Google Street View is a tool to explore worldwide places through 360-degree street-level imagery. It can also be an effective civic media tool for citizens, activists, and amateur journalists, since it can be used to draw public attention to issues, as well as to monitor and report environmental conditions.
For example, in 2009 I launched In Fondo Al Mar (Under The Sea), a data-journalism project on the dumping of toxic waste in the Mediterranean Sea. Since then, I have been interested in the social, political, and public health consequences of the waste cycle.
Though In Fondo Al Mar was focused on environmental crimes in the sea, a recent trip to Naples pushed me to research the waste cycle dynamics in the Campania region of Italy -- specifically in the Land of Fires. Here, hundreds of
landfills are concentrated in an area that used to be one of the most fertile in Europe. Waste is everywhere, and when landfills and streets fill to capacity, the trash is set on fire.
The "Land of Fires," Campania, Italy.
Using Street View, I have compiled imagery highlighting patterns of illegal waste disposal and fire destruction. The entire set of locations can be browsed on my personal blog. For this article, I have selected two significant cases:
Giugliano in Campania.
Giugliano in Campania
From above, several plumes of arson can be spotted, starting at three quarters of the maximum zoom level. On the Asse Mediano highway ramp in Giugliano, we can spot piles of garbage in the bottom-right corner and fire in the surrounding area. In the waste disposal business, ramps are strategic points -- trucks drive there along highways with unknown loads, and drivers pull over from the highway and dispose of their contents in the proximity of the ramps.
Via Vianini.
Via Vianini
Of the spots I explored, Via Vianini is probably the most emblematic in the Land of Fires. The imagery shows garbage piles that almost cover the width of the street, surrounded by crops, orchards, and greenhouses.
We can highlight several design features that make Street View an effective tool to explore environmental issues. Street View is:
Immersive. It enables immersive experiences through its street-level perspective.
Accessible. Its interface is intuitive and easy for users with different skill levels.
Neutral. It portrays the world as it is.
Experiential. Locations can be experienced as though the user were walking, jumping, zooming, and rotating through them.
Spreadable. A Street View URL address contains a sequence of machine-readable information that allows one to “set the stage” for users to re-experience an exploration.
Expanding. Mapped locations are constantly growing as Street View vehicles cross new spots worldwide.
Though Street View offers tremendous value for storytelling, I recognize four limitations that reduce the potential to engage users in civic journalism activities:
Mapping coverage limits. Street View imagery covers vast portions of the most connected countries in the world, but only where political systems and national privacy regulations allow for it. Furthermore, only streets that are accessible to cars or bikes are actually mapped.
Space without time. Street View portrays a space where time is static and landscape evolution does not occur. Thus, a space with no time indicator implies that relevant issues cannot be monitored as significant events unfold.
A Google-ized world. All Maps and Street View images belong to Google. Therefore, the world representation from above and at street level is Google’s representation of it, with all the implications for copyrights, use rights, and even politics. Location imagery can be updated at any time without previous notice, and some of the locations can be discontinued. Furthermore, user-generated content that is uploaded on Google servers becomes Google’s.
The Land of Fires case study illustrates the opportunities and limitations of Street View as an instrument for monitoring and reporting environmental issues. At the same time, the downsides noted above urge us to define a new set of design directions for a comprehensive toolkit to be used by citizens involved in environmental monitoring and reporting.
Beyond that, independent initiatives would be more trustworthy, participatory and give extensive coverage for issues affecting local areas (I posted some interesting project at the beginning of this thread).
I get your point after going through the links you mentioned. A real shock to learn about the extent and complications of "toxic laundering" taking place under the eyes of official agencies. Also, very interesting to find out about the infondoalmar project!
so privacy and security is not exactly the things Google really takes care about
I guess it depends on the country and it's official reaction. Some countries (and even some individuals) had tougher reactions to StreetView, and that's something that concerned companies take in mind!
Mashka, that is a security issue. But as far as representing people, generally Google street views concentrate on the palces and do not show people clearly enough to make a definite identification.
Now, there's a cool use for Google Streets! Of course, as pointed out it relies on one source, Google for the data, and could or will be changing at periodic times. And it relies on recurring evens or an event that just happened as the Google cameras pass by.
I can think of a few local areas in my world that might be highlighted by showing the street scenes, but not many. Because major environmental problems are probably already being highlighted by the press and monitored by local authorities, maybe the smaller, very local events could be brought to the attention of readers by this innovation.
Thank you, @antonis. Yes, I also suggest an independent agency to cope with environment monitoring and reporting through mapping instruments. The technology seems to be ready to replicate Google's tools. Beyond that, independent initiatives would be more trustworthy, participatory and give extensive coverage for issues affecting local areas (I posted some interesting project at the beginning of this thread).
Hi David, nice article and ideas for enviromental monitoring/mapping. Though I'd rather see a dedicated agency dealing with these issues than Google, nevertheless you point to the powerful new means available to inprove our life.
Ariella, I know, that if you take a look at the city where I live( at some spacial places), through Google, you can see military secret weapons- so privacy and security is not exactly the things Google really takes care about
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