Google Street View's Unmappable City

Summary

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The 404 Media Podcast: "Google Street View's Unmappable City"

Date: March 16, 2026
Host: Jason Kebler (404 Media)
Guest: Chris Parr (YouTube Documentarian, "Chris the Producer")

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Episode Overview

This episode centers on the story of North Oaks, Minnesota—the only city in the United States not covered by Google Street View. Host Jason Kebler interviews documentary filmmaker Chris Parr, whose viral YouTube investigation revealed how North Oaks' unique legal and social setup has kept its streets off Google’s mapping product. The discussion covers the technical, legal, ethical, and social dynamics underpinning digital privacy, public space, and technological transparency in an era of ubiquitous surveillance.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. What Makes North Oaks Unique?

• Private Roads & Collective Ownership:
  North Oaks is an affluent suburb of the Twin Cities entirely owned and managed by its residents. There are no city-owned public roads: "the entirety of the town is owned by the people who live there... Even the roads are owned by the people who live there." (Jason Kebler, 00:59)
• Legal Gray Zone:
  This unique ownership structure creates a loophole: unlike most cities where roads come with public easements, North Oaks’ streets are totally private, allowing residents to legally ban Google Street View and other forms of mapping.
• Wealth & Exclusivity:
  The city is home to high-profile executives and wealthy families. Chris notes, "It's known by Minnesotans as a place where executives and CEOs live... Walter Mondale is from North Oaks, but also like United Healthcare, executives, Target executives." (Chris Parr, 02:20)

2. Google Complies with North Oaks’ Requests

• Digital Erasure:
  When Street View launched in 2007, North Oaks appeared on the map—briefly. The city’s mayor sent Google a letter claiming trespassing and demanded removal: "Google complied. They took the images down." (Chris Parr, 02:50)
• Question of Digital Privacy:
  This case provokes big questions: Who gets privacy in America—and how? (Jason Kebler, 01:28)

3. Chris Parr’s Documentary Approach

• Initial Curiosity:
  Chris planned a video essay focused on North Oaks’ status as a “geographic oddity”—the only unmapped city in America. (Chris Parr, 04:45)
• Aerial Mapping via Drone:
  Realizing FAA airspace doesn’t adhere to ground-level property rights, Chris became a registered drone pilot. He mapped the city by flying a drone from just outside the boundary:
  • "You could effectively map the city with a drone. There's like a gray area on how low you can fly... if you launch your drone from public property, you can fly it straight up and above private property." (Chris Parr, 05:02)
• FAA Regulations:
  Jason clarifies, "The feds own the airspace starting arguably from like one foot above the ground." (Jason Kebler, 05:49)

4. Obstacles Encountered

• Line of Sight Laws:
  FAA rules require drone pilots to keep their drones in visual line of sight. North Oaks is large enough that Chris couldn’t map it entirely from outside.
• Getting Invited In:
  Chris solved this by seeking an invite to a residents-only park via Craigslist. “I got an absolute ton of responses... started texting with this woman named Maggie and she invited me.” (Chris Parr, 10:36)
  • Authenticity of Invite:
    Chris reasons Maggie is legitimate: "'Cause she told me that when she was a kid, she used to love going skating on the ice rinks at West Rec Park. The only way you’d know that is if you have been skating at those rinks." (Chris Parr, 11:07)

5. Pushback and Removal

• Street View Upload Saga:
  Chris was able to upload his photospheres to Google Street View, but they were flagged and quickly removed.

  • "If you flag the image as a privacy concern, I would imagine that Google doesn't want to deal with it, so they...take the image down." (Chris Parr, 12:45)
  • At the time of recording, only a tiny photosphere at West Rec Park remained:
    • Memorable Live Moment:
      "Oh, my God...I see a basketball court..." (Jason Kebler, 13:32) "I'm actually flying below that image..." (Chris Parr, 13:45)

• Legal Letter:
  Chris reveals he received a legal notice from the North Oaks HOA asking him not to return:

  • "I did get a legal letter from the law firm representing the HOA... Basically, they say, don't come back." (Chris Parr, 14:29)

