Google to Feature McMinnville as Case Study on Website

About McMinnville, Tennessee 
McMinnville, Tennessee is undergoing a transformation. The downtown area is starting to see signs of a surge in development, with the recent appearance of new streets, sidewalks, and businesses to compliment its existing attractions. A nonprofit group called Main Street McMinnville is helping to plan for continued expansion, preserve the unique character of historic areas, and open up new opportunities for economic growth. As part of this effort, it has created 3D Downtown, a virtual model of downtown McMinnville that anyone can explore using Google Earth.

Challenge
Main Street McMinnville is an organization committed to helping the city of McMinnville maximize its opportunities for development that will benefit citizens. To make it easier for anyone interested in McMinnville to explore the possibilities for development, it launched an initiative to create and publish a 3D model of the downtown area -- the first of its kind in the State of Tennessee. The 3D model was created using Google SketchUp and has been published to the Google 3D Warehouse, which means that anyone can view it using Google Earth.

“We were looking for ways to improve our downtown, and to encourage businesses, developers and architects to start imagining how they could become part of that process,” explains Chris Wilson, Executive Director of Main Street McMinnville and who coordinated the pioneering 3D Downtown project. “We had several goals for this project, and key among them was to stimulate economic development. How do we attract businesses?

"At the same time, we have a historic district in downtown McMinnville, and we want to be sure to maintain its original character," he continues. "In planning for preservation and restoration, you have a tremendous amount of public education to do. It struck me that SketchUp would be a great tool for us -- not just for planning development, but also for guiding it."

Solution
After contacting Google to ask questions and propose the 3D Downtown project, Main Street McMinnville came up with a plan to make their vision a reality. With Google's help as a partner in the project, he was able to gather volunteers from a diverse group of local organizations, schools, utility companies and businesses to create the 3D model, which was completed in only three months.

According to Wilson, the response so far has been overwhelmingly positive. "Since we started building the model, I've had phone calls and emails from people interested in using it -- everyone from local contractors to tourist companies. I get the sense that people have been waiting for this," he says.

"For instance, I've had talks with people who are very excited because now they can put together a persuasive presentation to sell their idea for a business or industry -- right out of the box. You could find a lot in McMinnville, build a 3D model, and show exactly what the customer will see walking down the street. It's a way to show that you 'did your homework' -- you understand the dynamics of making a business successful in a small town. It takes you up a notch -- and with a tool like SketchUp, it's something anyone can do.

"For architects and developers from out of town, it's an investment on their end to come and take a look around," continues Wilson. "A 3D model that gives real-world context eliminates that cost."

Wilson also got an enthusiastic response from people who work for the town's emergency services, the Warren County 911 Center.

"They understood right from the beginning how useful a 3D model could be," says Wilson. "Currently, they're working with flat aerial photos, with marked outlines of buildings and roads. It's much different when you can look and see, 'Okay, this is a two-story house, with three windows on the right, and a door over here.' They're already interested in seeing models for the rest of the county."

Wilson believes that in the future, more people will use tools like Google SketchUp and Google Earth to create 3D models that open up development opportunities, enhance public safety, and empower citizens.

"We didn't launch this project for a pretty picture; we did it to help McMinnville," he says. "It's inspiring to see how these tools help put the power in the hands of everyday people."

About the Cities in 3D Program
The Google Cities in 3D Program invites local governments to share their 3D data with the public by adding a model of their city to Google Earth. Google Earth enables individuals to explore and learn about their world, about places both foreign and familiar, and to gain new understandings of geography, topology, urbanism, development, architecture, and the environment. By enriching the 3D representation of a city on Google Earth, local governments can reach over 350 million Google Earth users, fostering economic development and boosting tourism.

Google Earth combines the power of Google Search with satellite imagery, maps, terrain, and 3D buildings to put the world's geographic information at your fingertips. Google SketchUp is a powerful, easy-to-learn 3D software tool that combines a simple, yet robust tool-set with an intelligent drawing system that streamlines and simplifies 3D design. The Google 3D Warehouse enables a collaborative approach to building the 3D representation of a locality on Google Earth. Learn more about Google's Cities in 3D program for local governments at http://sketchup.google.com/3dwh/citiesin3d.

See the complete video of the downtown model here.