Very good news for those critically underfunded regional transit agencies – Google is coming to your aid, too. The ever-evolving company’s recent embrace of open source mapping has turned into a full-on bear hug with the release of its Cities in 3D modeling project. Part of the 3D Warehouse effort, Cities in 3D places the focus squarely on small- to medium-sized cities – areas where public transit is a vital need that is given little attention and where broader urban planning issues carry insignificant weight.
The premise is this: local governments, or any interested party for that matter, can send information regarding the location and size of their municipalities’ buildings to Google, who will in turn create 3D models from that data set. It in effect transforms rather complex (and arguably mundane) GIS data into easily digestible visual representations that residents can then quickly access, utilize, and even edit.
More after the jump…
Earlier we reported on the positive role Google’s open source maps could have for transit communications (“it reiterates the point that letting users (transit or otherwise) access and manipulate available information is often the best method for boosting customer satisfaction and cutting down on your communications workload”). Where once only large urban centers were privy to the blessing of Google Earth, oft-overlooked regional destinations can now enjoy the increased community interaction that comes with such innovations (J.L. Needham of Google refers to this benefit as a “public-private content partnership,” a well-liked catch phrase in the planning field).
“For participating cities, the possibilities are almost endless,” notes Chad Vander Veen for Government Technology. “From public safety to urban planning, cities of all sizes will be able to enhance everything from tourism to public input on new development.” The task, therefore, is for transit agencies in these mid-sized metropolitan areas to open up – share as much as possible, and encourage residents to do the same. It helps to decrease the degrees of separation between service provider and consumer, and cuts down on the ever-burdensome chore of generating awareness in smaller markets.
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