Non-profit organization Urban Archive recently launched an app that aims to educate locals and tourists about New York City's rich history. The platform is a collaborative effort between the New York Public Library, the Brooklyn Historical Society, and the Museum of the City of New York.
Urban Archive's app offers access to curated walking tours, neighbourhood visits and even lets users unlock hidden achievements over time. This app's most popular feature is a geotagging option that gives users a split screen view of a specific location both today, and in the past.
Acting as an interactive city map, this platform is home to a database of over 2000 images that recount memorable moments in NYC history. The images allow users to capture photos at specific locations, and to compare them with snaps of those locations throughout the years. "The newly formed nonprofit’s ambition is to create apertures into the city’s urban history in a multi-dimensional digital platform that both informs and entertains the public."
Location-Based History Apps
The Urban Archive App Educates Users About New York City's Past
Trend Themes
1. Interactive History Apps - Developing location-based apps that educate users with interactive historic data.
2. Geotagging-based Walks - Building city tours that unlock historic achievements when users arrive at particular locations.
3. Ar-historical Overlay - Integrating augmented reality (AR) overlays to compare real-time city view with historic moments and building events around them.
Industry Implications
1. Tourism - Location-based guides curated with historic data targeting tourists and visitors with interests in historical sites.
2. Educational Technology - Incorporating interactive & educational historical data through mobile apps to engage learners and promote contextual learning capabilities.
3. Non-profit Sector - Collaboratively creating interactive applications with desired social & cultural objectives to promote histocial awareness and public engagement.