Skip to main content

Photo map of the redux Hidden Gems Tour 2007

This weekend I was lucky enough to ride on the abbreviated redux of the Hidden Gems Tour held in May. I started on the May tour but my a rear tire puncture forced me to leave the tour. Saturday's tour was again led by John Steere, president of Berkeley Partners for Parks (one of the sponsors of the May tour) and avid Berkeley historian! Along the way I took photographs and made notes; the photo map below is one product of my and (John's) observations. There are numerous mapping technologies available to neighborhood geographers. I used Pixagogo for the photo map (below), but am using Map My Ride to develop a route map. The latter will be appended to this post as soon as it is completed. Other photo mapping tools include Wayfaring (used to developed the Solar Panels in Berkeley map), Flickr, Picassa, and Platial. Map My Ride (Run; Walk)and Gmaps Pedometer are the only route-based mapping tools I have encountered.
Pixagogo Photo Maps

Comments

Anonymous said…
Thanks Georgia for putting forth the Hidden Gems Tour to the larger world. I have been intrigued for quite some time with the concept of multimedia interactive maps and Google and others have certainly made this easier. but I also wonder about the dynamic between the map as a guide to exploring the real world and map as a means of "seeing" (especially a photo blog type map) what is there, thus making a journey to that place seem not as necessary to know a place. Part of the my notion of the Hidden Gems ethos is to spark folks to take a closer look, to encourage them to take a path different from the one they tread so often. A map with a single picture of a place (or even many) can tend to lend itself to substituting for the real thing. Missing is the rose bush down the block blooming or the neighbor out in front tending to the marvelous garden, adding to the sculptural creation. Of course books and blogs and stories told and all the means we have of documentation, about discoveries worth being shared can often be the means of nudging others to do the same, to discover the gems hidden in their life experience. Maps will always be an imperfect means; it is as we grow closer to creating both more sophistication (and democratization of the tools to make them!) that we need to remind ourselves what they are for.
I am the cartographer of the Hidden Gems of Berkeley Map. You are always welcome to send in your discovery to hiddengemsofberkeley@bpfp.org
October 16, 2007
Anonymous said…
I enjoyed reading your comment and share your perspective on the photo map as a poor substitute for seeing the real thing. I used the photo map for several reasons: (1) I was having tech trouble with the route (line drawing) mapping program (2) I wanted to share some photographs of the tour, and (3) related to number 2, some folks who view the site don't live in Berkeley and the photos are a way "to see" what I see in Berkeley.

I have a Hidden Gem suggestion: there is a postal mail transfer box on Ellsworth at Oregon painted to resemble a slice of watermelon. I am not sure if the paint job will last until the next HG tour in May 2008.

I really enjoyed using the map this weekend and plan to use it in the future!
October 16, 2007

Post a Comment

Thank you for commenting on this post!