set a default search engine and, if so, which one to pick. Presumably, there are two key factors: costs and customer satisfaction. </p>
<p>The cost to Apple of presetting a default search engine is negligible, just a few lines of code. Without a default, consumers would need to set it themselves or type google.com or bing.com themselves to conduct a search, as opposed to the common practice of typing a search term in the URL field. </p>
<p>To prevent this <a href="http://ceur-ws.org/Vol-2220/06_CONFWS18_paper_1.pdf">user inconvenience</a>, Apple would be best off presetting a search engine that was, ideally, the preferred choice of most users. The question then is: What would they prefer?</p>
<p>Google became synonymous with search since its founding in 1998 not simply due to its dominance – and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/16/technology/default-choices-are-hard-to-resist-online-or-not.html">payments to browser companies over the years</a> – but because users <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2017/06/05/how-google-came-to-dominate-search-and-what-the-future-holds/#a3a0dbd38721">found the results of its algorithm and simple interface superior</a> to the competition. And Google <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/185966/us-customer-satisfaction-with-google/">continues to score high marks</a> with consumers in satisfaction surveys. </p>
<p>If Apple product managers were to preset one default search engine in order to maximize user satisfaction, they would probably pick Google anyway. </p>
<h2>A credible threat</h2>
<p>So why would Google pay <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/25/technology/apple-google-search-antitrust.html">Apple $8 billion to $12 billion a year</a>? </p>
<p>In my view, it comes down to the the fear of being supplanted by a rival search engine if it stopped paying the fee. Apple has done this to Google before. </p>
<p>The iPhone used to come preloaded with two Google apps: Maps and <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/who-killed-youtube-on-the-iphone-apple-or-google/">YouTube</a>. In 2012, Apple kicked both off its devices as the two companies <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2012/nov/05/apple-google-maps-iphone-dropped">began to compete more aggressively with one another</a>, requiring consumers to download the apps if they wanted to use them. </p>
<p>From a game theory perspective, a <a href="https://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/GameTheory.html">credible threat or perception of one</a> could be enough to ensure continued compliance. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.emarketer.com/Article/Apple-Takes-Biggest-Bite-of-Mobile-Web-Traffic/1011234">Since at least 2014</a> – around <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/25/technology/apple-google-search-antitrust.html">when the first Apple-Google partnership</a> on preset default occurred – Apple <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/236550/percentage-of-us-population-that-own-a-iphone-smartphone/">has dominated mobile web traffic</a>. This power gives Apple, as a platform providing access to users, the leverage it needs to charge and potentially extort a rent – in <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/economicrent.asp">economic parlance</a> – for a product design decision that it would have likely chosen on its own. This could violate antitrust law, though Apple would likely argue it’s merely monetizing a resource it built.</p>
<h2>It all comes down to the platform</h2>
<p><a href="https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=Bvd1CQAAQBAJ">Platforms provide</a> the technological and economic infrastructure and set the rules participants must abide by. </p>
<p>This gives them significant power as the access point to potentially massive numbers of users, which has been the core issue underlying past antitrust actions against major tech companies such as <a href="https://www.justice.gov/atr/complaint-us-v-microsoft-corp">Microsoft in the late 1990s</a>.</p>
<p>While the Department of Justice lawsuit <a href="https://www.axios.com/heres-what-the-us-antitrust-case-charges-google-with-cbaf5458-0fd9-4c3d-a85e-0c8637675ea5.html">does have a strong case against Google in other areas</a>, it seems like the part about the Google-Apple partnership should be more directed toward the company that actually controls the access to consumers.</p>
<p>And with <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/10/28/apple-is-reportedly-looking-to-develop-its-own-search-engine/">new reports that Apple is planning</a> to develop its own search engine, the government’s desired remedy in its lawsuit – the end of the partnership and the Google default – may happen anyway, making the case mostly moot. </p>
<p>[<em>You’re smart and curious about the world. So are The Conversation’s authors and editors.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/weekly-highlights-61?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=weeklysmart">You can get our highlights each weekend</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/148691/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hemant K. Bhargava's work has been supported and inspired by various tech firms, including Google (and other search firms such as Yahoo! and Overture) with a research excellence gift from the Google Cloud Platform in 2018.</span></em></p>Google pays Apple to make its search engine the default on its devices, but the iPhone maker actually has more market power in the relationship.Hemant K. Bhargava, Professor, Suran Chair in Technology Management; Director, Center for Analytics and Technology in Society, University of California, DavisLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1147982019-04-22T10:46:06Z2019-04-22T10:46:06ZWhat happens when a big business tries to take over and rename a neighborhood<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/269815/original/file-20190417-139104-g9r6dn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Do you know where you are right now?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/businessman-lost-field-using-map-23639869?src=dBoi2Ao6PK5CRC2MPwmFrw-1-1">Ana de Sousa/shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>What if Google tried to rename your neighborhood?</p>
<p>That happened to some Californians in 2017, when Google Maps <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/02/technology/google-maps-neighborhood-names.html">changed the moniker of three San Francisco neighborhoods</a> – Rincon Hill, Folsom and Transbay – to “East Cut.”</p>
<p>Given the extensive reach that Google has in the transmission of geographic data, through Google Maps and its geospatial analysis software Google Earth Engine, the name quickly spread and was adopted by other businesses, such as Uber. But residents decried the change. “It’s degrading to the reputation of our area,” one <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/02/technology/google-maps-neighborhood-names.html">told The New York Times</a>.</p>
<p>Neighborhood renaming is nothing new. Name changes occur when historical names no longer fit, during rebranding campaigns and through gentrification – such as when <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wingate,_Brooklyn">Pigtown, Brooklyn</a> was renamed Wingate. The name Pigtown originally referred to a number of pig farms located in the area. In the 2000s, the area was renamed Wingate by developers to lure in new buyers.</p>
<p>There are many reasons why someone might want to change their neighborhoods name, but what’s driving current name-changing initiatives carried out by big businesses with little or no personal connection to the places they rename? As a geographer, I see three main driving forces – all of which can leave longtime locals feeling upset and left out.</p>
<h2>Marketing rebrand</h2>
<p>Take National Landing, Amazon’s new name for Crystal City, Virginia. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.citylab.com/life/2018/11/national-landing-amazon-hq2-crystal-city-northern-virginia/575848/">The name was decided upon</a> by Amazon, local economics groups and JBG Smith, a real estate company based in Washington, D.C. The name change, revealed in Amazon’s November announcement on its new headquarters, was meant to unite the neighborhoods in Northern Virginia, Crystal City, Pentagon City and Potomac Yard areas.</p>
<p>However, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-news/amazon-faqs-what-northern-virginians-are-asking--and-being-told--about-the-impact-of-second-headquarters/2018/11/24/62b3782a-ec2a-11e8-baac-2a674e91502b_story.html">in a Washington Post article</a>, Arlington County Manager Mark Schwartz suggested that the name change would not be adopted by the local government. </p>
<p>In most cases, it’s not individual companies making these changes. In the case of the East Cut label, it turns out that Community Benefit District Board – made up of residential, commercial and nonprofit representatives from the area – approved the change in 2017, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/02/technology/google-maps-neighborhood-names.html">working with Google to come up with the label</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/269817/original/file-20190417-139084-1lhhznt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/269817/original/file-20190417-139084-1lhhznt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/269817/original/file-20190417-139084-1lhhznt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/269817/original/file-20190417-139084-1lhhznt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/269817/original/file-20190417-139084-1lhhznt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/269817/original/file-20190417-139084-1lhhznt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/269817/original/file-20190417-139084-1lhhznt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/269817/original/file-20190417-139084-1lhhznt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Thanks to Amazon, Crystal City’s name may soon be on the way out.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Amazon-HQ-Virginia/43332bce79c84f1ab7b13574b96b5c69/2/0">AP Photo/Cliff Owen</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Gentrification divisions</h2>
<p><a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8306.1978.tb01177.x">Gentrification of dilapidated urban neighborhoods</a> is a common driver of renaming. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.6sqft.com/race-drives-gentrification-and-new-neighborhood-boundaries-study-finds/">Research in Philadelphia</a> by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1078087415570643">sociologist Jackelyn Hwang</a> shows that gentrification not only shifts the demographics of a given area, but leads to divergent definitions of neighborhoods. </p>
<p>Minority residents were more likely to call a wide area one neighborhood, named “South Philly.” White residents, by contrast, divided the same area into multiple neighborhoods, such as “Graduate Hospital,” “G-Ho,” “So-So,” “South Rittenhouse,” “South Square” and “Southwest Center City,” splitting up areas by their socioeconomic characteristics and crime levels.</p>
<p>In such cases, the use of different neighborhood definitions served to legitimize one’s presence in a community. Neighborhoods do this by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/1520-6629(198601)14:1%3C6::AID-JCOP2290140103%3E3.0.CO;2-I">evoking a sense of place</a> for residents, describing a relationship that the place has with someone’s biography, imagination and personal experiences. The names create boundaries between those who are perceived to belong to these communities – and those who do not. </p>
<h2>Real estate ads</h2>
<p>Another driver of neighborhood label change is the real estate market. The use of catchy names, like SoHo in Manhattan, evokes images about the type of environment you might find there. Create the right vision for a buyer, and the area might seem more appealing to them. </p>
