Thursday, February 10, 2005

GoogleMaps

Discussion of GoogleMaps has been lively on my User Interface design lists. Overall ratings for Google Maps are good, but I have problems with the way they locate places based on search.

GoogleMaps
http://maps.google.com/
Posters say they like that you can drag the map and that the directions appear to be more accurate than MapQuest or Yahoo! Maps. To find places on the map, you can use their search boxes on the right or enter a search in the bar above. It wasn't apparent at first exactly how to find groups of things like hotels or grocery stores, which is organized as a layer on Yahoo (click a box marked restaurants). I had to take the Tour to figure that the search bar is the way to do this. Using the search bar you can plot places like restaurants, hotels, etc. based on info on web pages they have stored, which is sort of wild but not always accurate or complete. I prefer Yahoo!'s ability to plot items that are categorized as what they are vs having the word in its name, e.g., if you search for "Farm" you get a lot of State Farm agents.

But one thing Google does well is to tie a particular location to its "more like this" search function. If you click a search result, it will point you to the website of the entity in question or a list of websites of nearby related entities. This is less seeing it on a map than finding what may be nearby. Unfortunately, if you try to use the back button to return to the map search results, you get the default GoogleMaps view.

As for the interface, I had a tendency to reset the map back to the entire US view by accident, while using the zoom function. The Zoom and Reset buttons are a bit close and not otherwise labeled. Reset button looks a lot like "Recenter" to me. Also, if you pan off of the US and try to zoom in, you get a lot of blank images with red Xs. And don't try to find South America, Europe or Russia. The oceans go on forever....

Here are a some similar maps in other parts of the world:

Search.ch Map (Switzerland)
http://map.search.ch/
A blogger recently suggested that Google copied the interface from this site. It uses an aerial photo layer that is fun to zoom into, but probably not entirely necessary for the purpose of the site.

Map My India
http://mapmyindia.com

from a post on sigia-l:

Although the quality, accuracy and detail [of mapmyindia] isn't comparable but at least in some respects such as download speed and ease of marking major landmarks, it's actually better than Google Maps and Mapquest.

To see how it works, search for Juhu, Mumbai, Maharashtra. You can plot hotels, banks, ATMs etc on the map using the menu on right. One cannot however, link to a particular location without subscription.

The design of the site is led by a 19 years old Stanford sophomore,
Rohan Verma. http://nripulse.com/Archives/Profile_Rohan.htm

Maps Aid Community Decision-Making

February 9, 2005, Municipal Art Society
CITI map technicians Earl Dunn and Marcus Sheftall from Bushwick’s Academy of Urban Planning are becoming celebrities at their local community board meetings. At each meeting of Community Board 4 and its land use committee, the10th graders project large maps on a screen by accessing www.myciti.org with a wireless laptop.

Following the meeting’s agenda, students zoom into areas and properties being discussed and answer questions from board members about local zoning, property ownership and other planning related issues.
Map Technicians at Brooklyn CB4 Map Technicians at Brooklyn CB4 Marcus Sheftall and Earl Dunn compare a rendering of a proposed new firehouse design for their community with its building footprint and surrounding land uses.

Earl and Marcus were chosen after a month-long application process that included applications, map-making, resumes, cover letters, and interviews Nadine Whitted, District Manager at CB4. “Once they told me I got the job I was very excited, being that it’s my first job,” Marcus says. “Then when I found out that a friend of mine Earl Dunn was employed also, it helped because at least I would know someone else there. We went through training for two weeks, which was fun because I learned a lot.”

The training program for the students and their teachers was designed by the Municipal Art Society Planning Center and the Brooklyn Center for the Urban Environment, lead partner at the Academy of Urban Planning (AUP), a New Visions school.

“The students really look forward to coming to the meetings and see that they are making a valuable contribution to discussions,” says Meredith Phillips, Urban Planning Coordinator at AUP who has integrated the program into the school’s theme-based activities. “They are learning a lot about community participation – and having a great time in the process!”

After the last CB 4 meeting in January, several members of the board came over and marveled as the students created and queried the maps for information. Even NYPD officers asked for maps to use as reference for their work in the area.

How to Get Involved

The CITI Youth program is expanding into new high schools and community boards next fall and has only 4 spots left for new host schools. If you are a community board member or educator that would like to find out more about the CITI Youth program contact citi@mas.org.

Municipal Art Society
Community Information Technology Initiative
http://www.myciti.org