Search for Open Spaces by Aerial View
The search engine company, Google, has made available a tool for examining locations as if viewed from the air. It is called google earth. The program can be used to examine areas in which you think a property suitable for the NeighborSpace land trust may exist.
To use google earth, you will need a recently manufactured computer. Most computers more than a few years old cannot run the program properly. Then you must download the software interface from http://earth.google.com/download-earth.html (external link). When you are logged onto the Web and the google earth program in running on your computer, enter the area name you wish to examine. Data for an aerial view of the target area will stream over the internet to your computer and be displayed by the google earth program.
The google earth program has features which allow you to move the field of view, zoom in for a lower altitude look, change the vertical and horizontal viewing angles, save the image to a file, etc.
One limitation of google earth is that the images displayed are not generated in real time. Rather, the data are from images recorded some time in the past, so subsequent developments will not be evident in the views generated by google earth.
Another limitation is that the physical features are not labeled, so you will need to consult a conventional map for such information when you think you have found a prospective open space for the NeighborSpace land trust.
Do you recognize the image above? It is a northward view of the Old and New Baltimore County Courthouse buildings in central Towson, showing one of the nicer open spaces in the area: the park and gardens around the Old Courthouse.