<p>In Detroit, Google is also responsible for renaming neighborhoods and even inserting new names, like the Eye. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/02/technology/google-maps-neighborhood-names.html">The New York Times has speculated</a> that the real estate market is a likely culprit. </p>
<p>Real estate agents use neighborhood names in their marketing campaigns. These new labels can get picked up by companies like Google, legitimizing the changes through the company’s wide influences. <a href="https://theneighborhoods.org/">In the Detroit case</a>, officials created their own neighborhood map of Detroit, correcting errors in the Google Map. </p>
<p>In some cases, these types of changes aren’t welcome by neighborhood residents. For example, in Harlem, the Keller Williams real estate company began marketing the southern region of Harlem as SoHa without the approval of local residents. </p>
<p>This change spurred political action. State Senator Brian Benjamin <a href="https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2017/06/9/harlem-soha-controversy-proposed-bill-to-prevent-renaming">introduced legislation in 2017</a> banning these types of unsolicited name changes. </p>
<p>While these name changes might seem innocuous, official neighborhood names are recognized by the U.S. Geological Survey. Neighborhoods are one example of a type of populated place that does not have official federally recognized names. What happens when these official names do not correspond to the names on the map? </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/269818/original/file-20190417-139084-wev3ln.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/269818/original/file-20190417-139084-wev3ln.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/269818/original/file-20190417-139084-wev3ln.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/269818/original/file-20190417-139084-wev3ln.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/269818/original/file-20190417-139084-wev3ln.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/269818/original/file-20190417-139084-wev3ln.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/269818/original/file-20190417-139084-wev3ln.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/269818/original/file-20190417-139084-wev3ln.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Harlem residents were not pleased with the proposed SoHa nickname.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Harlem-Neighborhood-Name/b1bc0adf039b485d8a7f8c6a322f3227/4/0">AP Photo/Kathy Willens</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Resisting change</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/G/bo5514383.html">Neighborhoods play a critical role</a> in creating a sense of belonging and camaraderie among neighbors. They are known by their institutions, crime rates and appearance, as well as the characteristics of their population. </p>
<p>Neighborhood names carry strong cultural and socioeconomic expectations. In a 2015 study, people in 12 major U.S. urban areas were shown <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1414139112">online ads for used iPhones</a>. They were less likely to respond if the ad mentioned that the seller was a resident of a disadvantaged neighborhood. That suggests that racial and socioeconomic stigmas related to a neighborhood were transferred to their residents. </p>
<p>Whether name changes are driven internally by community members or from external pressures from big businesses like Amazon or Google, these changes have impacts on the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-name-of-your-street-could-affect-your-houses-value-2015-2">social and spatial patterns of urban cities</a>. </p>
<p>For example, these types of changes can lead to increased property values, pushing out current residents. In Oakland, California,
<a href="https://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/gentrification-changed-the-names-of-oakland-neighborhoods/Content?oid=20313470">neighborhood name changes</a> have led to <a href="https://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/rent-prices-soar-in-oakland/Content?oid=3417061">soaring rental prices</a>, as higher-income residents from San Fransisco infiltrate the market.</p>
<p>I’ve seen a few successful cases of neighborhoods getting new names – usually when the renamers work together with the locals to include their opinions and celebrate their history. </p>
<p>For example, Nap Lab, a design collective located in Indianapolis, <a href="https://www.indystar.com/story/life/2017/12/11/its-been-10-years-since-first-naplab-map-created-heres-what-did/927375001/">took on the city’s lack of neighborhood names</a>. New names like University Heights, West Indy and Poplar Grove came out of detailed analysis of city records and community documents, as well collaboration with local experts and the internet. Their map, first released in 2008, is still sold today.</p>
<p><em>This article has been updated to clarify when Pigtown was renamed and which neighborhoods were renamed East Cut.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/114798/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Raechel A. Portelli does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Google, Amazon and other powerful groups are renaming American cities and neighborhoods. That may make the area more appealing to newcomers – but, in many cases, residents aren’t happy.Raechel A. Portelli, Assistant Professor of Geography, Michigan State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1053412019-01-22T11:50:24Z2019-01-22T11:50:24ZWhy paper maps still matter in the digital age<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/252723/original/file-20190107-32154-l0hoxp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Which is the right map for you?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/smartphone-gps-navigator-on-map-221670307?src=XULtNFy8CA4ZZptUszOz6g-1-40">Icatnews/shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Ted Florence is ready for his family trip to Botswana. He has looked up his hotel on Google Maps and downloaded a digital map of the country to his phone. He has also packed a large paper map. “I travel all over the world,” says Florence, the president of the international board of the <a href="https://imiamaps.org/">International Map Industry Association</a> and <a href="https://www.avenzamaps.com/">Avenza Maps</a>, a digital map software company. “Everywhere I go, my routine is the same: I get a paper map, and I keep it in my back pocket.”</p>
<p>With the proliferation of smartphones, it’s easy to assume that the era of the paper map is over. That attitude, that digital is better than print, is what I call “technochauvinism.” In my book, “<a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/artificial-unintelligence">Artificial Unintelligence: How Computers Misunderstand the World</a>,” I look at how technochauvinism has been used to create an unnecessary, occasionally harmful bias for digital over print or any other kind of interface. A glance at the research reveals that the paper map still thrives in the digital era, and there are distinct advantages to using print maps. </p>
<h2>Your brain on maps</h2>
<p>Cognitive researchers generally make a distinction between surface knowledge and deep knowledge. Experts have deep knowledge of a subject or a geography; amateurs have surface knowledge. </p>
<p>Digital interfaces are good for acquiring surface knowledge. Answering the question, “How do I get from the airport to my hotel in a new-to-me city?” is a pragmatic problem that requires only shallow information to answer. If you’re traveling to a city for only 24 hours for a business meeting, there’s usually no need to learn much about a city’s layout. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253315/original/file-20190110-43510-1m5ejgm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253315/original/file-20190110-43510-1m5ejgm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253315/original/file-20190110-43510-1m5ejgm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253315/original/file-20190110-43510-1m5ejgm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253315/original/file-20190110-43510-1m5ejgm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253315/original/file-20190110-43510-1m5ejgm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253315/original/file-20190110-43510-1m5ejgm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253315/original/file-20190110-43510-1m5ejgm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Physically handling a map can help you remember a route better.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/pointing-finger-map-sunny-day-closeup-283602878?src=CacahIcB06KZod0DmNOg4Q-1-2">Veles Studio/shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When you live in a place, or you want to travel meaningfully, deep knowledge of the geography will help you to navigate it and to understand its culture and history. Print maps help you acquire deep knowledge faster and more efficiently. In experiments, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.10.014">people who read on paper consistently demonstrate better reading comprehension</a> than people who read the same material on a screen. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0165551512470043">A 2013 study</a> showed that, as a person’s geographic skill increases, so does their preference for paper maps.</p>
<p>For me, the difference between deep knowledge and surface knowledge is the difference between what I know about New York City, where I have lived for years, and San Francisco, which I have visited only a handful of times. In New York, I can tell you where all the neighborhoods are and which train lines to take and speculate about whether the prevalence of Manhattan schist in the geological substrate influenced the heights of the buildings that are in Greenwich Village versus Midtown. I’ve invested a lot of time in looking at both paper and digital maps of New York. In San Francisco, I’ve only ever used digital maps to navigate from point to point. I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t know where anything is in the Bay Area. </p>
<p>Our brains encode knowledge as what scientists call <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.10.014">a cognitive map</a>. In psychology-speak, I lack a cognitive map of San Francisco. </p>
<p>“When the human brain gathers visual information about an object, it also gathers information about its surroundings, and associates the two,” wrote communication researchers Jinghui Hou, Justin Rashid and Kwan Min Lee <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.10.014">in a 2017 study</a>. “In a similar manner to how people construct a mental map of a physical environment (e.g., a desk in the center of an office facing the door), readers form a ‘cognitive map’ of the physical location of a text and its spatial relationship to the text as a whole.” </p>
<p>Reading in print makes it easier for the brain to encode knowledge and to remember things. Sensory cues, like unfolding the complicated folds of a paper map, help create that cognitive map in the brain and help the brain to retain the knowledge.</p>
<p>The same is true for a simple practice like tracing out a hiking route on a paper map with your finger. The physical act of moving your arm and feeling the paper under your finger <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/06/smarter-living/memory-tricks-mnemonics.html">gives your brain haptic and sensorimotor cues</a> that contribute to the formation and retention of the cognitive map.</p>
<h2>Map mistakes</h2>
<p>Another factor in the paper versus digital debate is accuracy. Obviously, a good digital map is better than a bad paper map, just like a good paper map is better than a bad digital map. </p>
