Mapping the Streets of Havana in 3D

Try dropping Pegman onto Havana on Google Maps, and the most you’ll see is a sparse collection of panoramic photos taken at a few intersections and town squares around the Cuban city—all uploaded by contributors. The company has yet to send its fleet of Street View cars to the once isolated country—and between legal and security concerns, Google hasn’t publicly mentioned any plans to to do so. (The company has not responded to a request for comment.)

But rather than waiting on Google, members of a local Open Street Map community have been working with the Sweden-based company Mapillary to create their own 3D map of Old Havana. The effort kicked off in September when Claudio Cossio, the head of Mapillary’s Latin American user growth, flew from Mexico to Cuba for a six-day mapping marathon. The dozen local mappers who participated took GoPros and their own Android phones to the streets, mapping the city by car, by bike—and where vehicles aren’t allowed, on foot.