Wednesday, March 05, 2008

Cities in 3D: Getting Government to Participate

Google has had this free service for a while now, but they are currently promoting it, trying to get lots of cities in 3D within Google Earth. It's really easy to do, and most cities likely have the data needed already.

http://sketchup.google.com/3dwh/citiesin3d/index.html

How do you get your city to participate? Who do you need to contact? Is there anyone in your local government who knows how to get this accomplished?

Louisville

Wouldn't it be wonderful to have your entire city in 3D? Right now in Louisville, Kentucky, there are about 10 structures (of sufficient quality) that people have uploaded to the global directory, including the Humana Building, Glassworks, Slugger Field, and even Museum Plaza.

http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/search?q=louisville

Lexington has hundreds of buildings loaded of the downtown and UK campus, likely done by UK students. Couldn't UofL students do this too? Here is a view of UK's campus in Google Earth:


Benefits
How This Benefits Your Local Government

Engaging the public in planning

  • Land use/zoning
  • Redevelopment
  • Historic preservation

Fostering economic development

  • New business recruitment
  • Business site location planning
  • Real estate development

Boosting tourism

  • Landmarks and attractions
  • Community event planning

Simplifying navigation and geographic analysis

Enhancing facilities management

Supporting security and crime prevention

Facilitating emergency management

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