<p><a href="https://medium.com/@mitpress/3-recommendations-to-combat-technochauvinism-9099b257b92c">Technochauvinists</a> may believe that all digital maps are good, but just as in the paper world, the accuracy of digital maps depends entirely on the level of detail and fact-checking invested by the company making the map.</p>
<p>For example, a <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2012/dec/20/business/la-fi-tn-apple-google-maps-lost-20121220">2012 survey by the crowdsourcing company Crowdflower</a> found that Google Maps accurately located 89 percent of businesses, while Apple Maps correctly found 74 percent. This isn’t surprising, as Google <a href="https://www.google.com/streetview/understand/">invests millions in sending people</a> around the world to map terrain for Google StreetView. Google Maps are good because the company invests time, money and human effort in making its maps good – not because digital maps are inherently better.</p>
<p>Fanatical attention to detail is necessary to keep digital maps up to date, as conditions in the real world change constantly. Companies like Google are constantly updating their maps, and will have to do so regularly for as long as they continue to publish. The maintenance required for digital content is substantial – <a href="https://www.pprune.org/private-flying/601767-maps-obsolete.html">a cost that technochauvinists often ignore</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253316/original/file-20190110-43538-1nospyi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253316/original/file-20190110-43538-1nospyi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253316/original/file-20190110-43538-1nospyi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253316/original/file-20190110-43538-1nospyi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253316/original/file-20190110-43538-1nospyi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253316/original/file-20190110-43538-1nospyi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253316/original/file-20190110-43538-1nospyi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253316/original/file-20190110-43538-1nospyi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">What to do when your map doesn’t match up with the real world?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/blank-road-sign-on-highway-add-173237231?src=GEZpqwok0ez6jnO04QyYqw-1-7">kanvag/shutterstock.com</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>In my view, it’s easier to forgive the errors in a paper map. Physical maps usually include an easily visible publication date so users can see when the map was published. (When was the last time you noticed the date-of-last-update on your car navigation system?) When you are passively following the spoken GPS directions of a navigation system, and there is, say, an unmarked exit, it confuses the GPS system and causes chaos among the people in the car. (Especially the backseat drivers.)</p>
<h2>The best map for the job</h2>
<p>Some of the deeper flaws of digital maps are not readily apparent to the public. Digital systems, including cartographic ones, are more interconnected than most people realize. Mistakes, which are inevitable, can go viral and create more trouble than anyone anticipates.</p>
<p>For example: Reporter Kashmir Hill has written about a Kansas farm in the geographic center of the U.S. that has been <a href="https://splinternews.com/how-an-internet-mapping-glitch-turned-a-random-kansas-f-1793856052">plagued by legal trouble and physical harassment</a>, because a digital cartography database mistakenly uses the farm’s location as a default every time the database can’t identify the real answer. </p>
<p>“As a result, for the last 14 years, every time MaxMind’s database has been queried about the location of an IP address in the U.S. it can’t identify, it has spit out the default location of a spot two hours away from the geographic center of the country,” Hill wrote. “This happens a lot: 5,000 companies rely on MaxMind’s IP mapping information, and in all, there are now over 600 million IP addresses associated with that default coordinate.” </p>
<p>A technochauvinist mindset assumes everything in the future will be digital. But what happens if a major company like Google stops offering its maps? What happens when a <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/1/19/16910378/government-shutdown-2018-nasa-spacex-iss-falcon-heavy">government shutdown</a> means that <a href="http://satnews.com/story.php?number=827160505">satellite data</a> powering smartphone GPS systems isn’t transmitted? Right now, ambulances and fire trucks can keep a road atlas in the front seat in case electronic navigation fails. If society doesn’t maintain physical maps, first responders won’t be able to get to addresses when there is a fire or someone is critically ill. </p>
<p>Interrupting a country’s GPS signals is also a realistic cyberwarfare tactic. The U.S. Navy has resumed training new recruits in <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/11931403/US-navy-returns-to-celestial-navigation-amid-fears-of-computer-hack.html">celestial navigation</a>, a technique that dates back to ancient Greece, as a guard against when the digital grid gets hacked. </p>
<p>Ultimately, I don’t think it should be a competition between physical and digital. In the future, people will continue to need both kinds of maps. Instead of arguing whether paper or digital is a better map interface, people should consider what map is the right tool for the task. </p>
<p>
<section class="inline-content">
<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/248895/original/file-20181204-133100-t34yqm.png?w=128&h=128">
<div>
<header>Meredith Broussard is the author of:</header>
<p><a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/artificial-unintelligence">Artificial Unintelligence: How Computers Misunderstand the World</a></p>
<footer>MIT Press provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.</footer>
</div>
</section>
</p>
<p><em>This article has been updated to correct the name of Avenza Maps.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/105341/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>MIT Press provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.</span></em></p>If you want to really learn your way around a new place, paper maps still trump digital options.Meredith Broussard, Assistant Professor of Journalism, New York UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1047472018-11-16T11:44:10Z2018-11-16T11:44:10ZYes, GPS apps make you worse at navigating – but that’s OK<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/243337/original/file-20181031-122177-ue5kb1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Wait -- where am I?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/map-on-phone-background-dashboard-black-737181283?src=SYQ6q4hKjfDOp4vaK19FaQ-1-5">Aleksey Korchemkin/shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Many of us have had the experience of arriving in an unfamiliar city and needing to get to a specific destination – whether it’s checking in at a hotel, meeting a friend at a local brewery, or navigating to a meeting on time. </p>
<p>With a few clicks of the smartphone, the destination is inputted into a navigational app, with customized route preferences to avoid traffic, tolls and, in cities like San Francisco, even inclines. Anxiety abated, one drives to one’s destination via voice prompts and the occasional illicit glance at the constantly updating map. </p>
<p>But, after having arrived safely, there is the vague awareness that we don’t know how we got there. We can’t remember the landmarks along the way, and, without our handheld device, certainly couldn’t get back to our origin point. That raises the larger question: Are the navigational capacities of our smartphones making us worse navigators? </p>
<p>Research points to yes. But, given the ubiquity of these devices, as well as their ability to enable particular groups, perhaps we should learn to embrace them as a technological prosthetic. </p>
<h2>Worse at finding our way</h2>
<p>All cultures practice <a href="https://doi.org/10.1162/105474698565677">wayfinding</a> – sensing one’s environment for barriers to travel, then navigating spatially to a remote destination. </p>
<p>Geographers (like myself), psychologists, anthropologists and neurologists have all studied how individuals navigate from point A to point B. In a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1101663">landmark 1975 paper</a>, psychologists Alexander Siegel and Sheldon White argued that people navigate via their knowledge of landmarks against a larger landscape. New navigational routes are discovered via the linking of familiar landmarks with new ones. </p>
<p>For example, <a href="https://www.abebooks.com/9780888544278/Arctic-Sky-Inuit-Astronomy-Star-0888544278/plp">Inuit people</a>, faced with snowy, topographically uniform landscapes, are attentive to subtle cues like snowdrift shape and wind direction. Until the advent of GPS devices, those cultures had <a href="https://doi.org/10.1086/432651">no cultural conception</a> of the idea of being lost. </p>
<p>Research has established that mobile navigational devices, such the GPS embedded in one’s smartphone, make us less proficient wayfinders. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/a0026553">Mobile interfaces</a> leave users <a href="http://doi.org/10.1016/j.compenvurbsys.2009.01.004">less spatially oriented</a> than either physical movement or static maps. Handheld navigational devices have been linked to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhcs.2018.04.006">lower spatial cognition, poorer wayfinding skills and reduced environmental awareness</a>. </p>
<p>People are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhcs.2018.04.006">less likely to remember a route</a> when they use guided navigation. Without their device, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2007.09.002">regular GPS users</a> take longer to negotiate a route, travel more slowly and make larger navigational errors.</p>
<p>While physical navigation and static maps require engagement with the physical environment, guided navigation enables disengagement.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/243342/original/file-20181031-122165-ojqllu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/243342/original/file-20181031-122165-ojqllu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/243342/original/file-20181031-122165-ojqllu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/243342/original/file-20181031-122165-ojqllu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/243342/original/file-20181031-122165-ojqllu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/243342/original/file-20181031-122165-ojqllu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/243342/original/file-20181031-122165-ojqllu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/243342/original/file-20181031-122165-ojqllu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Frequent users of navigation apps are less likely to be confident in their navigational abilities.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/tourist-man-try-navigate-himself-map-434368909">Soloviova Liudmyla/shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Expanding the view</h2>
<p>However, that doesn’t mean mobile navigation is all bad. A blanket demonization of these devices may be a form of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1086/432651">“ethnonostalgia,”</a> where we find ourselves sentimental for an imagined simpler place and time. Technological advances, historically, have liberated humans from toil and suffering. </p>
<p>Further, many of our experiences are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1086/432651">mediated through technology</a>. Drivers use cars, hunters use guns, and many of us are constantly on our smartphones. In short, as sociologist Claudio Aporta and ecologist Eric Higgs put it, “Technology has become the setting in which much of our daily lives take place.” </p>