6. Surveillance & Social Commentary

• North Oaks’ Own Surveillance:
  Jason notes, “the city has a lot of surveillance...like automated license plate reader cameras at every entrance.” (Jason Kebler, 08:58)
• Inequality of Privacy:
  Both agree such a legal/technical setup is only possible because of the city’s wealth and exclusivity.
  • "The only reason that this system is set up in this way is because it's such a wealthy community." (Jason Kebler, 15:59)
  • "I think the only reason that my cause has sympathy is because it is a wealthy community. If it was not, I think everybody would be like, why’d you do this, man?" (Chris Parr, 15:43)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Legal Loopholes:
  "In North Oaks, that easement does not exist. Your property goes into the center of the road, leaving no public passage." (Chris Parr, 03:45)

• On Privilege and Access:
  "It's weird because this is something that like a very rich city can do." (Jason Kebler, 08:58)

• On DIY Mapping:
  "Turns out it's actually pretty easy to become a registered FAA pilot. So I strapped my 360 camera to the bottom of my drone and headed straight for North Oaks." (Chris Parr, 01:33)

• On Digital Battles:
  "I've been in a battle with people that flag the images. From what I understand if you flag the image as a privacy concern... Google doesn't want to deal with it, so they just immediately take the image down." (Chris Parr, 12:45)

• On Legal Pressure:
  "I did get a legal letter from the law firm representing the HOA... Basically, they say, don't come back." (Chris Parr, 14:29)

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Important Timestamps

• 00:41: Chris describes Google Street View’s global reach—except North Oaks
• 02:20: The legal basis for Street View ban explained
• 05:02: Using drones to map forbidden territory
• 10:36: How Chris got invited into North Oaks via Craigslist
• 12:45: The ongoing "battle" to keep his Street View uploads online
• 14:29: Chris receives legal notice from North Oaks HOA
• 15:43: Discussion about the inequality of digital privacy

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Final Takeaways

• North Oaks, Minnesota is singularly unmappable on Google Street View due to its wealth, legal structure, and privacy preferences.
• Chris Parr’s project highlights tensions between public mapping, drone technology, digital privacy, and privilege in America.
• The story raises questions about who is able to control their representation online, and how privatized, affluent communities can shield themselves from digital exposure.

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For those who haven’t listened, this episode offers a fascinating, accessible blend of investigative journalism, tech policy, and ethical reflection—illuminating just how powerfully wealth can shape the digital as well as the physical map.

Transcript

[Jason Kebler]

Foreign.

[Podcast Host]

Hello and welcome to the 404 Media podcast. As a reminder, 404 Media is a journalist owned company and needs your support. Subscribers get bonus episodes, bonus segments and early access to interview episodes like this one. To subscribe, go to 404 Media Co I'm Jason Kebler and this week I'm talking to documentary filmmaker Chris Parr. Chris goes by Chris the producer on YouTube and has made a number of short tech documentaries that I've really liked. This week I'm talking to him about a video he made called I Mapped Google's Only Secret City, which is about a Google Maps anomaly I had no idea about until I saw his video.

[Chris Parr]

In just 18 years, more than 10 million miles driven across 100 countries using cars, planes and camels, stitching over 22 billion images together gives us all access to planet Earth except for one one place.

[Podcast Host]

Chris grew up near a town called North Oaks, Minnesota which is one of the richest, most exclusive towns in Minnesota. It's also the only city in the United States that is not on Google Street View. This is because of the way the town is set up. The entirety of the town is owned by the people who live there and there's no city owned property. Even the roads are owned by the people who live there. This has created a situation where North Oaks has been able to ban Google Street View cars from entering, raising questions about who gets privacy in America and

[Jason Kebler]

how they get it.

[Podcast Host]

Chris set out to map North Oaks and went to pretty absurd lengths to do so.

[Chris Parr]

Turns out it's actually pretty easy to become a registered FAA pilot. So I strapped my 360 camera to the bottom of my drone and headed straight for North Oaks.

[Podcast Host]

Here's my interview with Chris about this process.

[Jason Kebler]

I'm talking to Chris Parr, very good documentary filmmaker who did a video recently that I thought was amazing. You mapped the only unmapped city in America on Google Maps Street View. I had no idea that there was anywhere in the United States that's not on Street View. Can you tell me a little bit

[Podcast Host]

about

[Jason Kebler]

North Oaks, Minnesota and why it is not on Street View?

[Chris Parr]

Yeah, for sure. So North Oaks, Minnesota is a suburb of the Twin Cities. It's about. Well, I live in Minneapolis. It's 14 minutes away from me. So it's very close to the urban metropolis. It's known by Minnesotans as a place where executives and CEOs live. Famously, Walter Mondale is from North Oaks, but also like United Healthcare, executives target executives. Why people know of it in particular is because in 2007. When Google Street View was launched, most of the country was on Google Street View, including North Oaks. But the North Oaks mayor at the time sent a letter to Google saying that they trespassed because, technically speaking, the entire city of North Oaks is private property. So Google complied. They took the images down. Uh, up until a few weeks ago, you could not view any street view images on Google Maps in North Oaks.

