Google Maps displays little grey boxes that represent buildings, and in this case they are houses. There are patches of green displayed that represents trees, greenery, parks, etc. And finally a blue winding stripe that represents the Rouge River. Thinner white strips are streets, and most of them have their names listed on them. It also displays an actual picture (and recently updated too since I see my mom’s new-ish car in the driveway and not the previous one she’s had for over 10 years). All of that to say that Google Maps shows that I live in a neighborhood close to the river and Rouge Valley Pathway, both of which are actually part of my backyard. It can help viewers find where my house on my street is, relative to its surroundings.
While Google Maps is a representation of what is there, Google Earth takes it a few steps further. Though not depicting real time footage or film, Google Earth shows the neighborhood through an actual camera lense. With Google Earth, one can see how truly dense my neighborhood is with trees. A lot of trees. So much so that one cannot actually see my house upon first opening Google Earth because it is completely covered in trees. Though some houses are visible, many are hidden similarly like my house due to the dense tree coverage. It shows that despite living in an urban city, there are still areas that can appear more rural than most would believe in an area.
I was surprised to find that OpenStreetMaps seemed almost less helpful than Google Maps. It is essentially almost a replica of Google Maps’ representation, with several changes. First, they added tree “icons” to the green spaces on the map, to inform the viewer that that specific area has trees, is a park, etc. Secondly, it does not actually dictate where on the map my house is, just the general area. Poking around, one can see little gray boxes distributed in other areas. Overall, I found it to be the least helpful of the three.
One of the key things all three maps miss are that neighborhood is actually mostly abandoned at this point. Brightmoor houses, that are still up and occupied, are few and far between. The maps depict it as a lovely escape from the city into a more natural and peaceful setting. And though the Rouge River runs through my backyard, no one would use the terms “peaceful” or “calm” to describe my neighborhood.
Humanities and social science researchers could miss some of the key defining characteristics about the neighborhood, including that many of the structures present on maps are either gone completely or burned down and no longer inhabited.
Amber Sophia 