Google picks Jefferson for 3-D mapping project

By Kristi E. Swartz

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Jefferson just got a chance to be on the map.

The Google Earth map, that is.

The small Georgia city is one of just five nationwide chosen by Google to participate in a 3-D mapping program, the Athens Banner-Herald has reported. The program will provide software and training for volunteers to take photos and create a 3-D model of 33 buildings in Jefferson and then place them in context on Google Earth.

On one hand, it will make Jefferson seem like it’s part of a hyper-realistic video game.

On the other, the 3-D program’s goal is to act as an economic development and community planning tool, the Banner-Herald said.

Jackson County GIS Manager Joel Logan told the Banner-Herald that it will bring a lot of notoriety to the small town. Jefferson is in northeast Georgia about 20 miles northwest of Athens.

“People from all over can go online and look at Jefferson,” he said.

The software and training is provided by a grant from Google, Igloo Studios and the National Trust for Historic Places, the Banner-Herald said. The grant covers one year of training and support for the volunteers who will be using the software to map the town, the newspaper said.

To help gain Google’s attention for the grant, Jefferson officials said the city recently started a streetscape beautification program as well as a forestry program that could be charted with the 3-D model, Beth Laughinghouse, director of Main Street Jefferson, told the Banner-Herald.

Also selected were: Orlando, Fla.; Oregon City, Ore.; Fairmont, W.Va.; and Milford, Del.