Using Paper.js with Google Maps

Darren Wiens has been experimenting with Paper.js and the Google Maps API. You can view his posts and links to the experiments with Paper.js on Darren's Side Projects blog.

Paper.js is an open source vector graphics scripting framework that runs on top of the HTML5 Canvas. In his experiments Darren has been overlaying vector graphics created using Paper.js as a canvas layer on top of Google Maps.

One of Darren's experiments is the Randomised City Map. On this map Paper.js is used to animate a line between two randomly generated locations. The Google Maps API Direction Service is then used to animate the driving route between the two locations.  Then another line between two random locations is generated and the driving route for that journey calculated and so on, ad infinitum.

The map then uses the Google Maps API Heatmap Layer to show the most heavily generated roads and intersections.The result of all this is a rather cool city traffic flow stimulator.


Another of Darren's Paper.js and Google Maps experiments is this Polygon Hit Detection Map. This map creates a number of polygons and a randomly generated moving line. Hit test detection is used to show when the moving line intersects with any of the polygons. In the screen-shot above the yellow stars show where the line has moved through a polygon.

This hit-test detection could be used in any number of ways. Darren gives the example of using it to highlight when GPS tracked elephants wander onto farmland. It could also be used to help create geo-location games, for example, to determine when a player has entered a pre-defined zone.

Finding Parks with Google Maps

Waterloo Parks is a Google Map of parks and public spaces in Waterloo, Ontario.

Details about each park displayed on the map can be viewed by clicking on its map marker. You can then view the park's full address and discover what facilities are available. The facilities checked include washrooms, benches and types of sports facilities on offer.

The map includes detailed search options. It is possible to find parks on the map by name, by category or by facilities. So, for example, if you fancy a game of tennis you can filter the results to show only those parks with tennis courts.

Hat-tip: Street View Funny

Memories of Fukushima on Google Maps

Shopping plaza in Maiya

Google Maps has released some haunting new interior Street View images of buildings in Northeastern Japan that were heavily damaged by the 2011 earthquake. The new Street View imagery enables you to walk through the buildings and even switch between floors to view the extent of the destruction caused by the earthquake and tsunami.

These interior Street View images also feature in the Memories for the Future website. The website is digitally archiving buildings affected by the earthquake, showing their exteriors and interiors with Google Maps Street View.

So far more than 30 buildings have Street View imagery and Google is continuing to capture new imagery of other buildings which will also be added to Google Maps. The Memories for the Future website also features Google Street View taken before and after the earthquake and tsunami so you can get a first hand view of the damage and destruction caused.

Via: Google Lat Long

Australian Holday Rentals on Google Maps

Stayz is Australia's most popular holiday rental property website. The site allows users to find and book holiday rentals throughout the country.

It is possible to search for properties on Stayz via regional Google Maps that show all the available properties within an area. Users can refine the results displayed on the map by the cost of accommodation, by rating and number of guests.

Stayz also allows users to view a pop-up Google Map in the listings view of search results. A 'Map' link under each property listing allows the user to quickly view the location of the property on a small Google Map without leaving the listings page.

Place Photos & Radar Search on Your Maps

The Google Places API has two new features, Place Photos and Radar Search.

Place Photos

The new Place Photos feature allows map developers to add photographs of venues to their maps. If you add the Place Photos feature to a map your users will be able to search for places and view photos of the venue directly on your map. Developers can define how the photos appear on the map by specifying the photo’s maximum width and height.

Radar Search

The new Radar Search feature allows map developers to provide heat map views of different types of place venues in a neighborhood or city. For example, developers could use the Radar Search view to show where the best streets in Paris are to find clothes stores.

Via: Google Geo Developers Blog

Mapping the Conflict Crisis in DR Congo

The Democratic Republic of Congo is one African country that actually seems cursed by a wealth of economic and natural resources. Since independence in 1960 the country has been plagued by civil war and corruption. Some estimates suggest that over 5 million people have died in the country as a direct consequence of civil war and the frequent 'incursions' of neighbouring countries.