[Podcast Host]

So.

[Jason Kebler]

So, as I understand it, like, it's not just that they put up no trespassing signs. It's that literally, like, the roads in this town are owned by the private residents of this town. Like, it's a. It's kind of a complicated setup that they have, right?

[Chris Parr]

Yeah. And to be honest, I don't fully understand it. I talked to a mapping professor, Dr. Patrick McAfee, who kind of did some background research. After I asked him, basically what he told me is that my house. I don't know where you live, Jason, but most people's houses, their property does go into the center of the road, but there's an easement that allows the public to access the roadway. In North Oaks, that easement does not exist. You own your property goes into the center of the road. The person on the other side of the road from you owns into the center of the road, leaving no public passage. So the entire city is owned by the residents and managed by, effectively, a homeowner's association.

[Jason Kebler]

So you set out to add North Oaks to Street View how?

[Podcast Host]

I guess.

[Jason Kebler]

What was the plan originally? What were you going to do originally?

[Chris Parr]

I mean, honestly, I just wanted to do a video essay about. It's a fascinating place. It's not geographic. Well, yeah, it's a geographic oddity. I mean, the fact that it's the only unmapped city in the country on Google Street Views is like a powerful YouTube title and thumbnail. So being a YouTube filmmaker, I thought, this will be fun. As I was making the video, I realized that the airspace above it operates differently than the property on the ground. So having a little bit of knowledge of drones, I thought you could effectively map the city with a drone. There's, like, a gray area on how low you can fly the drone. Technically, though, if you launch your drone from public property, which anybody can do, if you're a registered drone pilot, you can fly it straight up and above private property.

[Jason Kebler]

Yeah. This is actually something that I used to report on a lot was like, FAA drone regulations and things like that.

[Podcast Host]

And that. That is.

[Jason Kebler]

That was something, like, quite interesting that I learned is basically like the feds Own the airspace like starting arguably from like one foot above the ground. I know there's been like a couple of different court cases about the specifics of that, but generally it's like the airspace is public airspace starting like really low. So what did you do? You like stood just outside of North Oaks and you flew a drone around and took video? Essentially, yeah.

[Chris Parr]

I mean, I just parked my car on the shoulder and I mean I went to like, I think six or seven different spots. The city's like fairly. It's, you know, it's three miles by three miles. So it's nine square feet but. Or nine square miles, but yeah, I mean, I just pulled my car over onto the shoulder and popped my drone up and flew it over. And I don't know if I should be able to do that. I know that I am able to do it, but should we be able to do that? Was kind of the question that I wanted to tackle. And the YouTube comments are pretty, pretty crazy, man. They're all over the place. They're very split. 5050 on that question.

[Podcast Host]

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[Jason Kebler]

I think what you did is super interesting and kind of cool, for sure. That's why we're talking. But also it's weird because this is something that like a very rich city can do. This is not something that, like, the only reason that it is this geographic anomaly is because it is, like super exclusive and rich and like planned for this. And then also from what I could tell from your video, it's like this city has a lot of surveillance. Like, it's not just that they have no trespassing signs, it's that they have like automated license plate reader cameras at every entrance to the city, don't they?

[Chris Parr]

I don't know about every entrance, but definitely like the main. I think there's at least five entrances that have, yeah. Surveillance cameras at the entrances, entrances and exits. Yeah, there are some that. There are some, like, more obscure entrances, I think, that don't have cameras, but yeah, for the most part. Yeah.

[Jason Kebler]

There's another little ripple to this that I thought was very interesting as well, which is basically like FAA regulations say that you have to have line of sight of the drone at all times, meaning that you need to be able to see the drone at all times. And the city is big enough that that was impossible. And so it was impossible to map the whole thing without going into North Oaks. And so you went to this park that's in North Oaks, but you had to be invited to the park. Can you just tell me what, like, what's the deal with this park?

