A new startup wants to use blockchain and the Uber model to create free, open-source maps.
CityLab's Laura Bliss profiles a mapping startup that aims to combine blockchain and cryptocurrency, open data, and crowdsourcing and gig work. In other words, the company plans to pay people to contribute to free maps. Bliss reports:
"With $1 million in seed funding, Streetcred is building a business model based on the blockchain, where digital tokens called Ether—a Bitcoin-esque cryptocurrency with a fluctuating dollar value—would be paid out to contributors anywhere in the world to populate maps with new points of interest."
The company will only map places, not routes. It hopes to compete with the current industry king, Google Maps, by making its service free to the developers, government agencies, and companies that currently pay Google up to thousands of dollars a month. Though still "refining" its business model, Streetcred says it would make money by soliciting "sponsorships" from companies like Uber or Apple to map points of interest in regions with less coverage from other services.
It could also save money by paying contractors in an unguaranteed currency rather than hiring employees.
In CityLab, Bliss compares the startup's model to other mapping platforms, companies relying on gig workers, and data services.
FULL STORY: Like Uber, but for Cartographers
Real-Time Art Installation Reveals the Many Dimensions of Data
Using a wagon filled with phones, an artist in Berlin demonstrated the disconnect between data and the real world.
Top 10 Free Web Applications for Planning
I had the opportuntity, at the 2009 national planning conference in Minneapolis, to present (together with my colleague Christian Peralta Madera) ten free web applications that can be used to support planning. Approximately 350 participants attended the session. Since the presentation, I've received over 100 emails congratulating us on the practical nature of the presentation, and requesting links to the websites we presented. Since our presentation was a hands-on demonstration, this blog entry outlines the ten technologies, and provides links to examples of the technology in practice and resources so you can experiment with the technologies.
New App Pays Users to Report Illegally Parked Cars
A Swedish company is leveraging the power of crowdsourcing and the gig economy to enforce parking laws.
What ‘The Brutalist’ Teaches Us About Modern Cities
How architecture and urban landscapes reflect the trauma and dysfunction of the post-war experience.
‘Complete Streets’ Webpage Deleted in Federal Purge
Basic resources and information on building bike lanes and sidewalks, formerly housed on the government’s Complete Streets website, are now gone.
Downtown Los Angeles on the Rise: A Promising 2025
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How Single-Family Conversions Benefit Both Homeowners and Cities
Converting single-family homes to triplexes can ease the housing crisis and offer affordable, flexible options for more households. Why is it largely illegal?
Report: Transportation Equity Requires More Than Electrification
Lower-income households often lack the resources to buy electric cars, signaling a need for a more holistic approach to improving mobility and lowering transportation costs.
Supporting Indigenous Land Reclamation Through Design
Harvard students collaborated with the Sac and Fox Nation to develop strategies for reclaiming and co-managing ancestral lands in Illinois, supporting Indigenous sovereignty through design, cultural storytelling, and economic planning.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Economic & Planning Systems, Inc.
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research