My undergraduate class on new media and community put together a Google map that contains all the video cameras that they could identify that point into public spaces within University City (Philadelphia). The map includes a pin point on each camera, a photograph of the camera, and where appropriate comments. When viewing the map, be patient while it loads, they identified over 500 cameras and the map takes a couple minutes to load.
I would like to invite anyone who is interested to add cameras to the map, we would be happy to extend coverage to all of Philadelphia or even beyond.
If you are interested in the readings my class did for this assignment, or if you want to read the blog postings of their analysis and experience, have a look at the course blog. One student even had an unpleasant encounter with a security guard who chased her down the street and threatened her for photographing a camera from a public space on the outside of a building, here is a related story from today\’s wired news on \”The Right to Bear SLRs\”. For additional information, here is a link to a report released last week by the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU)on video surveillance cameras in New York City – \”Who\’s Watching? Video Camera Surveillance in New York City and the Need for Public Oversight\”.