THE WORLD PICTURED BY GOOGLE STREET VIEW

Since it first launched in 2007 Google Street View (GSV) has managed to capture over sixteen million kilometres of Street View imagery across eighty-three countries. This visualisation stands between a globe and a cartogram. To visually represent how much or how little you can actually see by googling from

Italy a certain area of the world, more than a thousand Google Street View pictures have been taken to fill the surfaces of the lands. Every image is framed in a pixel, that, according to its size, metaphorically represents a percentage of coverage in a certain area. The smaller the pixel, the higher the coverage, which also means high

ABOUT THE VISUALISATION

CLAUDIA MARIA CUTRUPI / SARA FERRINIBEATRICE MAGGI / GAIA PANFOLIISABELLA POSSAGHI / VIRGILIA RAMELLA

PROJECT BY GROUP 1

MICHELE MAURI / ANGELES BRIONES /GABRIELE COLOMBO / SIMONE VANTINI /SALVATORE ZINGALE

FACULTY TEACHING ASSISTANTS

ANTONELLA AUTUORI / ANDREA BENEDETTI /MATTEO BETTINI / TOMMASO ELLI / ANDREA FEBRES / BEATRICE GOBBO

definition of the images contained in the square. Instead, when in shortage of coverage, the pixel’s size increases, providing a less clear image. In lack of data there are no pixels. Some countries decide not to provide full access to their imagery: the limitation applied has economic reasons or privacy concerns.

Antartica

Oceania

South Asia

Africa

Europe

North America

South America

East Asia

NC NZ

AUSB

PG

MYPW

PH

TW

CN

BN IDSG

HK

VN

TH

KH

MN

MM

BTBD

LKIN

IOMV

MU

PKAF

IR

OMIQ

AE

SO

ET

MG

TZKE

SZ

LS

ZA

MZ

CDAO

NA

NG CM

GH

SN

MO

TR

TN

DZ

EG

JP

KRKP

RU

MHAS

FJTO

CK WS

IS

GL

PMPR

CUDO

PA

VE

GT

NI

MX

SR GY

PEBO

EC CO

BR

AR

CL

FK

AQ

US CA

Focus of Europe

GB

IS

GL

NLBE

IE

FR

ES

PT

IT

DKPL

FI

SE

SE

NO

GR

RO

BG

AT

DE

UA

Types of filters:

How to read it

The peculiar Buckminster Fuller’s Dymaxion Map has been used to depict the world as represented by the imagery of Google Street View, browsed from Italy. If GSV has coverage in a certain area, that Country is made of pixels, each one containing an image of that same zone, randomly taken “walking” down some of the covered streets of the represented Country, moving GSV man multiple times.

Labels on Countries:

IT special filtering policies

ISO code

NC

country with no information about the addition date on GSV

link to full name of countries

Special filtering policies:

45° lines on pixels represent Countries offering a filtered-partial view of their images

Percentage of GSV coverage on Countries:

50 - 90%

90-100%

0 - 10%

10 - 50%

very poor coverage

excellent coverage

Touristic policy or on requestThe Country restricts the imagery of its territories

On request onlyThe Country provides some imagesfor a fee

Privacy policyThe Country strongly protects its imagery due to strict privacy policies

Amazon forest - BR:The distribution and the quality of images may also depend on the physical characteristics of the areas: some are difficult-to-reach places, with no roads, like the Amazon Forest.

United States - US:GSV mapping started in 2007 in the United States, and for over a year it has been the only Country with imagery on the platform. More than ten years later, almost every american country and city, including buildings and public insides is visible on GSV.

Germany - DE:Due to legal and privacy issues, GSV coverage in Germany is restricted just to major cities, such as Berlin, Munich, Hamburg and Frankfurt.

Australia - AU:Hoping to stop forbidden excursions on the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, GSV has removed all the imagery regarding Uluru, a sacred site for Indigenous Australians.

China - CN:According to Google's chief legal officer China’s imagery is mainly requested (and obtained) for legitimate criminal investigations or for the removal of child pornography content.

Faroe Islands - FO:Google teamed up with the inhabitants of the islands and lent cameras to generate Street View imagery. The sheep continued doing their thing, while also creating pictures of their land.

Austria - AT:It was only from June2020 that major roadsand highways allthroughout Austria became available, accesible fromevery states' browser.

