Remember my New
Year’s resolution to learn more about my neighborhood in Washington, D.C.?
Well, I just found a great new application to help me in that quest.

WashingtonPost.com
has a feature called “Local Explorer”
that provides detailed maps of sites of interest in the Washington, D.C. Metro
Region. Powered by Google, it stays true to the innovator’s trademark clean,
user-friendly format. Simply type in an address, zip code, neighborhood, city
or county, and you’re instantly presented with a map of the area. Then, select
from a long list of categories to display on the map: schools, home sales,
museums, restaurants, metro stops, even crime locations. Great for tourists and
locals alike, “Local Explorer” aggregates a massive database of information and
enables the user to visualize it through a customizable geographic lens. I
recently used it to identify libraries close to my apartment.

“Local Explorer” illustrates one of the many ways news
outlets are using the latest geospatial technologies to better inform members
of their communities. See if your local online news source or Google affiliate
has a similar feature. If not, suggest that they work with Google to create
one!

Sarah for My Wonderful World