<p>In his seminal 1997 article, geographer <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9671.1997.tb00019.x">Robert Downs argues</a> that spatial technologies need not replace geographic thinking, but rather serve as a prosthesis, supplementing our spatial awareness. The increased access to information gives people a new way to quickly and easily explore new landscapes – which can then lead to physical exploration of said landscapes (many of my fellow map nerds do this all the time). We can then focus less on the rote memorization of place names in favor of a deeper understanding of the topography.</p>
<p>While research shows that use of handheld navigational devices can lead to lower spatial knowledge, that may not necessarily be the device’s fault. Those <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhcs.2018.04.006">most likely to use guided route navigation</a> are already the least confident in their own navigational capabilities; further use of navigational devices leads to a negative feedback cycle, where people become more reliant on their devices and less spatially aware.</p>
<p>What’s more, for some groups, these devices are enabling. Handheld navigational devices can now enable <a href="https://doi.org/10.1162/105474698565677">independent wayfinding</a> by those who are sight-impaired. While not without their drawbacks, handheld navigation can empower those with spatial orientation challenges, be they real or imagined.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/104747/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jennifer M. Bernstein does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Without their devices, regular GPS users take longer to negotiate a route, travel more slowly and make larger navigational errors.Jennifer M. Bernstein, Lecturer of Spatial Sciences, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and SciencesLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/778452017-05-24T12:45:48Z2017-05-24T12:45:48ZHow Google Street View became fertile ground for artists<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170672/original/file-20170523-5790-3uqpdj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A scene in the Bronx curated from Google Street View.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Nick Lehr/The Conversation via Google</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>On May 25, Google Street View celebrates its 10th birthday. A feature of Google Maps, it lets users explore cities and towns around the world – and even peer inside businesses and government institutions (<a href="https://ggwash.org/view/12767/tour-the-white-house-with-google-street-view">including the White House</a>). Games have sprouted out of Street View – like <a href="https://www.geoguessr.com">Geoguessr</a>, in which players guess where in the world they’ve been randomly placed – while some users <a href="http://mashable.com/2013/06/10/google-street-view-embarrassing/#tmgaWGVGFSqg">have documented funny images</a> captured by the roving cameras of Google’s cars. </p>
<p>But Google Street View has also provided ample fodder for artists of all stripes, inspiring a range of creative works that include photographic curation, music videos and impromptu performances. </p>
<p>What, exactly, is it about Google Street View that makes it so appealing to creative types? Perhaps it allows us to experience the fantasy of what scholar Donna Haraway <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/3178066?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">called</a> “the God’s trick” – the impossible desire to see everything. </p>
<p>Never before have people had such easy, on-demand visual access to public spaces all over the globe, and over the past decade artists have wielded this immense power to comment on issues ranging from surveillance to sex work. </p>
<h2>Curating from Google’s vast archive</h2>
<p>The sheer magnitude of Google Street View’s all-seeing power is a subject for some artists. Michael Wolf’s project “<a href="https://www.lensculture.com/articles/michael-wolf-a-series-of-unfortunate-events">A Series of Unfortunate Events</a>” curates arresting images from Google Street View, ranging from <a href="https://d3f49glnpfzr7k.cloudfront.net/large/fdcb186f-6aad-4acc-8289-065dadf4ed4e.jpg">bike accidents</a> to <a href="https://d3f49glnpfzr7k.cloudfront.net/large/a2f4d782-11fc-48b0-937b-75596a51496d.jpg">fires</a>. Taken as a whole, Wolf’s collection from Google’s vast archive gestures toward the vastness of the world itself. <a href="https://d3f49glnpfzr7k.cloudfront.net/large/2b5c8304-70ad-4810-a5be-378a6e5cc92f.jpg">Taken individually</a>, his images are both haunting and familiar.</p>
<p>Sometimes Google Street View appeals to artists for more political reasons. There can be a real discomfort with the technology, given that it amounts to one of the most comprehensive surveillance mechanisms in human history.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170629/original/file-20170523-5743-11bzhyu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170629/original/file-20170523-5743-11bzhyu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170629/original/file-20170523-5743-11bzhyu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=794&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170629/original/file-20170523-5743-11bzhyu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=794&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170629/original/file-20170523-5743-11bzhyu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=794&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170629/original/file-20170523-5743-11bzhyu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=998&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170629/original/file-20170523-5743-11bzhyu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=998&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170629/original/file-20170523-5743-11bzhyu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=998&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The ‘eyes’ of the Google Street View camera.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3110/3104973693_b961e62cb5_b.jpg">Jon Delorey/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Jon Rafman’s ongoing project “<a href="http://9-eyes.com/">The Nine Eyes of Google Street View</a>” reflects the unsettling relationship between humans and surveillance. (The “nine eyes” in the title refers to the number of cameras on the pole attached to the top of a Google Street View car, although the number <a href="http://mashable.com/2017/04/27/google-street-trekker-sg/#tmgaWGVGFSqg">has since increased to 15</a>.) </p>
<p>In 2008, one year after the launch of Street View, Google <a href="https://www.cnet.com/news/google-begins-blurring-faces-in-street-view/">incorporated face-blurring technology</a> to protect the identities of passersby captured by its cameras. But the technology isn’t without glitches. Rafman’s <a href="http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.1214735.1354825852!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/gallery_1200/9-eyes-jon-rafman.jpg">image</a> of a man in a bunny costume with a blurred face next to a “real” person’s face draws an unsettling juxtaposition; it’s a reminder that Google Street View is incapable of telling the difference between this masked person and you. In so doing, Rafman’s image exploits the most basic fear of mass surveillance regimes: that you’ll be just another faceless entity.</p>
<p>Other artists have taken a different approach. Doug Rickard, in an exhibition called “<a href="http://www.dougrickard.com/a-new-american-picture/">A New American Picture</a>,” documented the “forgotten streets” of America by curating images of the disenfranchised in their downtrodden neighborhoods. Halley Docherty has used Google Street View <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/cities/gallery/2014/mar/06/classic-paintings-of-world-cities-meet-google-street-view-in-pictures">to superimpose famous paintings and album covers on their modern settings</a> (for example, <a href="https://i.guim.co.uk/img/static/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2014/4/4/1396617293355/fde4c1ca-80ea-4c28-9f85-704224e9b2d9-1024x768.jpeg?w=700&q=55&auto=format&usm=12&fit=max&s=40023a28dd2aa7e4d89d6f0659fe1cda">the Beatles crossing the street on today’s Abbey Road</a>). And Justin Blinder’s “<a href="http://projects.justinblinder.com/Vacated">Vacated</a>” project turns Google Street View images into GIFs that alternate between before-and-after photos of gentrified street corners in New York City.</p>
<h2>Posing for the camera</h2>
<p>Then there are the people that try to act out scenes in front of the passing cameras. While they may not identify as artists, they respond with an artist’s impromptu, creative ingenuity. Everyday folks see the Google car approaching and think up a scene – <a href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/google-street-view-birth-fake-264756">a staged birth in Berlin</a> or <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-27670099">a staged death in Scotland</a> – and quickly react. In our research, we call these performance-events <a href="http://ojs.library.queensu.ca/index.php/surveillance-and-society/article/view/street_view">tableaux vivants</a> (“living pictures”) in a nod to the evanescent vitality of scenes that come to life only to dissolve as quickly as they’ve been formed. </p>
<p>Street View art has its detractors. Mishka Henner, for his show “<a href="https://www.juxtapoz.com/news/photography/no-man-s-land-by-mishka-henner/">No Man’s Land</a>,” cruised Street View for known “John” sites in Italy and Spain and culled images of women who may be sex workers. Although the show was <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/photography/9984841/Deutsche-Borse-Photography-Prize-Mishka-Henner.html">shortlisted for the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize</a>, it was also subject to <a href="https://www.pdxmonthly.com/articles/2012/5/24/review-mishka-henners-blue-sky-may-2012">mixed reviews</a>. Some thought it was sexist to assume that the women depicted were, in fact, prostitutes, though they praised the way the images communicated the everyday vulnerability (and boredom) involved with sex work. </p>
<p>Perhaps most of all, the show inspired <a href="http://jmcolberg.com/weblog/2011/08/google_street_view_and_authorship/">questions about the authorship</a> of photographers who merely curate images taken by Google’s cameras. Nonetheless, as <a href="https://prisonphotography.org/2012/04/23/a-conversation-with-mishka-henner/">one critic pointed out</a>, Google Street View has forced us to reconsider what street photography as a genre now means in light of Google’s roving cameras. </p>
<p>What’s next for this strange intersection of a mapping tool and art? We hesitate to make firm predictions, but we wouldn’t be surprised to see more collaborations between Google and artists, like <a href="http://www.thewildernessdowntown.com/">Arcade Fire’s experimental music video</a> that populates Google Street View images of the viewer’s childhood neighborhood in a nostalgic montage. We would also like to see more involvement by women, as most of the artists who work with Google Street View have tended to represent a male perspective.</p>
