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Google Maps’ incredible popularity has granted it power to rebrand districts, and long-time residents aren’t happy. For instance, the San Francisco Bay area’s Rincon Hill, also known by locals as South Beach or South of Market, has been renamed The East Cut after a nonprofit group donated $68,000. Residents hate it, but the moniker has effectively become official due to Maps’ prevalence. In another case, Detroit’s “Fiskhorn” district became “Fishkorn” due to an oversight that Google did not correct until recently.
“It’s degrading to the reputation of our area,” said Tad Bogdan, who has lived in the neighborhood for 14 years. In a survey of 271 neighbors that he organized recently, he said, 90 percent disliked the name. The swift rebranding of the roughly 170-year-old district is just one example of how Google Maps has now become the primary arbiter of place names. With decisions made by a few Google cartographers, the identity of a city, town or neighborhood can be reshaped, illustrating the outsize influence that Silicon Valley increasingly has in the real world.
“It’s degrading to the reputation of our area,” said Tad Bogdan, who has lived in the neighborhood for 14 years. In a survey of 271 neighbors that he organized recently, he said, 90 percent disliked the name. The swift rebranding of the roughly 170-year-old district is just one example of how Google Maps has now become the primary arbiter of place names. With decisions made by a few Google cartographers, the identity of a city, town or neighborhood can be reshaped, illustrating the outsize influence that Silicon Valley increasingly has in the real world.
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