Crisis Group has created a Google Map to record and show the locations of recent army and militia violence in eastern DRC. The Kivu Map currently shows incidents that have been reported between April and November 2012 and the map will be updated in light of any new information from the area.

All the mapped reports on the Kivu Map are recorded in French. 

Mapping the Blitz

Where I live in the East End of London you can view the effect of the London Blitz on the landscape and architecture of the city almost everywhere you look.

My street alone was hit by four bombs during the Blitz during World War II. The effect of this is very evident and you don't really need a map to know where the bombs landed. In effect you just need to look at where the rather attractive Victorian housing ends and instead uglier, post-war red brick town houses, begin.


Pre-WWII & post war housing often indicate where bombs fell

However, to verify the locations of where bombs fell in London during the Blitz you can now view a new digital map. Bomb Sight is a map showing the location of every bomb that landed during the London Blitz in World War II.

To create the map the original 1940s bomb census maps were scanned, geo-referenced and the geographical locations of all the falling bombs were digitally captured. The map was created using Leaflet and therefore uses OpenStreetMap map tiles.



Using OpenStreetMap means that the map tiles are perfect for finding and viewing the locations of where the bombs fell. However I hope that in the future a Google Maps Street View layer is added to the map. Yesterday I spent a few hours using Bomb Sight to find the location of bombs and then having to open Google Maps to view the actual location in Street View.

West End at War is another great website for anyone interested in the London Blitz. Their Bomb Incidents section includes detailed stories, photographs and documents about the impact of specific bombs during the Blitz. The location of each bomb site is also shown using Google Maps (again unfortunately with no Street View option).

Also See

• London V2 Rocket Sites - Londonist has mapped the locations of where V2 Rockets fell in London
• Historypin Blitz Collection - photos of the Blitz mapped by Historypin
• London Blitz - a mapped animation of bombs dropped on the first night of the Blitz

Building a Better Google Map

Improved map for Parque del Retiro in Madrid

Google Maps has released updated maps for 10 countries and regions in Europe: Andorra, Bulgaria, Estonia, Gibraltar, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain. These improved maps will appear immediately on all Google Maps API sites, with no code changes required.

In announcing these updated maps Google has also revealed a few interesting facts about Google Maps and the Maps API: 

• More than 800,000 web sites use the Google Maps API 
• More than a billion people use Google Maps each month 
• More than 27.9 million miles of road appear on Google Maps

In addition to this new map data, Google has also added the 'Report a problem' link to all maps that use the API for each of the 40+ countries where this tool is available on the consumer version of Google Maps. Now any visitor to a Google Maps API V3 site can submit corrections and feedback directly to Google.

NOTAMS for Pilots on Google Maps

Zulu for Pilots is a Google Map that helps pilots find Notice To Airmen (NOTAMS) issued by NavCanada.

Using the map it is possible to search for Canadian airports by their ICAO code and find nearby NOTAMS. Airports are marked on the map with large map markers and clicking on the marker will display all the NOTAMS for that airport in the map sidebar. Obstructions on the map are represented by small markers.

NOTAMS are updated from NavCanda’s website every 30 minute and the time of the last update is displayed above the map.

The World from Above

In 2008 the BBC broadcast an award winning television series Britain from Above. The program used a mixture of aerial imagery, CGI and impressive mapped data visualisations to examine life in Britain, as seen from the sky.

The stunning aerial imagery and data visualisations, and the success of the series inspired a number of broadcasters in other countries to create their own versions of the program. In Germany 2DF created Deutschland von Oben, in America PBS produced America Revealed and now in the Netherlands VPRO have released Nederland van Boven.


The website for America Revealed includes a Google Map that can be used to browse the America Revealed stories near you. The map includes links to videos, images and text from the season that can be searched by location.

422 South, a CGI and animation company, produced many of the amazing visualisations used in these television seasons. The 422 South website includes videos from these programs where you can view many of the most amazing aerial visualisations created for the different programs.

Stamen Design worked on the Netherlands from Above (Nederland van Boven) series to create some amazing map visualisations. The Stamen Design blog includes some examples of the maps they helped create for Netherlands from Above.