Virtual Kenya on Google Maps

Today I started watching some of the really interesting interviews with Google Maps API developers carried out by Carlos Cuesta for the new MoreThanAMap.com website. To record the interviews Carlos visited six Google Maps API developers on five continents in just eight days.

You can view the videos yourself in the Developer Stories section of the MoreThanAMap website.

All the developers interviewed have produced some great Google Maps based applications, many of which have been previously featured on Google Maps Mania. One of the development teams featured that is new to me is Kenyan company Upande Limited. Upande Limited specialises in GIS, WebGIS, general web development and mobile application development.



Their project Virtual Kenya is an online interactive platform designed to provide improved access to high quality spatial data and mapping technology. The project includes a number of Google Maps based applications that provide access and visualisations of a number of data sets, including data about water quality, sanitation and urban inequality in Kenya.

The maps allow users to search the data by location, with the help of Google Maps, and also allow the user to drill down and explore the data in  fine detail.The applications are a great example of how the Google Maps API can be used to visualise large data sets whilst also providing the user with tools to search and present the data that is most relevant to them.