14 DAY TRIAL // Two dimensions just don't cut it anymore for Google and now it’s all about 3D in Google Earth. The company has set out to recreate every city on Earth in three dimensions, or at least try, and has enlisted the help of its users to achieve this. Last month, it launched a competition to spur more people into adding their towns and it seems to have worked as more than 400 cities have pledged to create a 3D replica in Google Earth for a chance to get a visit from a Google team, a lot of free publicity and money for the public school system.
"The Google Model Your Town Competition is running full-steam ahead with over 400 pins in the world map representing teams from six continents. From places like Cauquenes, Chile to Cape Town, South Africa to Suva City, Fiji to Alirajpur, Madhya Pradesh, India to Aberdeen, Scotland to Tallin, Estonia and Burlington, Iowa people have taken on the challenge of representing their communities," Allyson McDuffie from the 'Model Your Town Competition' team writes on the progress.
Google makes all the tools necessary available for free and actually creating a building for Google Earth doesn't require any real modeling skills. The easiest way to do it is using Google's Building Maker, a web tool designed to make modeling as easy as possible. Google provides aerial and satellite imagery, as well as basic models, to get started. If Building Maker isn't available for your town, or you're looking for something with more options and capabilities, Google also provides SketchUp, a free 3D modeling software geared towards this sort of work.
Still, even with all the tools, modeling an entire city is quite a task, but it looks like people are getting involved and organizing themselves to show what their town has to offer. "Folks in Iowa, Colorado, and British Columbia are motivating community members by building their own websites, garnering local press, tweeting, and soliciting help in online forums. Some are offering training on how to model to anyone interested," McDuffie adds.
Google Earth is available for download here. Google SketchUp is also available for download here.