<p>After a decade, Google Street View is no longer new. But that doesn’t mean its potential for artistic action and intervention will subside. As the platform collects more and more images of the Earth’s public spaces – and as mixed, augmented and virtual reality technologies become more pervasive – we expect that people will find new and inventive ways to make art out of a platform that has, from the start, been a surprising muse.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/77845/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In the 10 years since Google Street View launched, the platform has provided ample fodder for artists, who have used it to comment on surveillance, poverty and gentrification.Allison L. Rowland, Assistant Professor of Performance and Communication Arts, St. Lawrence UniversityChris Ingraham, Assistant Professor of Communication, North Carolina State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/368442015-01-30T16:40:49Z2015-01-30T16:40:49ZTwo centuries of map-making – from William Smith’s survey to satellites<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/70659/original/image-20150130-25917-1sd2w2n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=2485%2C2035%2C1305%2C910&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Today's maps boast incredible detail and accuracy - but Smith's were pretty good.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ordnance_Survey_1-250000_-_TF.jpg">Ordnance Survey</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>This year marks the 200th anniversary since William Smith published his life’s work, a <a href="http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/science-of-natural-history/biographies/william-smith/">geological map of England and Wales</a>, in 1815. While “Strata Smith” and his map are well-known among geologists, this humble man and his amazing map do not receive the attention or wider recognition they deserve. Smith’s achievement was arguably as significant as Darwin’s, yet he resides in relative obscurity.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/70646/original/image-20150130-25939-1mqixzf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/70646/original/image-20150130-25939-1mqixzf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=744&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/70646/original/image-20150130-25939-1mqixzf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=744&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/70646/original/image-20150130-25939-1mqixzf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=744&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/70646/original/image-20150130-25939-1mqixzf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=935&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/70646/original/image-20150130-25939-1mqixzf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=935&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/70646/original/image-20150130-25939-1mqixzf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=935&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">William Smith, (1769-1839).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Hugues Fourau</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Smith’s achievement was remarkable for a number of reasons. He made the scientific leap that the rocks of the Earth’s crust could be overlaid onto a basic topographic map, in doing so giving birth to the science of geology. He also did this in the face of considerable social prejudice – at a time when the scientific community were landed gentry and gentlemen of leisure the idea that Smith, a lowly surveyor, could come up with such a revolutionary concept was derided. His work was plagiarised and he was bankrupted, spending time in debtor’s jail, before his eventual vindication just before his death in 1839. The fact that he single handily managed to map the whole of England and Wales, in his spare time, to produce a map that is remarkably accurate even today is to any modern geologist truly breathtaking. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/70649/original/image-20150130-25942-1supulk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/70649/original/image-20150130-25942-1supulk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/70649/original/image-20150130-25942-1supulk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=862&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/70649/original/image-20150130-25942-1supulk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=862&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/70649/original/image-20150130-25942-1supulk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=862&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/70649/original/image-20150130-25942-1supulk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1083&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/70649/original/image-20150130-25942-1supulk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1083&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/70649/original/image-20150130-25942-1supulk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1083&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Smith’s Stratigraphic Map of England and Wales.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">William Smith/BGS</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>So impressive were Smith’s achievements that very little changed for the next 170 years. Geological maps continued to be drawn up in much the same way as he had demonstrated. Geologists walked the hills and dales, identifying rocks with hammer and hand lens, then marking the boundaries between the layers onto a topographic base map. The basic tools were the compass, the magnifying glass, the hammer, coloured pencils and a map. Today, every geology student still spends five or six weeks of their final summer at university investigating the geology of an area and marking it onto a map in much the same way that Smith worked.</p>
<h2>In with the new</h2>
<p>Which is not to say that nothing has changed in mapping. Since the earliest maps we have strived to explain graphically the spatial relationships between places. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.buildinghistory.org/maps.shtml">earliest maps</a> were mere estimation. The first real advance was the introduction of measurement into the map-making process; the advent of the compass allowed mapmakers to describe orientation and direction in a systematic manner, while <a href="http://www.rmets.org/weather-and-climate/observing/barometers">the barometer</a> allowed estimates of altitude and the sextant gave information on position. These advances led to the first real topographic maps where the map is an accurate representation of the location of both natural and man-made features. By Smith’s time, we were quite good at generating basic maps although the processes for surveying were slow and laborious. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/70658/original/image-20150130-25945-2wdhzt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/70658/original/image-20150130-25945-2wdhzt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/70658/original/image-20150130-25945-2wdhzt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=362&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/70658/original/image-20150130-25945-2wdhzt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=362&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/70658/original/image-20150130-25945-2wdhzt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=362&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/70658/original/image-20150130-25945-2wdhzt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/70658/original/image-20150130-25945-2wdhzt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/70658/original/image-20150130-25945-2wdhzt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Nicolas Desliens’ 1566 map of the world, originally depicted with south at the top.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nicolas_Desliens_Map_(1566).jpg">Nicolas Desliens</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The big advance after Smith came in the early 20th century with the arrival of aircraft. For the first time the map maker could actually see a true bird’s eye view of the features that were previously only inferred from measurements on the ground. Consistent sets of scaled photographs allowed much faster mapping of the plan-view relationships between features. </p>
<p>The introduction of stereoscopy and <a href="http://culturalheritageimaging.org/Technologies/Photogrammetry/">photogrammetry</a> (taking measurements from photographs) exploited the distortion apparent in a circular camera lens when applied to a square or rectangular image. By using overlapping photographs the three-dimensional topography of the features in the photo could be mathematically reconstructed, speeding up terrain mapping.</p>
<h2>From physical to digital tools</h2>
<p>The arrival of the computer in the early 1970s brought the first <a href="http://tahoe.usgs.gov/DEM.html">Digital Elevation Model</a>, a 3D model created from elevation data, and greater use of the wealth of data arriving from the growing number of orbital satellites.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/70652/original/image-20150130-25914-j0378u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/70652/original/image-20150130-25914-j0378u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/70652/original/image-20150130-25914-j0378u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/70652/original/image-20150130-25914-j0378u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/70652/original/image-20150130-25914-j0378u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/70652/original/image-20150130-25914-j0378u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/70652/original/image-20150130-25914-j0378u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A ‘point cloud’ depiction of Monmouth Castle generated by lidar.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Monmouth_castle_point_cloud,_created_with_Photosynth_01.jpg">John Cummings</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Around the same time came the evolution of <a href="https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/professional/research/landscapes-and-areas/aerial-survey/archaeology/lidar/">LiDAR</a> (Laser Detection and Ranging), which – by analogy with radar – creates a map based on the reflection of a laser beam (rather than radiowave). Vast “point clouds” are built up by systems measuring hundreds of thousands of points per second, providing maps of incredible precision. </p>
<p>The 20th century’s final major advance was the evolution of <a href="http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/support/understanding-gis/">GIS</a>, Geography Information Science, bringing together systematically vast libraries of geographic data. By the turn of the millennium had the capacity to remotely survey our world (and even other planets, as seen with Google’s maps of <a href="http://www.google.co.uk/mars/">Mars</a> and the <a href="http://www.google.co.uk/moon/">moon</a>) and to draw up extremely accurate maps populated with layers of data. </p>
<h2>Combining the best</h2>
<p>The tools have changed for 21st century geologists following in Smith’s footsteps. In the field we now use GPS to accurately locate our position on tablet computers. Compasses and <a href="http://www.slopeindicator.com/instruments/inclin-intro.php">inclinometers</a> are now integrated into our smartphones, and LiDAR machines can map cliffs with centimetre precision in minutes. New methods such as <a href="http://www.geos.ed.ac.uk/abs/research/micromet/Current/airborne/knowledge_exhange/john_ferguson_imaging.pdf">hyperspectral scanning</a>, which uses the variable absorbency objects have to infrared light to automatically identify types of rock, terrain or vegetation, are now routine. </p>
