Google just made city infrastructure searchable.
A new feature called Ask Google Earth allows users to query cities the same way they’d search the web—revealing the location and count of everything from stop signs and fire hydrants to storm drains, streetlights, and utility poles.
Powered by Google’s BigQuery and Street View imagery, the tool lets planners, public officials, and builders see not just where infrastructure exists, but its condition.
Ask Google Earth is positioned as a way to do more with less—helping cities target repairs, plan maintenance, and allocate limited dollars with precision. In an era of constrained capital, better visibility may be just as valuable as new funding.
Original article published at Construction Dive: Want insights on your city’s infrastructure? Now you can Google it.
