Google Maps Place Extractor
Google makes its Maps “Place” data available via radial location search through their API; however, the structure, number, and completeness of places returned in any one query makes it difficult to accumulate bulk place data.
In order to analyze trends in the distribution of New York’s small businesses, I assembled a recursive algorithm to methodically drill down from any given point and radius, allowing users to scrape place data for whole neighborhoods or even cities.
The Python script exports a CSV of place data including coordinates, place name, type, and ratings as well as a GIF of the radial recursion used to compile all of the data.
Github
Google makes its Maps “Place” data available via radial location search through their API; however, the structure, number, and completeness of places returned in any one query makes it difficult to accumulate bulk place data.
In order to analyze trends in the distribution of New York’s small businesses, I assembled a recursive algorithm to methodically drill down from any given point and radius, allowing users to scrape place data for whole neighborhoods or even cities.
The Python script exports a CSV of place data including coordinates, place name, type, and ratings as well as a GIF of the radial recursion used to compile all of the data.
Github
April 2020
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A search for all cafes within ~15 miles of the geographic center of NYC begins to unveil the outline of Manhattan. Isn’t process art fun?
A search for all cafes within ~15 miles of the geographic center of NYC begins to unveil the outline of Manhattan. Isn’t process art fun?