<p>Data are stored and published digitally using systems such as the apps and websites of the <a href="http://www.bgs.ac.uk/data/services/home.html">British Geological Survey</a> making them widely available to scientists and the public alike. So 200 years on, we may ponder what Smith would have made of the legacy of his first map. With such a struggle for recognition during his life, hopefully he’d feel vindicated in the direction geology took afterwards.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/36844/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Howell's research is currently funded by the Norwegian Research Council and a consortium of Oil Companies, details are available at <a href="http://safaridb.com/#/about/sponsors">http://safaridb.com/#/about/sponsors</a></span></em></p>This year marks the 200th anniversary since William Smith published his life’s work, a geological map of England and Wales, in 1815. While “Strata Smith” and his map are well-known among geologists, this…John Howell, Professor, Chair in Geology & Petroleum Geology, University of AberdeenLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/352382015-01-07T11:11:40Z2015-01-07T11:11:40ZHow – and why – Google is transforming the map<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/68035/original/image-20141223-32207-47mhsy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">For Google, the map is not the end product.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/leebennett/8804227510/">Lee Bennett/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Google has managed to map most of the world. Recently, the company offered a <a href="http://bit.ly/1pMzcCl">behind-the-scenes glimpse</a> into how it’s built the Google Maps application using a combination of technology (the Google Street View car), expansion (the acquisition of satellite-imagery startup Skybox) and algorithms (computer vision, photogrammetry, mapping). </p>
<p>While the company’s initial focus had been on the world’s population centers (in 2006, Google had used high resolution satellite imagery to map 37% of the world’s population; by 2012 that number <a href="http://www.zdnet.com/article/google-maps-now-covers-75-of-global-pop-26-million-miles-of-directions/">had risen to 75%</a>), their reach has extended beyond human settlements. In Google Maps’ Street View feature, users can now observe <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/views/u/0/view/streetview/antarctica/penguins/ZzuMubmHCfCGGo3ePSlpCQ?gl=us&heading=239&pitch=90&fovy=75">penguins in Antarctica</a>, tourists in Machu Picchu, and Himalayan base camps. </p>
<p>While the early focus of Google’s mapping efforts had been on mapping <em>for</em> the world, the company is now jumping on the crowdsourcing bandwagon: to collect mapping data <em>from</em> the world. </p>
<p>With mapping tools like “Google Map Maker” and “Report a Problem,” they try to harness the geographical contributions of “on the ground” users as a way to complement existing content in Google Maps. People from <a href="https://support.google.com/mapmaker/answer/155415">all over the world</a> can now edit information on the Google Maps application to ensure a higher accuracy. </p>
<p>In addition to being editors, users can also become data collectors. They can carry the <a href="http://nyti.ms/1cs8d2Z">Street View Trekker</a> (a backpack outfitted with Google’s cameras) to snap images – later to be uploaded on Street View – as they hike through US National Parks and the Galapagos islands, or even take <a href="http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/google-camel-view-maps-oasis-desert-180952984/?no-ist">camel rides</a> to map Abu Dhabi’s sand dunes.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/68033/original/image-20141223-32213-1cocc6e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/68033/original/image-20141223-32213-1cocc6e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68033/original/image-20141223-32213-1cocc6e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68033/original/image-20141223-32213-1cocc6e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68033/original/image-20141223-32213-1cocc6e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68033/original/image-20141223-32213-1cocc6e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68033/original/image-20141223-32213-1cocc6e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Users have participated in Google’s mapping efforts. Here, a bicycle has been outfitted with Google’s sophisticated Street View camera to map a bike path.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tylerhowarth/4557813137/">Tyler Howarth/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Think of it as a collaborative, Wikipedia-like effort to map the physical world.</p>
<p>But while we know <em>how</em> Google does it, another question has emerged: <em>why</em> is Google devoting so many resources to “paint the world…one pixel to the inch” (as one Google employee <a href="http://nyti.ms/1cs8d2Z">put it</a>)? </p>
<p>Throughout history, maps evolved as an outgrowth of humankind’s yearning to both explore and record the physical world. First there was a 7,000 BCE wall painting in Catal Huyuk (in southern Anatolia) that depicted an erupting volcano and a map of that settlement’s town plan. More than 6,000 years later, in 600 BCE, Anaximander drew up a world map, followed by the creation of a coordinate system by Eratosthenes and the gazetteer by Ptolemy (300 BCE and 200 AD, respectively). </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/68030/original/image-20141223-32216-1kmdc6f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/68030/original/image-20141223-32216-1kmdc6f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68030/original/image-20141223-32216-1kmdc6f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68030/original/image-20141223-32216-1kmdc6f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68030/original/image-20141223-32216-1kmdc6f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68030/original/image-20141223-32216-1kmdc6f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68030/original/image-20141223-32216-1kmdc6f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A recreation of Anaximander’s map, one of the first attempts to map the world.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Anaximander_world_map-en.svg">Wikimedia Commons</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Maps have always been about depicting the world and helping us navigate through it. And Google Maps does this: it does show us where things are in the world and it does help us navigate. In fact, it already provides such support to <a href="http://bgr.com/2014/06/13/google-maps-downloads-1-billion/">an estimated one billion worldwide users</a>. </p>
<p>But other solutions do the same for a much lower cost. OpenStreetMap (OSM) is a nonprofit effort founded around ten years ago as a way to invite the general public to map the world. Tracing the centerlines of roads and the outlines of buildings – and even mapping park benches and bicycle routes – volunteers have generated a mapping product of global coverage, freely available through an Open Database License (ODbL). OSM compares well in terms of accuracy to its more authoritative, better-funded counterparts. A wonderful map produced by <a href="http://tyrasd.github.io/osm-node-density/#2/16.5/389.2">Martin Raifer</a> shows the astonishing global coverage offered today by OSM. In a recent <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/15/magazine/googles-plan-for-global-domination-dont-ask-why-ask-where.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0">New York Times article</a> it was reported that OSM runs on less than $100,000 a year, which is certainly dwarfed by Google Maps’ budget. </p>
<p>So why does Google appear to be doing slightly more while spending much, much more? The answer probably lies on the intended use of the product. OSM is a cartographic product. Google Maps is much more that that.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/68032/original/image-20141223-32207-gtz80q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/68032/original/image-20141223-32207-gtz80q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68032/original/image-20141223-32207-gtz80q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68032/original/image-20141223-32207-gtz80q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68032/original/image-20141223-32207-gtz80q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68032/original/image-20141223-32207-gtz80q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68032/original/image-20141223-32207-gtz80q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Like older maps, Google Maps also depicts spaces to help users navigate. The company, however, has grander plans.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For Google, cartography is not the end product, but rather the necessary means for future products. </p>
<p>Take, for instance, Google’s <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2014/12/22/7434715/google-first-complete-prototype-autonomous-car-photo">autonomous car initiative</a>, which aims to combine sensors, GPS and 3D maps to develop self-driving cars. Then there’s Google’s Project Wing: a drone-based delivery systems that hopes to make use of a detailed 3D model of the world to quickly link supply to demand – and shatter the current retail paradigm. </p>
<p>In both cases, Google Maps serves as the digital framework in which these fledgling technologies operate – a foundation for Google as it seeks to revolutionize the mobility of people, goods, and even ideas. In other words, Google’s mapping data will support a wide variety of its new products, whether they’re self-driving cars or drones.</p>
<p>While OSM is about mapping the world around us, Google Maps takes it a step further: ultimately, Google Maps is about mapping lives and merging the physical and the virtual. The application collects information about <em>us</em>: the physical pathways that we follow – either on foot or in a car – and the digital traces we leave behind: photographs we’ve snapped, purchases we’ve made, and activities we’ve participated in.</p>
<p>This information can then be used to understand how we function in this newly emerging hybrid universe.</p>
<p>In that sense, Google is mapping <em>places</em> rather than simply mapping spaces. Loosely defined in the context of this article, the idea of place is the meaning, or significance, that certain locations hold for us. This could mean our home neighborhood, or a dangerous part of the city where we rarely venture; it could refer to our favorite nightlife hotspots, or where we buy our groceries. </p>
<p>By connecting the geometrical content of its Google Maps databases to digital traces that it collects, Google can assign meaning to space, transforming it into place. While Google’s stated objective is “to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful,” its Google Maps endeavor allows it to organize <em>your</em> world’s information, making it personally accessible and useful. </p>
<p>Therefore one could argue that Google’s vision for its map goes far beyond the traditional one. Yes, the map serves not only as a way to capture space; but it also exists as a framework for empowering human life and everyday activities. By combining the power of high resolution mapping, digital human traces, and smart machines, Google has the ability to revolutionize the underpinnings of the modern lifestyle: communication, mobility, consumption, and production. </p>
<p>Mapping by machines no longer simply addresses the age-old task of “you are here,” but rather seeks to understand who you are and where you should be heading.</p>
