A new trend features photographers’ translations of Google Street View scenes—accompanied by remarkable creative messaging—often topical to urban issues.

One such effort, Doug Rickard’s A New American Picture, focuses on challenged American cities such as Camden and Detroit, and displays a world remarkably opposite the technology used to depict his presented scenes. Click here to see his groundbreaking work.

Similarly, words are not always necessary to describe how public rights of way are used around the world, and travel is not a prerequisite of viewing the interaction of foot, wheel and pavement.

Here, without more words, are portrayals of a Sunday morning visit to Japan, Mexico, Brazil and Finland, with both familiar and novel interactions in plain view.

Credit the wonders of Google for these street-oriented images, and Mr. Rickard for inspiring the myurbanist use of camera and software to enhance such virtual visits from afar.