According to the latest reports, Google has updated some tools to help people use the map more or prefer it. The company is improving wildfire tracking, expanding tools for calculating urban canopy coverage, and further automatically creating virtual addresses through Plus Codes.
Wildfire will be the most direct use for most users because this once rare disaster has evolved into a cyclical season. Google launched a wildfire tracking tool last year for people searching for these fires-so when looking for “campfire” or something similar, it will not only provide news but will provide a frequently updated information center. Including the fire authorities’ best guesses about the outline of the scene.
Now, this information will appear in the map application as a layer like traffic or bicycle lanes. When you open it, any nearby fires will be marked on the map, and clicking on one will show its real-time outline an hour ago. Areas at risk will also be marked, so users can know whether a place can be safely driven by or stayed. Considering that wildfires have become so many and dangerous that it is difficult to track them, obviously, this is a very helpful thing.
In terms of cities, Google has provided its Environmental Insights Explorer Tree Canopy tool to 15 cities in the United States. The tool uses aerial imagery to identify heat island effects and other risk areas. Municipalities can use it to plan where to plant new trees or invest resources in other ways. The tool was first tested in Los Angeles and will now be expanded to 100 cities around the world-including Guadalajara, London, Sydney, Toronto and Tokyo.
Another type of data that municipalities sometimes don’t have–especially in sparsely populated rural areas or rapidly changing urban environments–is addresses. A place may not have an address, which sounds strange, but the street and number must be assigned, registered, tracked, and used so that things like mail and courier can reach it. However, poor and rural areas often face the situation of having to use nearby official addresses and rely on additional instructions or delivery personnel familiar with local road conditions to reliably obtain mail.
A few years ago, Google introduced Plus Codes, which are basically GPS coordinates linked to a series of short letters and numbers. These coordinates can be entered into many online address services, including of course Google Maps. This means that even without an actual street address, you can have a Plus Code, and this should be enough for the delivery person to reach your door.
Now, Google has cooperated with several local governments to assign addresses in a conventional manner and integrate Plus Code with official governance mechanisms. Like in Gambia and Kenya, Plus Code will be used for national ID cards and other addresses that usually require government verification. To be clear, this information is owned and managed by the government, not Google. Google only helps generate the code and integrate it with the existing online infrastructure.
