
How Google’s Bad Data Wiped a Neighborhood Off the Map - mikemac
https://onezero.medium.com/how-googles-bad-data-wiped-a-neighborhood-off-the-map-80c4c13f1c2b
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Spooky23
Neighborhood definitions that don't represent formal political subdivisions
are an obscure corner of the universe that a few people embed themselves in
and exert control over. It sounds like this case was more about the city
'rebranding' than bad data.

In my small city, there's a few designated "neighborhood names". A couple are
names reflective of the "official" neighborhood associations that exist and
are part of an association of neighborhood associations in the city. Others
are related to old subdivison names from the 1920/30s that are out of common
use.

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mc32
Often times the rebranding is mostly by realtors who want to associate with a
neighborhood with more cachet or conversely to disassociate from a
neighborhood with bad cachet.

No, no, it’s not the tenderloin, it’s lower nob hill (just making that up).
But that’s how it goes.

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zwkrt
It isn't truly a real estate rebrand unless there is some stomach churning
cutesy name, like "LoNo"!

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jonlucc
In case you are as yet unaware, there is a specific 99 Percent Invisible
episode about this very thing.

[https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/the-soho-
effect/](https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/the-soho-effect/)

~~~
mc32
I love it, Acrohoods!

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scottndecker
Click bait. Not Google's fault. Third party data wasn't accurate in the eyes
of the residents.

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eesmith
There are many things here, some of which are clearly Google's "fault".

There is the incorrect neighborhood assignment by Pitney Bowes. I believe that
is the fault you are referring to.

There is Google's choice to use Pitney Bowes instead of a (possibly more
correct but expensive) data source, or instead of doing it themselves (also
more expensive).

There is Google's decision to handle error reporting through means which -
according to the article - may be disadvantageous for neighborhoods where 25%
are senior citizens and 40% lack internet access.

There is Google's choice to not reveal where the data comes from, making it
harder for others to figure out the root source of the error. Consider if you
are denied an apartment rental because you failed a credit check, and the
rental agency refuses to tell you where they got the data, and the credit
agencies all refuse to tell you where _they_ got the data. How would you
correct any data which wasn't accurate in your eyes?

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wglb
As noted by other comments here, this is quite a lightweight article. Not that
the residents don't have a valid complaint, but the solution is really quite
simple.

I have direct experience with something like this myself. My Grandfather
homesteaded in Montana in 1911, and the land remains in the family to this
day. My Aunt Elsie, who was a force to be reckoned with, had the name of the
road changed successfully. So their address had the family name. I noticed
that Google did not have the name, so i simply clicked on the button at the
bottom that says "send feedback". I noted the post office had that as the name
and one other reference. I got mail back months later refusing to change the
notation. I sent the request again perhaps a year later, and this time they
did change it. It is there today.

While I understand the communities distress, it appears from the story that
nobody attempted to contact Google.

And you don't have to be a city official to do so.

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gumby
The article even discusses this and I thing you're being unsympathetic.

It says a lot of people don't have the skills to figure out how to click
through a multi-layer sequence (I never thought of that as a "skill" but I can
see how it really might be one). Also as you said yourself Google doesn't
always follow through on random comments. And in the end the root problem
wasn't Google at all!

Plus it wasn't clear to the people if the city had been involved in changing
the name? (Answer: not really).

And I think this is the kind of hyperlocal thing city councils are for.

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wglb
Not sure what you mean by "multi-layer sequence", as it is a simple link at
the bottom of the page "send feedback".

Even though the cause of the problem was not in Google's hands, given that
they got the data from outside sources, nonetheless I would presume that they
have the ability to correct errors.

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gumby
I was going by what it says in the article: "while Google says it invites user
feedback on its maps, it doesn’t always act on those suggestions. And even
that process, which involves clicking through three levels of menus, precludes
users with limited computer skills."

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ghaff
In any given city, there’s going to be widespread disagreement about the
boundaries of many neighborhoods and even if they exist given that
“neighborhoods” can be the creation of a developer that no one local pays any
attention to. Some cities seem to have greater agreement while others have
neighborhoods and communities that are almost wholly informally and loosely
defined by locals.

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spzb
Good grief. That's an awful lot of words to convey a very simple story. Here's
an 80% reduced summary which is still way too long for the actual information
conveyed [https://smmry.com/https://onezero.medium.com/how-googles-
bad...](https://smmry.com/https://onezero.medium.com/how-googles-bad-data-
wiped-a-neighborhood-off-the-map-80c4c13f1c2b#&SM_LENGTH=21)

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acheron9383
Is this really such a big deal? I mean this is one long article for a simple
data mistake that was rectified.

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aerodog
Sounded like they were talkin about Palestine for a second..

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mc32
Some time in Google Map's infancy, there were a couple of countries who sent
off marines or some such to "guard" and "defend" some kind of territory Google
had mislabeled (cartographed?) as the other's.

It's Google, it's not an official map or treaty, yet they saber rattled for a
couple of days till someone pointed out the silliness of it.

