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Dive brief:
- Google’s Ask Google Earth platform now allows users to locate them types of infrastructures within defined areas, a feature the tech company said could streamline workflows for urban planning and analysis.
- The feature, announced last yearmoves enterprise infrastructure data into BigQuery, Google’s AI data analytics platform. The update allows users to track fires, speed limit signs, stop signs, street lights, traffic lights, utility poles, storm drains and cappings.
- Users can also access images taken from Google’s Street View “to identify, detect and view the condition of key infrastructure objects such as utility poles, street signs, roads and bridges,” the company said.
Diving knowledge:
US infrastructure received the highest grade ever American Society of Civil Engineers Quadrennial Report last year It was a C, rather than a C- in 2021.
Despite that progress, mayors said infrastructure was a lower priority than in previous years, according to a 2025 National League of Cities survey. Typically among mayors’ top one or two priorities, infrastructure fell fourth place in the poll.
That drop is likely due to the financial impacts of rates and bond issues on cities, Farhad Omeyr, NLC’s director of research and data, told ASCE last year. Declining funds from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 may also play a role in the infrastructure priority drop.
“But if that’s the case, it’s not a good sign,” Omeyr said. “Just because there’s no more money, it doesn’t mean these problems will suddenly be solved.”
Cities are cutting their budgets, another NLC survey found. Google introduced its new Ask Google Earth feature as a way to help cities get the most out of their infrastructure funds.
“For example, if you’re a city planner who needs to determine your annual budget for road sign repair, Imagery Insights can help you identify the exact number and locations of signs that require attention using Street View imagery,” the company said. “This integration streamlines operations, optimizes workflows and enables smarter, data-driven decisions to improve planning and operational efficiency.”
