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Internet maps under fire for missing out churches and other landmarks

The president of the British Cartographic Society has hit out at internet mapping for replacing traditional landmarks such as churches and cathedrals, ancient forests, battle sites and stately homes with simplified street plans and blank spaces.

Speaking at the Institute of British Geographers conference in London, Mary Spence said online maps like Google and Multimap were good for driving but were responsible for “corporate blankwash” and “wiping out history” by leaving out the symbols that help map readers get a sense of the landscape.

Ed Parsons, geospatial technologist at Google, responded to Ms Spence’s comments, saying that the traditional symbols were still available on Google’s maps but had to be searched for.

“These traditional landmarks are still on the map but people need to search for them. Interactive maps will display precisely the information people want, when they want it,” he was quoted by the BBC as saying.

Full story at Christian Today.