The encyclopedia · Software & IT · Product decision · 2024
Google Plus Codes gave Mexico's unnamed settlements a real address
A free open-source geocode gave informal communities an address, unlocking official ID, mail and ambulance access.
Google · Techo
the move
For millions of people in informal settlements, no street address means no official identification, no mail and no way to summon emergency services — they exist outside the system entirely.
In February 2024, housing NGO Techo and Google launched 'Address The Invisible, powered by Google', a social project using Google Plus Codes — a free, open-source geolocation that renders any point as a short string — to give these communities an address.
Having one puts them on the map for the first time, so residents can complete official ID paperwork, receive mail and access emergency help like an ambulance. Archer Troy developed the idea with Techo's volunteers and the communities themselves.
why it works
- Plus Codes are free and open source, so the solution has no licensing cost.
- It targets the identifier, not the harder problem of building roads and services.
- An address unlocks services that already exist rather than requiring new ones.
- The agent of change is a housing NGO plus open tech, not a government programme.
what transfers
When the missing 'basic' isn't a service but the key to get one, and the key is free and open, use it instead of waiting to build roads.
what came after
The project aimed to support hundreds of communities and thousands of families in Mexico, with Techo positioned to scale it across Latin America. It was named a finalist in the Innovation category at Cannes Lions 2024, drawn to the way it used open geolocation technology to turn the invisible into the visible.
references
- Del olvido a la visibilidad: Techo, Google y Archer Troy se unen
- Archer Troy es finalista en Innovación en Cannes Lions con su campaña Address the Invisible
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