Google Street View as a Replacement for In-Person Street Surveys: Meta-Analysis of Findings from Evaluations

Abstract

Google Street View (GSV) is increasingly being used to evaluate streetscapes for research in fields as diverse as public health, architecture and urban design, and biology. Many researchers have evaluated GSV as a tool for making observations. Most studies have come to the general conclusion that the tool is valid for observing large, permanent objects such as buildings but is not reliable for observing small, transient objects such as litter. This article catalogs nine evaluations of GSV as an alternative observational tool to in-person surveys of streets. The analysis studies the evaluation along three primary lines: the design, the questions, and the similarity of the observations between the two modes of observation. The article focuses on five characteristics: food-related land uses, sidewalks, trees, graffiti, and litter. The article finds that litter cannot be reliably observed through GSV but that the other characteristics may be observed through GSV. It concludes that the two most important factors in determining whether the GSV observations are valid are the time the images were recorded in GSV and the training and expertise of the observers.