<p>Welcome to the era of map ex machina.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/35238/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Google has managed to map most of the world. Recently, the company offered a behind-the-scenes glimpse into how it’s built the Google Maps application using a combination of technology (the Google Street…Anthony Stefanidis, Professor and Chair, Dept. of Geography and GeoInformation Science, George Mason UniversityAndrew Crooks, Assistant Professor of Computational Social Science, George Mason UniversityArie Croitoru, Associate Professor of Geography and GeoInformation Science, George Mason UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/195372013-10-27T19:11:39Z2013-10-27T19:11:39ZGoogle’s Crisis Map: can technology save us from nature?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/33735/original/k57z5nvr-1382663574.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Google's mapping of crises can take pressure off emergency services, letting them spend money where it's needed.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Dean Lewins</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/bushfire-strategy">Bushfire management</a> is one of Australia’s most prominent and important environmental challenges, affecting the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. </p>
<p>Just this week, Google launched a <a href="http://google.org/crisismap/2013-nsw-bushfires">Google Crisis Map application</a> that shows information about bushfires across five Australian states and territories.</p>
<p>According to Google, the project’s goal is to provide easily accessible and reliable information about the location of current fires, their size, listings of fire warnings, as well as to issue <a href="http://google.org/publicalerts">alert messages</a> to users. </p>
<p>Other data provided by Google’s Crisis Map application will provide information on how to stay safe in fire threat areas, whether the fire is under control and which regional emergency response agency is responding to the crisis. </p>
<p>While working with fire authorities across Australia, the Crisis Map is able to receive <a href="http://www.google.org/crisismap/australia">updates</a> about fires that can be accessed with any device connected to the web. </p>
<iframe width="100%" height="400" src="https://google.org/crisismap/2013-nsw-bushfires?hl=en&llbox=-20.91%2C-43.4%2C160.8%2C133.98&t=TERRAIN&layers=layer0%2C9%2C13%2C5%2C6%2C7%2Clayer1%2C2%2C24%2C3&embedded=true" style="border: 1px solid #ccc"></iframe>
<h2>Further than fires</h2>
<p>Google has plans to extend and enrich the application over time to include information such as traffic conditions and road closures. </p>
<p>The Crisis Map application currently focuses on bushfires and <a href="http://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/dsp_content.cfm?cat_id=683">mirrors the map</a> supplied by the NSW Rural Fire Service, but according to Google sources it could be updated to identify Australian tropical storms, cyclones, flood and landslide threats in the future, as has been done in other countries such as Canada, Colombia, India, Japan and Taiwan.</p>
<p>The Crisis Map project seems to represent a little departure from Google’s traditional approaches for collection of data and a move towards heavier reliance on data feeds from third parties, such as the rural fire authorities, emergency services and the community at large. </p>
<p>And while the new application could potentially add value to current online websites and services, its true success, will depend on such key factors as: </p>
<ul>
<li>the usability of the provided information</li>
<li>the relevance of its content</li>
<li>the application’s ability to establish itself as a trusted source of information.</li>
</ul>
<p>So it seems that the quality of information provided by the application may not solely depend on how quickly the Crisis Map application can synthesise the data collected from many sources, but on how quickly most recent and up-to-date information becomes available. </p>
<p>The success of the project, in this case, will largely depend on close collaboration with emergency services around Australia. </p>
<p>It remains unclear if, in the event of more fires, additional human and computer resources within emergency services will be readily available to sustain an effective ongoing flow of most recent crisis data and developments from endangered regions.</p>
<h2>Real life in real-time</h2>
<p>Apart from earthquakes and tsunamis, bushfires are the most dynamic and fast-spreading events that can occur in nature. </p>
<p>In principle, and in most cases, to be of true value to the majority of users who live or travel in critical areas, information about bushfires or other threats requires life data to be captured and distributed from bushfire regions in real-time mode using real-time data feeds. They should provide possible data about:</p>
<ul>
<li>the direction of the fire spread</li>
<li>its magnitude</li>
<li>its velocity and acceleration</li>
<li>its shape and possibly other relevant environmental data.<br></li>
</ul>
<p>Although not impossible, considering the rapid development of satellite communications and smartphone technologies, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_sensor_network">wireless sensor networks</a>, the <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-the-internet-of-things-16542">Internet of Things</a>, as well as signal and image processing techniques, efficiently coordinating and implementing all of these aspects still cannot be effectively realised in the foreseeable future.</p>
<p>Hence, the new Google initiative may, at first, only play an awareness-raising and informative role. The most current or critical information about bushfires might not always be available at hand, possibly due to very rapid changes in the bushfire environment or even due to the breakdown of internet infrastructure itself caused by fires.</p>
<p>So at this stage, the Crisis Map project will remain one of Google’s great instruments of public relations and a source of inspiration for a range of possible future web services and mobile applications that without any doubt, will follow. Overall, the Crisis Map project can be seen as a very positive initiative that can benefit the Australian community. </p>
<p>Thanks to the new application, possibly hundreds of thousands of users can now have easy and a reliable access to information on crisis situations. Local emergency services can save their resources to support their daily activities, instead of spending money to establish a computer network infrastructure that can support potentially a very large number of users. </p>
<p>For all its possible wonderful uses it still remains an excellent test for two powerful forces: nature vs technology. Will technology keep up with the power of raging nature? Let’s hope we can.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/19537/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Zenon Chaczko does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Bushfire management is one of Australia’s most prominent and important environmental challenges, affecting the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. Just this week, Google launched a Google Crisis…Zenon Chaczko, Senior Lecturer, School of Computing and Communications, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/118582013-01-30T05:28:32Z2013-01-30T05:28:32ZGoogle’s map of North Korea stirs social media passion and tensions<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/19703/original/ypc7mczv-1359517667.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Does Google's new map point towards the "wisdom of the crowd"?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Google</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>News that Google has successfully constructed and published maps of North Korea is stirring the imagination of social media aficionados around the world, but may also stir international political tensions.</p>
<p>Google Maps’ latest creation – simply type North Korea into the <a href="https://maps.google.com/">relevant search bar</a> – is a significant social media development because it was produced not by expert map makers or a spy organisation, but by “citizen cartographers” who worked for several years, using the company’s <a href="http://www.google.com.au/mapmaker?tab=MM">Map Maker</a> software, to share and fact-check geographical information obtained from satellite images available from <a href="http://www.google.com/earth/index.html">Google Earth</a>.</p>
<p>It is an example of “crowdsourcing” and, while Google admits the map may not be 100% accurate, it is further evidence of the “wisdom of the crowd” – a somewhat controversial notion that challenges modernist notions of genius, and of “experts” as the primary and most efficacious creators of human knowledge.</p>
<h2>Crowdsourcing</h2>
<p>Google’s map of North Korea is not the first example of crowdsourcing on a global scale or for accomplishing quite technical tasks. In the early 2000s, NASA – via its <a href="http://nasaclickworkers.com/classic/">Clickworkers site</a> – recruited amateur astronomers to help it identify and categorise craters on Mars from thousands of photographs taken by the Viking orbiters. </p>
<p>Between 2000 and 2001, more than 80,000 people identified around two million craters for scientific measurement and study and classified the relative age of another 300,000 – a task that would have taken scientists years, if not decades, to complete. </p>
<p>Furthermore, and significantly, American Scientist <a href="http://www.americanscientist.org/issues/pub/clickworkers-on-mars">reported that</a> this collaborative public effort was found to be almost as accurate as work done by expert planetary geologists.</p>
<p>As “the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit”, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page">Wikipedia</a> stands as the exemplar of crowdsourcing, with more than 24 million articles available for free, versus 120,000 articles in the comprehensive Encyclopaedia Britannica sold by subscription, and <a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v438/n7070/full/438900a.html">found to be almost as accurate</a> as its expensive, expert-produced competitor in a study by the scientific journal Nature.</p>
<h2>Collective intelligence</h2>
<p>The concept of crowdsourcing is being closely watched by businesses, governments, scholars, journalists and publishers around the world, because members of the public working for free can help design products and provide services for much less cost and more quickly than traditional production and service delivery processes. </p>
<p>Collaboration and crowdsourcing, drawing on what sociologist Pierre Lévy called “<a href="http://mastersofmedia.hum.uva.nl/2011/11/01/collective-intelligence-an-interview-with-pierre-levy/">collective intelligence</a>”, challenges the long-established notion of “gatekeepers” who act as intermediaries in media and other production processes to filter content and correct inaccuracies and errors. Many see professional intermediaries as essential to avoid the distribution of misinformation and poor quality products and services.</p>
<p>But the Google map of North Korea further demonstrates that Web 2.0 online environments can operate as what American media scholar Henry Jenkins called a “<a href="http://netart2web.wordpress.com/2009/04/28/wikipedia/">self-correcting adhocracy</a>” – a term for self-organising groups first used by <a href="http://boingboing.net/author/cory_doctorow_1">Cory Doctorow</a> in his science-fiction novel Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NpgnQiLn-8M?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>Open-access publishing researcher <a href="http://gunther-eysenbach.blogspot.com.au/2008/03/medicine-20-congress-website-launched.html">Gunther Eysenbach</a> explains that collaborative Web 2.0 sites such as <a href="http://www.techterms.com/definition/wiki">wikis</a>, social media and social networks maintain standards of accuracy through the activities of “apomediaries”, a term derived from the Latin prefix “apo” which means “stand by” or “alongside”, rather than “in” a process, as occurs with “intermediaries”. </p>
<p>Wikipedia, the Mars Clickworkers project, Google’s map of North Korea and many other social media sites achieve a surprising-to-some level of accuracy and quality because of volunteer “apomediaries” who question, correct, add to, qualify and confirm information online.</p>