Cou

ntry

- IS

Ofir

stim

age

last

upda

teye

ar o

fpu

blis

hing

no d

ates

avai

labl

e

Alg

eria

- D

Z

Ang

ola

- AO

Coo

k Is

l. - C

K

Cub

a - C

U

Con

go -

CD

Bru

nei -

BN

Cam

erou

n - C

M

Ethi

opia

- ET

Guy

ana

- GY

Fiji

- FJ

Iran

- IR

Afg

hani

stan

- A

F

Åla

nd Is

land

s - A

X

Alb

ania

- A

L

Am

eric

an S

am. -

AS

And

orra

- A

D

Ant

artic

a - A

Q

Arg

entin

a - A

R

Aus

tral

ia -

AU

Aus

tria

- AT

Ban

glad

esh

- BD

Bel

arus

-BY

Bel

gium

- B

E

Ber

mud

a - B

M

Bhu

tan

- BT

Bol

ivia

- B

O

Bot

swan

a - B

W

Bra

sil -

BR

BIO

T - I

O

Bul

garia

- B

G

Cam

bodi

a - K

H

Can

ada

- CA

Chi

le -

CL

Chi

na -

CN

Chr

istm

as Is

l. - C

X

Coc

os Is

l. - C

C

Col

ombi

a - C

O

Cos

ta R

ica

- CR

Cro

atia

- H

R

Cur

açao

- C

W

Cze

ch R

epub

lic -

CZ

Den

mar

k - D

K

Dom

enic

an R

ep. -

DO

Ecua

dor -

EC

Egyp

t - E

G

Esto

nia

- EE

Esw

atin

i - S

Z

Falk

land

Isla

nd -

FK

Faro

e Is

. - F

O

Finl

and

- FI

Fran

ce -

FR

Ger

man

y - D

E

Gha

na -

GH

Gib

ralta

r - G

I

Gre

ece

- GR

Gre

enla

nd -

GL

Gua

m -

GU

Gua

tem

ala

- GT

Hon

g Ko

ng -

HK

Hun

gary

- H

U

Icel

and

- IS

Indi

a - I

N

Indo

nesi

a - I

D

Iraq

- IQ

Irela

nd -

IE

Isle

of M

an -

IM

Isra

el -

IL

Italy

- IT

Japa

n - J

P

Jers

ey -

JE

Jord

an -

JO

Keny

a - K

E

Kyrg

yzst

an -

KG

Laos

- LA

Latv

ia -

LV

Leba

non

- LB

Vene

zuel

a - V

E

Sam

oa -

WS

Som

alia

- SO

Solo

mon

Isl.

- SB

Mar

shal

l Isl

. - M

H

Moz

ambi

que

- MZ

Mal

dive

s - M

V

Mau

ritiu

s - M

U

Nic

arag

ua -

NI

Nor

th K

orea

- K

P

Om

an -

OM

New

Cal

edon

ia -

NC

Pana

ma

- PA

Papa

New

Gui

n. -

PG

Pala

u - P

W

Toke

lau

- TO

Leso

tho

- LS

Lith

uani

a - L

T

Luxe

mbo

urg

- LU

Mac

au -

MO

Mad

agas

car -

MG

Mal

aysi

a - M

Y

Mal

ta -

MT

Mar

tiniq

ue -

MQ

Mex

ico

- MX

Mon

aco

- MC

Mon

golia

- M

N

Mon

tene

gro

- ME

Mya

nmar

- M

M

Nam

ibia

- N

A

Nep

al -

NP

Net

herla

nds

- NL

New

Zea

land

- N

Z

Nig

eria

- N

G

N. M

aced

onia

- M

K

N. M

aria

na Is

l. - M

P

Nor

way

- N

O

Paki

stan

- PK

Pale

stin

e - P

S

Peru

- PE

Phili

ppin

es -

PH

Pitc

airn

Isl.

- PN

Pola

nd -

PL

Port

ugal

- PT

Puer

to R

ico

- OR

Qat

ar -

QA

Réu

nion

- R

E

Rom

ania

- R

O

Rus

sia

- RU

SPM

- PM

San

Mar

ino

- SM

Sene

gal -

SN

Serb

ia -

RS

Sing

apor

e - S

G

Slov

akia

- SK

Slov

enia

- SI

Sout

h A

fric

a - Z

A

SGSS

I - G

S

Sout

h Ko

rea

- KR

Spai

n - E

S

Sri L

anka

- LK

Sval

bard

- SJ

Swed

en -

SE

Switz

erla

nd -

CH

Taiw

an -

TW

Tanz

ania

- TZ

Thai

land

- TH

Tuni

sia

- TN

Turk

ey -

TR

Uga

nda

- UG

Ukr

aine

- U

A

Uni

ted

Ar.

Em. -

AE

UK

- G

B

Uni

ted

Stat

es -

US

U.S

Virg

in Is

l. - V

I

Uru

guay

- U

Y

Vanu

atu

- VU

Viet

nam

- VN

Zim

babw

e - Z

W

Surin

ame

- SR

20072008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020

Alphabetical order of 156 Country added in GSV from 2007 to 2020

The Dymaxion is a projection representing the world map on the surface of an icosahedron, that can be, once unfolded, flattened to two dimensions. Lands and seas do not have any breaks and it is the projection, amog many, that gives the lower distortion in their contour and masses.