We came across WikiMapia, a hybrid between Google Satelite images, Wikipedia, and Flickr. Users can enter data on hot zones on the satelite images– for instance, the empty lot that now is the site of the new Trump Towers. Like all sites relying on user generated content though, we’ve come across a few mistakes. But in either case, Jersey City and Hoboken both have extensive entries.

And meanwhile, Hoboken411 pointed out the GMaps Pedometer, a service that calculates the distance of a walking trip using Google maps. We’ve found this a most useful tool after gathering construction site photographs.