<h2>Myths and tensions</h2>
<p>The concept of “apomediaries” as an alternative or complement to professional intermediaries also challenges another myth perpetrated by marketers and some politicians that “the public” is a largely ignorant amorphous mass, often referred to as “punters,” or other dismissive terms. </p>
<p>In fact, the Technorati 2011 <a href="http://technorati.com/social-media/article/state-of-the-blogosphere-2011-introduction/">State of the Blogosphere</a> report shows that social media users are mostly well-educated and include many scientists, academics, medical practitioners, engineers, lawyers, and so on. Crowdsourcing can access a vast resource of human talent and knowledge.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/19710/original/k6njtmwd-1359520127.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/19710/original/k6njtmwd-1359520127.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/19710/original/k6njtmwd-1359520127.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/19710/original/k6njtmwd-1359520127.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/19710/original/k6njtmwd-1359520127.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/19710/original/k6njtmwd-1359520127.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/19710/original/k6njtmwd-1359520127.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/19710/original/k6njtmwd-1359520127.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Shaded-in areas represent North Korea’s infamous prison camps.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Google</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>However, while Google’s latest initiative may help South Korean families locate relatives and inspire internet users worldwide, it is also likely to escalate international political tensions. </p>
<p>As The Los Angeles Times <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-google-maps-north-korea-20130129,0,7657340.story">has reported</a>, the maps can help explore the growth of black markets, track the construction of new power plants and other facilities in North Korea (including nuclear reactors) and identify prison camps. </p>
<p>The Sydney Morning Herald <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/google-unveils-detailed-north-korea-map-with-gulags-20130130-2djlr.html">openly reported</a> that the largest North Korean gulag is Camp 22 near at Hoeryong near the northeast border with China and commented that “as many as 200,000 people are estimated to be detained in the North’s vast gulag system”.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, and possibly even because of the tensions and excitement generated by Google’s latest offering, we now have a further demonstration of the influence and change effected by social media.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/11858/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jim Macnamara does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>News that Google has successfully constructed and published maps of North Korea is stirring the imagination of social media aficionados around the world, but may also stir international political tensions…Jim Macnamara, Professor of Public Communication, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/97602012-09-24T02:21:29Z2012-09-24T02:21:29ZGet lost: is Apple Maps on a road to nowhere?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/15770/original/s26mfdhp-1348447297.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Replacing Google Maps with Apple Maps has not been without its hiccups.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Bert Kaufmann</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Mapping and navigation is at the heart of how we use smartphones today. By extension, the <a href="http://www.apple.com/au/ios/maps/">Apple Maps</a> app is at the heart of <a href="http://www.apple.com/ios/whats-new/">iOS 6</a>. And so Apple’s decision to swap <a href="https://maps.google.com.au/">Google Maps</a> for Apple Maps in its new operating system (and in the newly launched <a href="https://theconversation.com/iphone-5-launch-reveals-few-surprises-but-will-it-matter-9403">iPhone 5</a>) was bound to attract some attention.</p>
<p>Misplaced locations, unrecognisable landmarks, and irrelevant search results are surely not the epithets Apple would have wanted to accompany its new mapping application’s release. As “a company <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-19664487">that prides itself</a> on not releasing any product until it is perfect” this must be a misstep?</p>
<p>Unfortunately, imperfection is unavoidable and inherent in any map, indeed in any geographic data.</p>
<p>Imperfection begins with the map data. In Apple’s case, the underlying map data are supplied by <a href="http://www.tomtom.com/en_au/">TomTom</a>, the world-leading supplier of in-car navigation devices.</p>
<p>In light of criticism directed at Apple Maps, TomTom <a href="http://www.phonearena.com/news/Apple-Maps-data-provider-TomTom-putting-some-daylight-between-the-two-companies_id34775">was quick to defend</a> the accuracy of its data. But no mapping company, including TomTom, would claim its data were perfect. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/15774/original/vm3b9tks-1348448021.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/15774/original/vm3b9tks-1348448021.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/15774/original/vm3b9tks-1348448021.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/15774/original/vm3b9tks-1348448021.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/15774/original/vm3b9tks-1348448021.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/15774/original/vm3b9tks-1348448021.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=588&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/15774/original/vm3b9tks-1348448021.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=588&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/15774/original/vm3b9tks-1348448021.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=588&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Apple Maps has drawn criticism for incorrect positioning of local businesses.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>And imperfections are only magnified when data is combined from multiple sources.</p>
<p>In addition to TomTom data, Apple Maps combines data from more than a dozen other suppliers – for instance, geographic data about points of interest is supplied by <a href="http://www.crunchbase.com/company/yelp">Yelp</a>.</p>
<p>Imperfection has multiple facets. Map data may be topologically inaccurate (if the map says I can turn right at the next intersection, can I actually turn right?) or positionally inaccurate (do things appear at their correct geographic coordinates?).</p>
<p>Perhaps surprisingly, data that is topologically accurate need not be positionally accurate (nor vice versa).</p>
<p>Using a process called <a href="http://research.microsoft.com/apps/pubs/default.aspx?id=105051">map matching</a>, today’s navigation systems can reliably identify which road my vehicle is driving on and which intersection comes next (high topological accuracy). </p>
<p>This is even the case when the coordinate positions encoded in the underlying map data and generated by my GPS contain quite substantial errors (low positional accuracy).</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GkDz4wMI9J8?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">It wouldn’t be a proper PR fail without the requisite Downfall parody.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Another facet of imperfection is the currency of map data. In a constantly changing world (new roads, new buildings, moving businesses, renamed stadiums) map data needs to be maintained. </p>
<p>For a data set with global coverage, such as Nokia’s, this can mean up to <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444032404578010194155931174.html?mod=googlenews_wsj">2 million updates a day</a>.</p>
<p>If data sets of different currency are combined, mapped differences show up immediately, such as text labels at locations where the underlying geometric data has no feature (yet).</p>
<p>Even if geographic data is current and topologically and positionally accurate, it is notoriously difficult to perform accurate searches on geographic place names (termed “toponyms”).</p>
<p>Many places share the same names, a feature known as homonymy – Ararat in Armenia and in Australia, London in England and in Canada, and numerous Springfields around the world, both real and <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-04-11/27simpsons27-creator-reveals-the-real-springfield/3943418">fictional</a>. </p>
<p>Even if unique, many place names may be ambiguous when placed in a query (“Melbourne Motors” is a company’s place, not the city; “Street Road” is a road not a street; “Battle” is not a battle).</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/15776/original/gktg92ym-1348448703.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/15776/original/gktg92ym-1348448703.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/15776/original/gktg92ym-1348448703.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/15776/original/gktg92ym-1348448703.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/15776/original/gktg92ym-1348448703.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/15776/original/gktg92ym-1348448703.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/15776/original/gktg92ym-1348448703.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/15776/original/gktg92ym-1348448703.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ah, no.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>So imperfections are unavoidable in our maps, our map data, and the procedures we rely on to organise and search that data. Merely making maps digital does not make them correct.</p>
<p>Back in 1998, the Observer gleefully reported on a German motorist who, ignoring road signs, <a href="http://www.cartalk.com/content/why-did-german-motorist-drive-river">drove his car</a> into the Havel River because his in-car navigation incorrectly showed a bridge instead of a ferry connection. </p>
<p>It seems that a similar mishap befell Apple Maps when classifying a locality in Ireland called “Airfield” <a href="http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Irelands-Minister-for-Justice-fears-for-safety-as-Apple-maps-creates-new-Irish-airfield-170566466.html">as an airport</a>. </p>
<p>Even Google Maps, of course, <a href="http://www.mapofstrange.com">contains errors</a>, despite leading the field with the highest quality map data. As with other map producers, Google relies heavily on ordinary people to spot and report errors. </p>
<p>Recruiting legions of users in this way helps all the major map producers to achieve much higher levels of map accuracy than they could hope to reach if they had to do all their quality control in-house.</p>
<p>As a result, there is every reason to believe Apple Maps will close the accuracy gap on Google, and most likely will do so quite rapidly. </p>
<p>But we can be sure none of the competitors will ever offer perfect maps: the only certainty is uncertainty.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/9760/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matt Duckham receives funding from the ARC for research into mapping and navigation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephan Winter does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Mapping and navigation is at the heart of how we use smartphones today. By extension, the Apple Maps app is at the heart of iOS 6. And so Apple’s decision to swap Google Maps for Apple Maps in its new…Matt Duckham, Associate Professor, The University of MelbourneStephan Winter, Professor of Spatial Information, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.