Cudney, Z. (2026). Google gazes and digital seams: Visual epistemologies between satellite view and Street View. Digital Geography and Society.

Since Google Earth and Google Street View were launched in 2005 and 2007, they have become embedded in everyday life, captured the imagination of users, and been critically analyzed on numerous fronts. But too often, Street View is overlooked or seen only as an extension of Google Earth and Maps. In 2023, Google ended support for its standalone Street View app. Now, Street View is primarily encountered as one among many other features in the map. Using the digital ‘seam’ between satellite view and Street View as a point of departure, this article troubles the integration of the two views by identifying the seam as a critical juncture between different epistemologies and ontologies. It analyzes the extent to which the dichotomy between aerial and situated epistemologies maps onto the seam between satellite view and Street View. While digital cartographies have often been contrasted with their analog predecessors, this article suggests an epistemic break can instead be identified within the digital globe between satellite view and Street View. An analysis of the critical differences between the two views is necessary for a better understanding of the visual politics of ‘Google gazes’: the numerous ways of seeing subjects and spaces that are facilitated through Google Earth, Maps, and Street View. But it also is a precondition for an emerging pedagogical practice of toggling between the two views in order to enhance satellite and visual literacies.