[Chris Parr]

Yeah. So from what I found online, according to North Oaks ordinances, you can go, like, visit a friend, you know, or if you're a contractor working on a house, you can go into the city, but you have to be an invited guest. So, yeah, being on the shoulder of the road outside of North Oaks, I couldn't get access to the interior of the city. So I made a Craigslist post asking for somebody to invite me. And I got an absolute ton of responses. I think I took it down like an hour or two after I posted it. And, yeah, started texting with this woman named Maggie and she invited me. So I technically had the invite to go to the park. I know a lot of people have asked me, like, oh, do you think she really is from North Oaks? I do, because she's told me that when she was a kid, she used to Love going skating on the ice rinks at West Rec Park. And the only way that you would know that because there are no Street View images of that is if you have been skating at those rinks. So, yeah, so I went to the park and launched the drone from the park and flew around the interior of the city from there.

[Podcast Host]

Did.

[Jason Kebler]

Did Maggie know what you were doing?

[Chris Parr]

Actually, I might have. I might have mentioned that I was going to fly a drone. I'd have to go back and look at the. Look at the text messages. But a friend of mine that's a drone enthusiast, we used to go to a park and fly drones together. So I didn't think it was like super unusual, but.

[Jason Kebler]

Okay, so you did map it and you were able to submit, you know, images to Google Street View. And I believe you mapped. You put it on the map for the first time ever. But I'm looking at Street View now and. And it's not mapped. It's. It's gone. Do you know what, like, what happened?

[Chris Parr]

So I've been in a battle with people that flag the images. From what I understand if you. If you flag the image as a privacy concern, I would imagine that Google doesn't want to deal with it, so they just immediately take the image down. There's like thousands and millions of photo spheres, so they can't manually go and review all of them, but there's also nothing stopping me from just putting more up there. So actually, if you go onto Street View and zoom into westrec park and take out your little pegman, I think there's one very small photosphere remaining. Do you see it?

[Jason Kebler]

Oh, I see West Direct Park. Oh, okay.

[Podcast Host]

Okay.

[Jason Kebler]

Oh, my God.

[Podcast Host]

Oh yeah.

[Jason Kebler]

It says. Uploaded By Chris Parr 21st, January 2026 and it's very snowy. I see a basketball court. I see some.

[Chris Parr]

I'm actually flying below that image. If you can zoom straight.

[Jason Kebler]

Oh, yeah, yeah, I see you.

[Chris Parr]

So I don't know why that dot is so small. I think that whoever. I gotta think somebody from the town or somebody involved is flagging all of these. And because that dot is so small, they just haven't gone and flagged it.

[Jason Kebler]

It's pretty funny because usually on Street View you can click around and essentially drive your man and it's like this. You can't. It's just. I'm just stuck here. Yeah, I know.

[Podcast Host]

Do you.

[Jason Kebler]

So have you heard from anyone from North Oaks, like the mayor or the town in any way?

[Chris Parr]

Yeah, I have. I would say no, but as of as of yesterday. I don't know how much I want to say about this, because I want to talk to a lawyer. I have to talk to a lawyer now. But I did get a legal letter from the law firm representing the hoa. It's not asking me to take any of the videos down or anything. Basically, they say, don't come back.

[Podcast Host]

I see.

[Chris Parr]

Is the. Is the gist of it.

[Podcast Host]

I see.

[Jason Kebler]

I don't know. I don't know. I think that it is very odd that only one town in the entire country is not mapped.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Chris Parr]

I mean, I. From what I understand, it is the only municipality that has been built with that easement property line set up. So that's why it is the way. I mean, there's a lot of gated communities. If you can't physically drive into a space, it's not on street view, but there's no single municipality except for North Oaks.

[Jason Kebler]

Well, keep us updated. I want to hear how this ends. But I think it's a cool project and sort of just talks about

[Podcast Host]

who

[Jason Kebler]

is allowed to have privacy and who is not, I think.

[Chris Parr]

Yeah, for sure. I think the last thing I'll say, I think the only reason that my cause has sympathy is because it is a wealthy community. If it was not, I think everybody would be like, why'd you do this, man? This makes no sense.

[Jason Kebler]

I mean, I think that's right. I think that's right. But it is also, like, the only reason that this system is set up in this way is because it's such a wealthy community.

[Podcast Host]

Yes.

[Jason Kebler]

Cool. Well, that's all I have, but this is very cool. I'm glad. Glad you did this.

[Chris Parr]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Chris Parr]

Thanks for taking interest in it.

[Podcast Host]

Thanks so much for listening. This episode was produced by Kaleidoscope and edited by Alyssa McCalf. We'll be back with a new episode in a few days.

[Jason Kebler]

Sam.