Simulation City: Mapping Philadelphia
I’m intrigued by the numerous ways municipalities attempt to map their environment. Currently, I’m in the process of learning one of the most common methods: Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Here’s an interesting article about a project in Philadelphia that seeks to incorporate 3-D modeling (A 3-D View of the City, Block by Block, NY Times)
Vehicles that move slowly down the street, pausing regularly to take photographs with remote-controlled cameras, tend to make the police a bit nervous. But one trailer loaded with imaging equipment that made its way through the streets of central Philadelphia wasn’t spying – although at first, Secret Service agents had their doubts.
Both the vehicle and a plane that flew over the same area were taking authorized pictures of each building and its surroundings, at the behest of the downtown improvement district. Now the terabytes of imaging data are being used to build a three-dimensional model of central Philadelphia, down to the last cornice, mailbox and shrub.
The city model can then be integrated with other information, like listings of shops and rental space, so that one day people who’d rather be in Philadelphia will be able to be there virtually, from their computers. Apartment seekers, for example, will be able to click their way through the neighborhood, taking a virtual walk and checking out the view from the windows of apartments that strike their fancy.
You can do some really great stuff with GIS mapping. I think we’re really just beginning to explore the possibilities. There’s a project in Boston called Boston Streets, http://dca.tufts.edu/features/bostonstreets, that incorporates archival materials with GIS mapping capabilities. They take current and historic map data and make the GIS layers, and then link the GIS to data from historic city directories, census data, and historic images. You can look at the map and pick a certain parcel or building, and see who lived there over time, what they did, etc, and see any historic images of that site that may be available. Or, alternatively, you can start out with an historic photo, and find that spot on the maps, and then look up the business information from the corresponding city directory, or even the properties whole tenant history. You could also take the map and plot all of the locations where clerks, for example, were employed in a certain year, and then on another layer, plot where people who gave ‘clerk’ as their job in the census in a corresponding year lived. It’s incredibly complex and it allows you to understand the past in ways you never really could before. I think it’s fascinating. (There was a session at SAA about it in August, but I’m not sure if Dharma went to that one – ?) (BTW, Devon, Dharma, et al, I found your blog the other day – the whole thing is really great.)
This is really quite remarkable. Thanks for sharing the link! I’m still exploring the site…
BTW, here’s the link to GeoSim Systems. They’re the firm that built the Philadelphia computer model.