The Internet has a well-established obsession with cats; so it’s no surprise that someone wanted to see what the world looks like through the eyes of a cat. Our feline friends stand roughly 10 inches off the ground, which is bound to create a very interesting world view.
Onomichi, a prefecture of Hiroshima, is the first area to offer Cat Street View to the world through internet. With it, you can roam around certain areas of the city with the view of a cat.
A Hiroshima tourism official said that they were looking for a new way for tourists to see the city. They have certainly done so. The map is part of a tourism campaign, and shows 28 shops and seven landmarks through Cat Street View. Even from the other side of the world, the map is a really fun way to pass the time, and discover new areas of a city you may have lived in your whole life. It can be pretty addicting!
However, while it may seem like a fun- but ultimately unnecessary- technology for now, it does lead to other ideas and questions about city planning and maintenance. By gaining a different view of streets, sidewalks, and “hidden” parts of a city’s infrastructure, we may be able to advance and improve on city maintenance and expansion. It may even provide excellent ways to avoid disasters by pinpointing issues that may be missed from human-eye level.
For now, the only city with Cat Street View is Hiroshima, but whether or not it proves to be more than a fun way to spend some time, you can be sure that other cities will be jumping on board soon. Who wouldn’t want to see cities like Paris, New York, and Rome from a completely new and unique perspective; not to mention perspective buyers of residential or commercial real-estate? The only true surprise is that this hasn’t been done until now!
