- berlin artist simon weckert found a way to turn green streets into red on the google maps app to discourage app users from going there, thereby sharply reducing traffic on those streets at will.
- weckert pulled it off using 99 smartphones running the app. this sort of hack has been around since as early as 2014.
- weckert's stunt was meant to showcase the power that services like google maps have over urban areas.
google maps has changed the way we drive. it created a digital turn-by-turn system that is essentially free. it is an invaluable aid, with input from myriad users, in getting us to our destinations as quickly as possible. it's that social aspect of the app and service that berlin-based artist simon weckert exploited with nothing more than a wagon and 99 smartphones.
weckert wandered the streets of berlin with a red wagon and his 99 smartphones all running google maps. as he meandered down the street, the google algorithm saw 99 vehicles moving very slowly down a road and set the traffic condition of the road to red. it’s actually a pretty simple hack if you have enough devices lying around.
the stunt is meant to highlight how much power services like google maps have over urban areas. in addition to powering your commute, google's maps and waze services are used by a host of other services such as delivery and ride-hailing apps. if either application tells drivers to go down a certain stretch of road that might ordinarily be a quiet neighborhood, it could change the daily experience of those who live on that road.
a quiet road where parents felt safe letting their kids ride their bikes is suddenly a commuter-filled side road because an app told drivers this is where they should drive to get home five minutes sooner.
weckert's hack, while fun and meant to spark a conversation, isn't new. back in 2014, los angeles neighborhoods tried to trick waze into believing the roads in front of their homes were clogged to keep their neighborhood from becoming a shortcut for those heading to and from work.
more recently, the los angeles department of transportation tried to come up with a plan to curb the side-street routes waze and other services recommend for drivers via a pilot program. the city cited a recent example in which the app rerouted drivers away from interstate 405 during a fire, sending them onto neighborhood streets that were also surrounded by fire and subject to mandatory evacuations.
apple and tom-tom both agreed to be part of the program, google declined to participate.
which brings us back to weckert. he may be an artist with a squeaky wagon and a bunch of old smartphones, but he's also just given traffic vigilantes the knowledge they need to maybe do what cities can't and google won't do.